My breath sticks in my throat. An apology? From my mom? Is this real?
She holds up a lone finger. “However, why didn’t you speak up sooner, Paisley? Why didn’t you tell Sienna you weren’t comfortable with her relationship?”
I blow out a heavy breath. “In this family, when I speak up, I get kicked out.”
“Are you referring to your father and college and your choice of career?”
“Yes, but it’s more than that. I finally told you about Dad cheating on you, and it broke our family. Sienna and Spencer blamed me, Mom. It affected my relationship with them.”
She starts to argue, but I cut her off. “They both told me they wished I’d never said anything. I’ve been carrying around guilt about it for years.Years. So when Sienna told me she’d run into Shane and I heard the happiness in her voice, I couldn’t deny her. I justcouldn’t.”
“Guilt is a powerful emotion. It can make people behave in all sorts of ways. It can even make a woman stay in an unhappy marriage years past when she’s ready to leave.”
My fingers tighten around my cup. “Are you saying?—”
She’s already nodding. “You didn’t break up your dad and I by telling the truth. If anything, you gave me the out I’d wanted for a long time.”
“But… but…” I’m sputtering, unable to form a sentence.
“I’ll talk to your siblings, honey. I’ll make sure they know you’re not to blame.” She wraps a hand around mine. “I’m sorry you’ve been shouldering this for so long.”
Not one apology, but two? I’m not sure what to make of this conversation.
“And,” she continues, “for what it’s worth, nobody believes you have feelings for Shane except Sienna. And only she believes that because she can’t accept the fact Shane is struggling to see you here with Klein.”
“Dad can’t stand seeing you with Ben, either.”
She rolls her eyes. “Could he make it any more obvious?”
I bark a laugh at my mother’s irreverence. It’s the little bit of comedic relief I need in this atmosphere laden with old truths.
“One day,” my mother says, picking up her coffee cup and bringing it to her lips, “your father and I will sit down and have a heart to heart, but that day is not today.” She walks to the sink and rinses out her coffee cup. “I have to get changed to go to the club and start getting ready for the ceremony. The makeup and hair team will arrive soon, and I’m up first.”
I feel a stab of pain and a pinch of envy, knowing I won’t be a part of this family memory. That I’ve been blocked from it.
My mother wraps me in a quick hug, taking me by surprise. Physical touch is her last-place love language.
“It’s all going to work out,” she says, shocking me even more by chucking me on the chin.
A memory wiggles to the front of my mind, and I ask, “This is random, but do you still have those Halston wrap dresses?”
Her eyebrows tug. “That is random. And yes, I do.”
“Would you be willing to part with one?” Briefly I recap the story of Halston and her mother. “Halston’s probably the reason Klein and I are together right now. All of it was her idea.”
“That’s a lovely gesture. I’d be happy to send you a dress.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
I drive back to a quiet house. Coffee has been brewed, but my grandma isn’t in the kitchen or living room. Sienna isn’t here, and the teenage boys will sleep until noon.
What will I do with my free day? How will I fill my time?
A restless energy surges through me. Pretty soon Bald Head Island will be in the rearview, taking its place in my daydreams and memories.
Klein opens his eyes when I walk in our bedroom. “Hey,” he says in that thick, sexy morning voice. “What happened to sloth mode?”
“I transfigured into whatever animal wakes up early and wants to”—options race through my mind—“walk on the beach.”
