She let out a breath. “I will be.”
That wasn’t an answer.
The house came into view—large, pristine, perfectlymanicured in a way that screamed control. Although I used the word house loosely. It was more of a mansion. I slowed the car, pulling into the drive like I was approaching a haunted house rather than where my wife’s family lived.
I cut the engine but didn’t make a move to get out of the car.
For a second, neither of us did.
“This is the part where we pretend we’re a functional married couple,” she said, voice light but tight.
I reached out before I fully decided to.
My hand covered hers on her lap.
She startled, then stilled.
“You don’t have to be perfect,” I said. “You don’t have to impress them.”
Her laugh was soft and humorless. “You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me.”
She swallowed. “They already think I make questionable choices.”
I frowned. “Like what?”
She let out a humorless laugh. “Like not going to law school. Like working in social media. Like not marrying someone with a matching trust fund. This?” She gestured vaguely between us. “This is just confirmation.”
Frustration coursed through me.
I squeezed her hand once, firm, needing help to keep calm.
“They don’t get to decide your worth,” I said. “And they definitely don’t get to decide mine.”
She looked at me then, really looked, eyes glossy but steady.
“You’ll be there?” she asked quietly.
It wasn’t about brunch.
It was about standing in a room where she always felt small.
“I’ve got you,” I said. No sarcasm. No bravado. “Whatever happens in there, you won’t be alone.”
Her fingers curled into mine and she gave me a single nod.
We finally got out of the car together, and I walked around the front to meet her, taking her hand in mine again.
And when we walked up to the front door, I didn’t let go.
CHAPTER 14
ROXIE
If I’d learned anything in my adult life, it was that dread came in many forms.
There was the sharp, immediate kind, like when you realized you’d hit send on an email meant for drafts. And then there was this kind. The slow-burn, stomach-sinking dread that settled in the moment I pulled into my parents’ circular driveway and saw the familiar white-columned house waiting for us like a test I was already failing.
