Page 123 of The Invitation
How can you not love someone who goes so far out of their way for you? Who has your back when you don’t know you need someone watching out for you? Who takes punches for you?
He loves me in all the ways he knows I need loved—in ways I don’t even understand. And I’m not sure he even realizes that he loves me. But it doesn’t matter. His actions speak louder than his words ever could.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear them.
He holds my face in his hands and kisses the tip of my nose. “Before we go inside, I have to tell you something.”
My spirits plummet.
“Today, I went and saw your mom,” he says.
My mouth falls agape. “You did what?”
“Don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad, I’m just …” I laugh in disbelief. “At least you’re still alive. Is she?”
He grins. “She’s sitting inside at the table, waiting on you.”
Excuse me? “I’m sorry. Did you say my mother is in your house?”
He nods.
“Your house?” I ask. “This one? She’s here?”
He nods again.
“Holy shit. Did you kidnap her? That’s illegal, you know.”
His laugh fills the air, and it’s music to my ears. It might be the music just before his perp walk, I don’t know, but it’s music anyway.
“I’m glad you’re entertained by this,” I say. “But I need more of an explanation.”
His feet straddle mine as he brushes a strand of hair out of my face. “She and I had a talk. We talked about my dad and what a monster he is. I told her that I understood she was leery of me, and that I wouldn’t get between the two of you. But also, that I would always be there for both of you.”
I bury my face in his chest again, fisting his shirt in both of my hands. He sways back and forth with me in his arms.
“She asked me to help her apologize to you,” he says softly.
I jerk back. “What?”
“She’s nervous. She’s scared. And you don’t have to accept anything she has to say—that’s why we’re doing it here. I can kick her to the curb so fast she won’t see straight.”
I laugh nervously. “She’s really in there?”
He nods.
“Wow.”
“I don’t want you to feel tricked,” he says. “It all happened so fast, but I didn’t want you worrying while you came here. Whenyou think of coming here, I want you to eventually feel happy. Like you’re coming home.”
Tears well up in my eyes.
“And I thought that if I could catch you outside, I could give you the option of seeing her or not,” he says. “You can go. You don’t have to do this. I’m on your side always and forever.” He kisses me softly. “But I don’t want you to leave. She knows that. She knows that I’m doing this because …”
His cheeks flush.Ripley blushing? That’s a first.
“Because what?” I ask him.
