Page 15 of Forever & Always You
“You made this yourself?”
“She cooks now,” says Zach.
“Zachary, no phones at the table,” Mom scolds, and he rolls his eyes and compliantly stuffs his phone in his pocket, because even at his big old age, he still has to follow his mother’s rules. “So, you aren’t driving back to Durham tonight, then?” She nods to the glass of wine in my hand.
“Guess not,” I say, taking a large gulp.
Having Zach around might make staying here again tonight that tiny bit more bearable.Especiallyif we just get drunk onMom’s expensive bottles of wine. Maybe it’ll even be fun, like a very grown-up sleepover.
The three of us begin filling our plates, and just when I’m about to take my first mouthful of salmon (and I’m practically salivating with hunger at this point despite my two sneaky cheeseburgers in the car earlier), the doorbell rings. The house is so huge, the sound reverberates from room to room.
Mom looks at Zach, Zach looks at me, and I look at Mom. Our expressions are equally blank.
None of us are expecting anyone.
“Excuse me, you two,” Mom says, scooting her chair back from the table and smoothing out the crease in her pants. “Let me see who that could be.”
I take my first bite of salmon and smirk at Zach across the table. “Maybe it’s Claire begging for you to come home.”
“One can dream,” he says.
We eat silently, listening out for any tidbits of conversation, but we hear preciselyzilchuntil footsteps make their way back to us. Mom pokes her head into the dining room, toying nervously with her pearl necklace.
“Gabrielle, there is a man at the door asking for you,” she says, and of course I get shot down with her infamous look of betrayal. “I didn’t know you were involved with anyone right now. Why don’t you ever tell me things?”
“Because I’mnotinvolved with anyone,” I tell her, setting down my wine and pushing back from the table. There’s definitely some visible fear in my expression, because the only man who could possibly show up asking for me at this moment in time is Austin, unless Buck has followed me home from Durham to beg me to come back to the bar.
“He says his name is Austin.”
Ah, crap. What could he possibly want?
Zach’s interest is piqued. “Austin? As in scruffy Austin fromthe hellholes across the street?”
“Hey. Don’t call him that,” I warn.
“That’s whatyouused to call him.”
Humiliation grips me like a vise. I’ve already looked back at my behavior when I was young, and I agree that yes, I was a raging bitch in high school, and no, I am absolutely not proud of it. The worst part? My friendship with Austin was pure and genuine—I just didn’t want anyone else to know.
“Oh, I don’t think this isthatAustin. This man is wearing a very nice suit,” Mom murmurs.
She refers to him with such disdain, likethatAustin was nothing more than dirt on her shoe. And growing up, that’s exactly what he and his family were to her. She despised that I dared ever cross the street to begin with, let alone befriend one of “them”. Mom has serious deep-rooted issues.
“Itisthat Austin,” I say, and her jaw immediately drops. “Austin Pierce. Has his own firm downtown now.”
Mom and Zach exchange surprised looks, but I leave him to deal with her snide remarks without me as I head down the hall with my pulse racing at a million miles an hour.
Austin waits patiently on the doorstep, the golden orange of the early evening sun blinding me over his shadowed figure. He must have driven here immediately after work, because he’s still in the same suit from earlier, his car parked at the foot of the drive. I don’t even want to acknowledge how surprisingly nice and subtle his cologne still is as I draw near.Howdoes he still smell so good?
“You are one brave man stepping foot on my mother’s property when she never used to let you come beyond the drive.”
A smile creeps through Austin’s neutral, unreadable expression. “I get the impression she didn’t quite register who I was when she opened the door.”
“She didn’t.” I glance over my shoulder, and although I knowMom and Zach can’t overhear us from the dining room, I still step outside to join Austin and pull the door closed behind me. “Why are you here? Have you changed your mind and decided you do want me to cover the cost of the damages, after all?”
“I’m not here about the table, Gabrielle.”
I screw my eyes together with suspicion, waiting for him to explain his unexpected and unpredictable appearance, because honestly, I have no idea why else he would have come all the way over here. And I really wish he’d stop using my full name so formally.
