She stopped in front of him. “When we’re married, you’re going to have to call me on my shit. Don’t let me get away with putting off the hard stuff. If we have a problem, we have to deal with it right then. No festering. No letting me walk away.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Only, that’s not your responsibility, is it? You shouldn’t have to do any of that. I should be enough of a grown-up to recognize what’s happening and deal.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“I know, and I appreciate that so much. But it’s not your job.” She angrily brushed away tears. “Last year you took me away for my birthday because you knew I was so tired of celebrating every year with my mom. It’s always a twofer. We had the besttime, and I love that you want to take care of me, but wouldn’t it be better if I grew a pair and told her the truth? That every couple of years I want to celebrate our birthdays separately?”
“That would hurt her feelings.”
“I know, and that’s what makes it so hard. I don’t know how to be independent and strong without breaking her heart. Which I did by being a coward, so hey, it sucks to be me.”
He rose and put his hands on her shoulders. “Stop. You messed up with your mom, and you regret that. But you don’t have to keep beating up yourself over this. You’re not a bad person.”
“No, just a weak one.” She looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry you’re dealing with this by association.” She faked a smile. “Change of subject. Did you tell your folks?” The plan had been for them to talk to his parents together, but she’d been too upset about her mom.
His smile was genuine. “Yes, and they’re thrilled. Mom is going to text you a few dates for us all to get together and celebrate.”
“I’d like that, although if she wants my mom to be there, it can’t be anytime soon. I have no idea when I’m going to achieve forgiveness.”
“It’ll be faster than you think. Cindy loves you.”
She did, but Aaron hadn’t seen the hurt in her eyes. Getting over this one was going to take a while.
“She has some thoughts about the wedding,” he said, not meeting her gaze. “Which I know is going to be a problem.”
“Your mother?” Shannon hung her head. “Right, because she didn’t have daughters and you getting married is her best shot at being involved in the planning.”
She thought about trying on the wedding dress and helping her mom plan her wedding.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said quietly. “It’s something.”
Her first instinct was to tell him it was all good and that of course she would talk to his mom about her ideas, and hey, his mom and her mom could get together and make the whole thing happen. Only hadn’t she just been talking about being strong and honest with the people she loved?
“I want to marry you,” she said, meeting his gaze. “I want to spend my life with you.” She was working on a whole plan about his business and her going back to school, but that was for later.
“But I don’t know how I feel about the wedding.”
He frowned. “You mean the whole venue-ceremony-walking-down-the-aisle thing?”
She nodded. “The more I help my mom with hers, the less I want to do it all for us. When I close my eyes and picture us getting married, it’s at a park somewhere with trees and flowers. Maybe you and me and our family. And that’s kind of it. I don’t want it to be a big deal. I want to get on with things. Knowing I want to spend the rest of my life with you is the only thing I’m sure of, and that’s the part I want to get going on.”
She drew in a breath. “But this is a joint decision, so if you want to go traditional, then I’ll do that.”
He pulled her hard against him and swung her around.
“If you mean it, I’m in.” He set her down and grinned. “I don’t care about a wedding. You’re the one that I want. I’ll marry you tomorrow if you say the word. Shannon, it’s always been you.”
She didn’t know how she’d gotten so lucky when it came to love, but she had.
“I’m going to give you a couple of days to live with the idea,” she said. “Just to be sure. Then we can work on the details together. I have some ideas for parks we could use.” She laughed. “I think I already know the dress I want, so that part’s done. Everything will be simple. No fancy clothes, no reception.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, but you know the folks are going to want us to do something after the ceremony.”
She sighed. “You’re right. Okay, we’ll let them figure out which backyard. But only close family and a couple of friends. No second cousins twice removed. We can get those big platters of food from that deli we like and order cupcakes from our favorite bakery.” She smiled. “And I’m going to make my own bouquet.”
He kissed her. “Sounds perfect.”
25
Victoria typed as fast as she could, doing her best not to think about what she doing. If she didn’t dwell on the moment, then maybe she wouldn’t have to feel it. But even as she told herself that, she heard Ella’s voice in her head reminding her that if she didn’t feel it then no one else would feel it either. And that the point of storytelling was to evoke emotion.
