Page 35 of A Moment for Us
“Hi, Mrs. Andrews,” Josh says as he scoots in beside me. “You look beautiful as ever.”
“And you’re just as charming as I remember.”
I bite back the urge to gag. “How are you feeling?” he asks her.
“I’m doing well. I was just telling Delia a few friends and I are heading off to travel for a month or two. It’s all very exciting.”
“Where to?”
While he and my mother talk, I listen, feeling a hundred variations of awkward. The last time we saw each other was two weeks ago, and things were strained. He hasn’t called, and neither have I.
As I look around at the diner, I can hear Alex telling me about how it’s as if nothing has changed, but to me, the world feels different since Josh returned.
His hand moves to my leg, squeezing gently as he keeps talking to my mother.
I move his hand off me and scoot a little farther away. Josh grins, and I can’t tell if it’s at me or whatever has my mother giggling.
I turn to face him, making it harder for him to touch me. “What brings you here?” I ask abruptly.
Josh’s smile doesn’t falter. “Food.”
“Yes, but your brother said you were at Melia Lake this week.”
“I live there.”
“I know this,” I say with a huff. “Which is why I’m wondering why you’re here.”
“We break ground tomorrow, so all of us are having dinner at Grayson’s tonight,” Josh answers.
“That’s great. I’m happy for you guys.” I really am. Their parents are assholes. Mrs. Parkerson has always been . . . a bitch with Jessica. She made it very clear that she did not approve of her son dating one of the poor girls in town.
God forbid.
Since they got married, though, she’s trying, and Jessica, being the forgiving human she is, is doing the same.
I don’t know that they’ll ever love each other, but Jessica knows Amelia loves her grandmother and she wants her own daughter to have the same relationship.
I would never be that nice.
“So, I’m in town for dinner tonight but was supposed to grab lunch with Stella, who just blew me off.”
“Really?”
He nods. “Yup. She completely forgot. She and Jack are working on the cabin for Kinsley and Samuel.”
I smile, warmth flooding my heart. “I’m so happy for her and Jack,” I say almost dreamily.
“Me too. No one deserves happiness more than Stella.”
I nod. “And I think it’s kind of beautiful how it’s all happening.”
My mother dabs at her eyes. “I have always loved that girl. It’s nice to see things falling into place.”
No one has a heart like my mom. She cries when things are good because she is genuinely happy for them. When I told her about what Stella and Jack were going through, she wept and prayed for them. If she could heal the world with love, she would.
“Don’t cry,” Josh says quickly, handing her a napkin. “It’s all good things.”
“That’s why I’m crying.” She laughs. “It’s so nice when things go the way they should. Kinsley is a lucky girl to have so much love around her.”
