“It’s just a lot,” I lied. “Weddings, right?” I tried to keep my voice light, but my mom’s eyes narrowed a little, like she wasn’t totally sure she bought it.
“As long as he treats you right, sunshine.” My dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “We trust that you’ll always make the right decision.”
His choice of words made me feel even worse. They trusted me. Enough to literally put their future in my hands.
For a moment, I almost broke and told them the truth about this wedding. They were my parents. They just wanted me to be happy. They’d support me if I called it off. Even if it brought them financial ruin.
But I couldn’t do that to them. They’d given me so much—I wouldn’t take their future away from them.
There were worse reasons to get married than a business partnership. I repeated it to myself like a mantra, hoping it would start to sound true.
Once the development was approved and we were both out from under our investments, everything would be okay.
And until then, I’d just keep telling myself that.
Dad went to find a drink, and as soon as he was gone, Mom turned to me, a frown on her face. “You want to tell me the truth?”
I blanched. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, Jess.” She reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “I know you too well, kiddo. What’s going on?”
“It’s just…” I looked around, searching for…what, I had no idea. My eyes landed on the framed picture of Trevor and me at the front of the room. We’d had a photo shoot done after announcing our engagement. Looking back, it felt more like a promotional photo opportunity, because Trevor took the time to have individual headshots done for both of us as well. It was always like that with him.
Mom followed my gaze. “It’s a beautiful picture of the two of you,” she said with a gentle smile. “You both look so happy.”
Did we?
I inhaled deeply, holding it for a moment before exhaling. “Did you ever have cold feet before you married Dad?” I asked before I could stop myself. “I mean, I’mnothaving cold feet,” I added quickly. “I’m just wondering if maybe?—”
She stopped me with a gentle touch to my arm. “Nerves are normal, Jess. Weddings are stressful. Never mind everything else you have going on with work.”
I looked into her kind eyes, full of love. She had no idea how much the two things were tied together. Would she think differently of me if I told her the truth? About how I’d put everything on the line for this man who didn’t see me as anything more than a business deal?
“Things will calm down after the wedding,” Mom continued. “Nothing is easy right now. But as soon as you both settle into regular life, things will go back to normal.”
Normal.
“Trust me.” She squeezed my arm when I didn’t respond. “You’ll see. It will be okay.”
I inhaled deeply again. This time, when I blew out a breath, I forced a smile to my face. “I’m sure you’re right, Mom. I think I’m just overwhelmed by everything right now. It’ll calm down after tomorrow.”
“Of course.” She matched my smile, but hers didn’t quitereach her eyes. Unable to keep up the pretense much longer, I tried to turn away, but she stopped me. “And Jess?”
Reluctantly, I looked back.
“You do know that, no matter what, you can always change your mind, right?”
They were perhaps the most reassuring words I’d ever heard from her, yet somehow, hearing that support from her in that moment was almost enough to break me. Because the truth was, Icouldn’tchange my mind. Not this time. Not without burning everything down around me.
I swallowed hard, looked her in the eye, and lied. “Don’t worry,” I said softly. “No one is changing their mind.”
Preston
“Come on, Summit.” I urged the puppy toward the tree that was surrounded by a little flower garden in the plaza. “Go pee, and we can go home and be cozy. I’ll even let you cuddle on the couch with me.”
The puppy looked up at me with those big, brown eyes before spinning around me, tangling his leash around my legs.
He hardly even needed a leash these days; he was such a good dog and didn’t like to go very far from me. But after a long evening in the trails with my teens group, the last thing I needed was for the little guy to decide the time was right to explore and go wandering.
