“Exactly. We all do things we don’t want to do for people we love.”
Her eyes grow wide. “But—”
“But there’s a line. Or there should be. You don’t need to give up yourself to make everyone happy. There’s a line.”
Looking back, I took on my father’s business because I knew it would make him happy—make him proud of me. And I kept at it—kept administering CPR on the business when I should have called time of death months before. I didn’t, because I wanted to make my dad happy. I won’t make the same mistake again. I didn’t realize until this moment that my biggest mistake was not seeing the line. I didn’t necessarily know to look for it then, but experience taught me a hard lesson. It’s not one I’ll soon forget.
“A line?”
“A line between making someone you love happy and sacrificing everything to make it happen.”
Lucy blinks, and blinks again. “You think I cross that line?”
I shrug. “I think you love your sister. You want to make this weekend perfect. I get it. But I think Katherine will be happy to be with her friends and family. I don’t think she cares about color-blended blankets.”
She sighs. “Yeah. Maybe.”
The corners of my mouth twitch. “Maybe?” I can almost see her mind working. “Maybe you look good in yellow, even if your mother doesn’t think so.”
She looks so fresh and open, I have to stop myself from reaching over and cupping her face. She looks so warm and relaxed.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asks, her hands neatly pressed together under her face as she looks at me.
“Anything,” I say.
“Anything?” She grins, a mischievous smile on her face that lights up those green eyes.
“Anything.”
“And you’ll tell me the truth?”
“Yes,” I say before I can poke holes in the idea of being entirely honest with the woman next to me.
“Do you like Katherine?”
She’s dropped a grenade over the pillow wall, and we’re both waiting for it to explode.
“You’re asking me if I like your sister?” I ask, stalling.
“You promised to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Her tone isn’t the pushy, indignant one I’ve gotten used to in the run-up to this joint weekend away. It’s playful and lacking agenda.
“I do like Katherine.”
She holds my gaze, knowing there’s more. “But ...” she coaxes.
“I really like your sister. She’s very sweet and a good complement to Ed.”
She widens her eyes, urging me to elaborate.
“It wouldn’t matter who Ed was marrying, if I’m being honest. I just want to make sure he and I are both equally committed to Portis going forward.”
“You think that marrying Katherine will mean he’s less committed in the future?”
I groan and roll onto my back. “Please don’t tell either of them this. I don’t want to get into it.”
“It sounds like youneedto get into it,” she says. “If you think Katherine is—”
“This isn’t about Katherine,” I interrupt. “Like I said, it wouldn’t matter who he was marrying. It’s a big life change, and big life changes tend to shift priorities.”
