Page 8 of A Chance for Us
“Maren, I’m not done speaking with you.”
“Sorry, I’ll call tomorrow to talk to him. Give him my love,” I say and then flip my phone to airplane mode. My new goal is to make a plan that will piss Satan’s sister off without ruining the wedding or upsetting my dad.
“She’s a peach,” Devney says after a few seconds.
“A Georgia one,” I say with disdain. “Ugh! I hate her. She’s going to find a way to ruin this.”
Devney sighs. “Look, my mother is . . . difficult too. I get it. Remember that this is for you, Oliver, and your dad. That’s why you threw together a wedding in less than a month.”
I lean against the hood of the car, grateful my best friend is here. “I’m crazy.”
“We know this.”
“But there’s nothing I won’t do for my dad.”
Devney looks at me, pursing her lips. “You know, I get it. I do. But, like, aren’t you excited to marry your man who no one has met yet?”
“I am,” I say quickly. “Oliver is a nice guy. He’s smart and really good at his job.”
“Definitely marriage material,” she says.
“Shut up!”
We both laugh and then get in the car. “I just hear you talk a lot about your dad and the wedding, but I want to make sure you’re doing this for the right reasons, that’s all.”
I sigh, gripping the wheel. I don’t know exactly how I feel. I like him. I mean, we’ve had fun the last few months, and when he asked me, I wanted to say yes.
At least fifty-two percent of me did, which meant I should because of the two percent tipping point.
So, yeah, when asked I said yes.
Now that we’re coming up on the big day there’s no way I’m going to second-guess myself.
“I think I could really love Oliver. He’s so nice and caring. I mean, we don’t know each other all that well and everything has moved at lightning speed, but that’s sort of my life.”
“Is it? You? The careful planner who doesn’t do anything without a million outcomes mapped out. Please, I’m not buying that. You still can’t say you love him and can’t wait to spend the rest of your life with this man. Your glowing accolade is that he’s nice.”
She’s not wrong, which is frustrating, but she isn’t completely right either. Oliver and I really do like each other. So, considering that I don’t know what love is anyway, maybe this is it. I know I want to be with him. I know that he makes me smile—when he’s home. I am really good at being his analyst when he’s on missions, and that’s a very special chemistry.
When he’s out and can’t see, I’m his eyes. I work hard to make sure he and the team are always safe and up to date on whatever information I have. That is a trust like no other. If we are able to rely on each other in critical situations, then surely, we’ll be able to do that in our marriage.
“Not all of us have these grand feelings like you and Sean.”
Devney’s lips purse. “That’s how itshouldbe, Maren. Your dad being there is important, of course, but the wedding is about you and Oliver.”
“It is about us.”
“Is it, or is it about your dad?”
I shake my head, not willing to let her sway me. “I’m marrying Oliver. I weighed the risks, and if things had kept on the path they were on, we would have likely been married in a few years anyway. So, we’re just speeding it up in service of others. Just because it’s not perfect doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
Devney’s eyes soften. “I’m not saying it’s wrong. I’m the last person who can say that getting married quickly or any of that is bad.”
“But you knew with Sean right away.”
“No, I didn’t,” she clarifies. “It took me almost being engaged to Oliver Parkerson to figure it out. Sean was always elusive to me. He was my best friend for . . . ever. He wasn’t the guy I was supposed to marry. We got drunk and kissed while I was dating someone else. I also know what I’m saying because I was living that life. I convinced myself that what I had with other men was good enough, but it wasn’t.” Devney reaches across the seat and takes my hand. “I know how you feel about marriage.”
“It’s forever.”
