Page 58 of Enticing

She already knows. She’s smarter than all of us, and I guess any hope I had of telling everyone together just went to hell.

Fuck it.

“My wife.”

Mom’s smile is slow and measured and fake as shit.

She looks between the two of us as my Uncle Tommy walks into the room. “Leo, you’re here. Everyone’s been waiting.” He looks at the girls, and his smile is real when he grins. UncleTommy has autism. Mom and Dad have been his guardians since Mom’s parents died when they were kids. I talked to Izzy and Addie about him on the way over. He’s the sweetest, most innocent nearly forty-year-old you’ll ever meet. “Who are you?” he asks the girls, and Izzy sticks her hand out like a little businesswoman.

“I’m Izzy James. Nice to meet you.”

She wants to shake his hand, but Uncle Tommy takes her small hand in his bigger one and pulls her with him to the family room. “Come on, Izzy. There’s presents and cookies, and all the kids are back here.”

Izzy looks over her shoulder at us and smiles, then asks him, “Is Molly back there?”

Addie looks nervous as Izzy disappears out of sight and adjusts Lennox, while Mom stands staring, no doubt still in shock.

“Come on, Mom. We might as well get this over with once instead of ten times.”

The hurt in her eyes upsets me, but I know she’d understand if she knew the truth of it all.

“Wait—Leo . . .”

I stop and wait because when Annabelle Sinclair speaks, you listen.

Her watery green eyes dance from me to Addie and Lennox. “Are you happy?”

“Mom... We just wanted to get married. We didn’t want to wait. We didn’t want some big thing. Just us and the kids.” I wrap my arm tightly around Addie’s waist and hold her close. “We’re happy.”

After a long, uncomfortable minute, my mother sighs and cups my cheek. “You always were my most impulsive child. You lead with your heart and leap before you look.”

“Mom—”

“Let me finish.” She drops her hand and wraps her arm around Addie. “But you know your heart better than any of my children. You always have. Welcome to the family, Addie. Buckle up. We’re a loud, opinionated group.”

“Emphasis on loud,” I mutter.

“Pot meet kettle,” Mom snarks, and I can’t even argue. “You two getting married is going to shock everyone, but your father and I had only been dating for two months when we got married. Thirty years later, and I couldn’t imagine my life without him or you kids. Maybe we could do lunch one day, so you and I could get to know each other.”

“I’d like that a lot,” Addie says softly and nervously runs her hand over a sleeping Lennox’s back.

“Maybe we could include your parents as well,” Mom adds, and I cringe.

Addie stiffens next to me. “My parents are both dead.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I know what that’s like.” Mom takes Addie from me and walks into the family room with her and Lennox, like I’m not even here.

Everyone quiets as she walks ahead of me, and Mom raises her wine glass. “Now that everyone’s here, I think Leo has an announcement he’d like to make.”

She turns back, and the look on her face leaves little doubt she’s pissed at me for eloping, but the way she stands next to Addie is just as strong a show of support.

I guess I’ll take it.

I don’t have much of a choice.

“I’d like to introduce you all to Adelaide... my wife.”

Snow falls outside as we huddle under the roof of the back porch while Cross passes out cigars to Ares, Nixon, and me.

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