Page 2 of Forever to Fall
CHAPTER 1
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“I’m going to ask CeCeto marry me.” Her brother’s declaration should not have come as a surprise, but that didn’t stop Mallory Lawson from choking on her hamburger, a blob of ketchup sliding down her chin.
Dabbing her face with a napkin, Mallory collected herself before asking her brother for the dirt. “Um, when?”
Evan leaned back in his seat, his own burger completely forgotten. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down his sister. “Um, when? Geez, Mal. I was expecting a little more enthusiasm.” He flapped his hands between them. “Really? When? Hopefully CeCe will be a little more excited.” His lips dipped in a frown, and Mallory hated that she was the cause. Her little brother was her best friend, and while they loved to tease each other, Mallory would take a bullet for the man sitting in front of her. She had no doubt he would do the same.
Holding her hands up she said, “In my defense, I thought you brought me out to talk about our plans for Mom’s birthday. Telling me you’re going to pop the question is a big freaking deal.” After lowering her hands, she balled up her napkin and tossed it onto her plate. Despite her excitement, she felt a tug in her gut she wasn’t ready to decipher.
Could it be indigestion or jealousy? It was anyone’s guess.
“I’m aware, but come on. This can’t be a surprise.” Evan picked up his soda and drained its contents in one gulp. She’d kill to have his metabolism.
Mallory studied her burger, now cooling and half-eaten. It wasn’t that she was surprised, or even upset, by her brother’s announcement. He and CeCe had been dating for well over a year, and they’d been friends for longer than that. They clicked together, like the last two pieces in a puzzle, and she couldn’t think of a better couple to walk down the aisle. The trouble wasn’t the person Evan wanted to legally bind himself to, but the fact that it was her brother. Herlittlebrother, who was a year younger and already settled down. She would never begrudge him his happiness, but it certainly made her feel like an old maid. And Mallory hated how surly she must look.
Squaring her shoulders, she met Evan’s gaze and started over. “It’s not a surprise, and I think it’s a great idea.”
Finally relaxing, Evan grinned and leaned closer. “You do?”
Mallory waved off Evan’s question. “Of course I do. CeCe is one of my favorite people, and you two are clearly made for each other.” Evan’s smile only grew at her words, and she started to feel better. The world didn’t make sense if her brother wasn’t smiling. He had this joyful, easy-going manner about him that was so contagious the CDC had him ranked as an infectious disease.
The waiter came by with their check, which Evan promptly swiped off the table. “I’ve got this,” he told a protesting Mallory. “I just signed that contract for the website for the law firm off Main Street.”
Reaching out, Mallory yanked the slip from his grasp and stuck out her tongue. “I just got a raise at the hospital. Save the money for the ring.”
Evan snatched the slip back and tucked it into his jacket pocket. “I’m using Nana Lawson’s ring, so I don’t need to save.”
His statement brought Mallory up short, her dinner doing somersaults in her stomach. Bile rose, and she had to clear her throat twice before words formed. “You’re taking Nana’s ring?” The question escaped on a whimper. Eyes burning, she forced herself to blink back the tears. Maybe she could pass them off as happy tears?
Not sensing her concern, Evan shrugged. “Yeah, why not? Sophie and Emily didn’t want it, and I think it would suit CeCe.” There was no doubt the ring would match CeCe’s low-maintenance lifestyle. The white gold band was simple, yet studded with a ruby and diamonds. She could see her future sister-in-law cooking up a storm with the ring, her nimble fingers making short work on a ball of bread dough.
Yet there was something hanging in the air between them—words left unsaid that made Mallory flinch. What Evan wasn’t saying, what no one wanted to admit, was that Mallory didn’t have any prospects of her own. Usually undeterred by her single status, she now felt like expired milk left to curdle in the refrigerator. Their nana had left the ring to her grandchildren to use as they saw fit. She knew her elder sisters wouldn’t want the ring, as they both had different tastes and didn’t respect the tradition of wearing a family heirloom.
On the other hand—literally—Mallory had often borrowed the ring as a girl and performed fake wedding ceremonies. One time she married her teddy bear, Mr. Beany, while another time had her Barbie wear the ring as a necklace for her wedding to Ken. One of the few benefits of Evan trashing her doll collection was that Barbie’s head now came off with ease for wardrobe changes and accessorizing.
In the further reaches of her memory, Mallory had another time she’d played fantasy wedding. A summer’s afternoon on a farm, the breeze filled with the hint of fall and the aroma of apples and spice. That had been a fun day, a day that she should not remember with such vivid clarity—or such longing. But Mallory wasn’t ready to think about that memory, or the boy attached to it. Now wasn’t the time. But then again, it rarely was.
Evan snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Earth to Mal.” He chuckled as she came back to the moment. “You’re a million miles away. What’s up with you today?”
Mallory sighed. She was exhausted from working another double shift in the ER. She loved her job as a nurse, but there were times she felt like a wrung-out sponge; dried up, misshapen, and generally ignored. Even this impromptu meal with her brother came after a twelve-hour shift. She hadn’t even bothered to go home and change, opting to keep her scrubs and messy ponytail. If she went home to freshen up, she’d likely fall asleep in the bathtub and drown. For all the ways she imagined herself dying, drowning alone at twenty-eight in her bathroom wasn’t at the top of the list.
“Sorry, I guess I’m just tired.” Her breath escaped in a long puff, her shoulders slumping. Mallory blindly hoped her brother would leave it, but that wasn’t Evan’s style. He was a dog with a bone—worse, a golden retriever with a favorite toy. His eyes shone with hope and concern.
“What have you been up to?” he asked, reaching over to steal a few of her forgotten French fries.
Mallory swatted his hand away and huffed out a humorless laugh. “Saving lives? I don’t know, Ev. It seems like lately all I do is work.”
“That’s not true. You came by and helped with the food truck at the county fair last month.”
With a snort, she nodded. “Yeah. Somehow I feel like working at my brother’s food truck isn’t exactly a relaxing vacation, or even much of a social life.” Saying it out loud stung, but Mallory rallied.
Evan was offended. “We had a blast.”
Mallory couldn’t argue with him, because she did have fun. The trouble was, she didn’t have the same type of fun as everyone else. The truck was owned by Max, who was Evan’s boss and friend. Max and his wife Ginny were there, as were Evan and CeCe. The four of them included her, but it didn’t stop the fifth wheel sensation from creeping in. She was used to tagging along to other couple’s events, but it didn’t mean she always liked it. She wanted her own other half, someone just for her.
More often than not recently, Mallory craved more from life. Her sisters were both married with kids and careers, and they didn’t live as close as they used to. Evan and Mallory had always been close, but he was busy expanding his freelance web design career, working at the diner, and seeing CeCe. She didn’t fault her brother his success, or his relationship, but she still felt like the odd woman out.
