Page 70 of True Blue

“I know. You don’t have to be. She broke your relationship too. It’s on you guys to fix it or not.” I shrug. “It won’t affect my relationships with you or her.”

He nods, shoulders sloping with a release of tension. “Okay, good.”

I look over at Bentley too. “You’re allowed to be wary toward her too. Everything’s not just ‘forgive and forget’ right now. We’ll need to work on things from here on out and she’ll need to prove she means it, so it’s okay if you don’t want to trust her yet either. I’m not fully sure I do one hundred percent, but I’m hopeful.”

Bentley nods, running his fingers down my cheek. “That’s enough for me, right now. I’ll form my own judgement as we go, but I’ll take your lead from right here, sunshine.”

“I’m still going to be mad at her too,” Layla shouts over at us, making Axel roll his eyes and Bentley smile.

Footsteps descend the stairs behind us, and I turn around to find Mom first, Uncle Jack right behind her. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she says quietly, looking over at the table. Layla goes red, eyes wide as she freezes in her seat. Gwen swallows hard, sitting back and matching Beth’s posture beside her which turns rigid.

“I know I owe you each individual apologies, and it might not be possible to repair all of our relationships,” Mom says, lookingat everyone at the table. Uncle Jack puts a hand on her shoulder, still standing behind her. She takes a deep breath. “But I would like to try.”

Aunt Tati’s mother stands up, face blank as her chair scrapes against the floor. She comes around the end of the table, standing in front of Mom who seems to cower under her gaze. Only a second passes before Axel’s grandmother leans forward and folds Mom into a tight hug. “You’ve been missed, darling.” She pulls back, patting Mom’s cheek before looking back at the table. “Tatiana wouldn’t want us to hold a grudge against her best friend. Not today.”

Layla ducks her head, grabbing a roll and taking a bite. Uncle Jack’s parents smile and nod sadly. Beth sips her wine after taking a deep breath and Gwen smiles at Mom. “I’ve missed you, Aunt Sandy.”

Axel’s grandmother walks Mom over to the table, pulling out her vacant seat for her and then going to grab one of the extra folding chairs by the wall and setting it up in an open spot by her daughter. Uncle Jack walks back over to the table, tapping Axel on the shoulder as he passes through the kitchen on the way.

I take each of my guys’ hands. “Ready?” I ask, looking between each of them.

Bentley nods before looking over at Axel with me. He pauses, breathing slowly for a second, then nods, determined. We walk over to the table, taking our seats again, with Mom now sitting across from Axel. She looks between Axel and Bentley, eyes landing on me with a raised eyebrow and humor in her eyes.

“Mom, you’ve met each of them, but,” I say, squeezing both of their hands tighter before I continue, “these are my guys, Axel and Bentley.” I tip my head toward each of them as I introduce them, holding Mom’s eyes while my stomach overflows with prickly nerves.

“Hello again both of you,” Mom says, smiling at each of them.

“Nice to meet you again,” Bentley says politely with a nod.

Axel takes a second, seeming to taste something sour on his tongue. “Hello again, Aunt Sandy,” he finally says, immediately reaching over the table to take a sip of his drink afterward.

Conversation starts to flow around the room again, Gwen, Axel, and I helping Uncle Jack clear the table and pack up leftovers while Layla goes to get some games to play before we dig into dessert. Bentley speaks with Mom and Beth about our history project, and I watch them laugh at something together as I scrape one of the plates into the trash.

Axel’s arms come around my waist, and a kiss lands on my shoulder. “Grandma was right. Mom would have liked that she’s here now.”

I turn and smile at him. He’s still been cool to her, but I’ve seen him smile at a few of her jokes and watching his sisters and dad interact with her again. I kiss his lips quickly, stepping out of his arms and placing the plate next to the sink for Gwen.

“Thank you,” I say to him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he returns his around me. “For playing nice for me. I know you wouldn’t otherwise, so thank you. And thank you for being there for me.”

“Always, Blue.” He pecks my lips again quickly, conscious of his family all around us, and then leans his forehead against mine. “Now all we have to do is rock these next two weeks and we can spend the whole break together here.”

I laugh. “We’ll see. Bentley might want to go back to his hometown for a bit and see his friends and family.”

Axel shrugs. “I doubt he’d be against us coming.” He pulls back, eyes gleaming. “Plus, his parents already invited us over to meet them.”

I swallow, remembering Bentley’s words from last night when he blurted that out. Axel laughs, unwinding his arms from around me and using one hand to tip my chin up toward him.“It’ll be fine. They probably won’t like me out of the two of us.” He shrugs.

I push his shoulder, folding my arms after. “Of course, they’ll like you. Everybody likes you.”

“True,” he says over his shoulder with a wink and walking back to the table ahead of me.

33

The rest of break goes by too fast to notice and suddenly I’m standing in the Cliffords’ driveway with Layla, Gwen, and Uncle Jack. Bentley and Axel load our stuff into Axel and Gwen’s trunks. Snow falls around us and I tug Axel’s beanie a little further down around my ears, letting my curls get crushed underneath.

“You guys don’t have to drive back on your own. There’s plenty of room in Axel’s,” I say to Layla for the fiftieth time.

She rolls her eyes at me, and Gwen shakes her head. “No way I’m being crammed in the backseat with any combination of the three of you.” Lay points at me and then the guys. “Being in the same house with you three has been enough the last few days. I need the three-hour break.” I laugh, looking over at Bentley who stands against the back of the car. One of his hands rests on the top of the open trunk while Axel bends over, the upper half of his body lost in the car as he rearranges things and Bentley clearly ogles his ass. He glances over at me, catching me catching him, and winks with a smile.

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