Page 57 of A Chance for Us
“Congrats on the nuptials,” Catherine says with a glimmer in her eyes. “I can’t wait to hear how the honeymoon goes.”
“Stop it,” I warn.
“Have fun, Maren. Seriously, if you were my client, I would tell you to just embrace this for the time you can. Life is hard, and you are always in your head. Allow your heart to lead this one just a little, regardless of the possible fallout.”
Coming from a publicist, I’m a little shocked at that advice.
Jackson nods. “It’s amazing what might happen when you do that.”
Catherine tilts her head. “Aww. You’re being all sentimental, Muffin.”
“Weddings always do it.” My boss is a man who could snap anyone in this room in half. He’s tall, strong, and trained to be deadly, but when he looks at his wife, he’s goo.
It’s cute.
“Thank you all for everything,” I say, knowing they could’ve imploded everything and went out of their way not to.
“We’re a team, and if you had told us before you came up with this plan, we would’ve done what we could.”
I eye him, not sure what that means and not sure I want to, but smile because I think he means it in a sweet way.
After they move down, Devney and Sean come over with a sleeping Cassandra and Austin looking like he’s ready to fall asleep standing up.
I know she has mixed feelings on all of this, but she stood by me without ever wavering. “The wedding was amazing, and I don’t really know what to say other than I love you and hope this works out for you both.”
“What does that mean?”
She shrugs. “Just that . . . well, I hope you both are happy.”
“What we did made me happy.”
“Right. For your dad.”
I nod. “Of course.”
Her eyes move to Oliver. “Of course.”
“We have to get these two to bed,” Sean says, trying to adjust Cassandra while also keeping Austin steady. “Congrats, you guys.”
Oliver’s family comes over, bidding us the same well wishes, but his brothers start to make inappropriate jokes, causing him to flip them off. I hug Jessica, Delia, and then Stella, thanking them again for all their help.
We take the time to thank everyone who came but save my father and Linda for last. While she’s normally a nightmare, today she was actually kind. She didn’t wear cream, thank God, and told me how proud she was. It’s hard to hate her when she acts this way.
She gives Oliver a hug first. “You have made us all so happy. We worried when we hadn’t met you before this, but you’re a wonderful person, and we’re so happy you found each other.”
Oliver smiles. “I’m very lucky to know her, and it was a pleasure to meet you all and become part of the family.”
She hooks her arm in my father’s. “Patrick and I couldn’t be more pleased to have you as our son now.”
Dad nods, tears in his eyes. “Family is all that matters in this world.”
“I agree,” Oliver says, placing his hand on my back.
“You sure you have to leave early tomorrow?” I ask my father, not wanting this time to end.
Linda speaks. “We have a long trip, and your father needs to recover from this weekend. It’s imperative we get him home.”
As much as I’d like to argue, she’s probably right. This took a lot out of him. I just wish...I wish we could have more time. More laughter and hugs. I wish he could just stay here and we could just pause time so I would never have to lose him.
