Page 54 of Choosing Forever
Nobody warned me about how clingy I’d be or how deeply I’d fall in love so young. Yet here I am. Delaney is my soulmate, and I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world to have found her so early on in my life. Any longer and I’d risk missing out on her entirely.
The thought of that scares the shit out of me and makes me think that we might be making the right choice here, even though it fucking hurts. If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to pry ourselves apart at all.
Delaney pulls her head out from where she’s tucked it into my neck. The red ring around her eyes creates an ache deep in my chest.
“Can you just promise that you won’t forget about me while we’re doing this? You’re my best friend before anything else. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life at all.”
“That’s never going to happen.Ever,” I swear.
The corners of her mouth tip up slightly as she nods, sniffling again. “Then fine. But I’ll never forgive you if you break your promise.”
“Luckily, we’ll never have to worry about that.”
18
PRESENT
DARREN
Usually,I always have an inkling when Sasha’s going to appear out of nowhere to ream my ass out for something, but I’m so off-kilter today that she managed to take me by surprise.
Her voice is cruel as she snaps at me, uncaring about the volume of her voice. The only privacy I could find close to the dunk tanks was behind the back of the burger stand. It’s sure as shit not far enough away to muffle her words.
“And when did we agree to that? I’ve said it a million times. You need to keep your sister and her friends in check.”
The heat radiating from the grills beside us blasts into my side as I try to keep a relaxed posture in front of my ex-wife. “I’m sorry if Abbie heard about it, but that wasn’t my intention. It wasn’t Poppy’s or Bryce’s either.”
My ex-wife uses both of her hands to pull her red hair behind her shoulder and tightens her glare. “What a coincidence.”
“Drop the attitude, Sasha. If you want to ream me out over a misunderstanding, then maybe you can do it later when we’re in a more private setting.”
“And give you a chance to avoid the conversation? Not happening. We’ll get to the bottom of it right here, right now.”
Dread poisons the tip of the knife in my side. It’s a miracle I managed to convince Sasha to take our conversation away from the dunk tanks at all. A pissed Sasha doesn’t care where we are or who’s around. She’ll let her feelings fly for all to see and hear, consequences be damned.
I’d be more understanding of that right now if I didn’t think her argument was ridiculous. She was looking for something to be mad at me for these last few weeks, and she’s finally got one. That’s all this is. Bringing this up in front of my friends at an event supposed to be for families doesn’t sit well with me.
“I don’t have plans to take her away from Cherry Peak anytime soon. Not for one day or a month. Poppy only mentioned a trip to BC as a spitballed idea for some time in the future. I’m sorry that Abbie heard her and took it as something it wasn’t.”
It was nothing more than a random thought dropped into a conversation the last time Abbie and I were over at my sister’s house for dinner. It happened over a month ago, and this is the first I’m hearing of it.
“And on this hypothetical trip, would Delaney be joining you?” Sasha asks, her voice sly but expression bursting with anger.
I grow stiff, mind starting to run wild. “Why would you ask that?”
“I’m not an idiot! I’ve heard all about Ms. Delaney, our daughter’s newteacher.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why she would be coming on a trip with my family,” I say slowly, taking too much care forming each word.
Fuck my life. I’m an idiot for not realizing this is why she came here today. It had nothing to do with a theoretical trip and all to do with my ex-girlfriend. Maybe I should be moresurprised that it took her this long to approach me about her being Abbie’s new teacher.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she were waiting for a moment like this, though. This is a perfect opportunity to make me look bad in public.
Sasha shakes her head, sneering, “Don’t treat me like I’m being dramatic. I saw you interacting earlier!”
Glancing behind her, I wince at the same people who have been lingering close to the burger truck for a while now, pretending like they have no interest in the conversation but not moving on. My spine steels as discomfort grows thick in my muscles.
“This isn’t the place for this conversation, Sasha,” I say, dropping my voice.
