Page 67 of Salvaged Heart
Alexander took his usual seat at the head of the table, his wife sitting to his right and Laurel to his left. I took mine next to Laurel, my eyes snagging on the extra place setting directly across from me.
Paulina shuffled into the room. She looked like she had aged about ten years since I’d last seen her. I imagined working for the Mitchells would have that effect on a person. Her arms were heavy with dishes that she placed on the buffet table against the back wall.
“You might as well clear that extra setting,” Mr. Mitchell said to her. “Turns out we won’t be needing it after all.” Linda made a half-choking sound, which she tried to disguise as a cough, but it caught Alexander’s frustrated attention anyway. “Pull it together, woman. I don’t know what you expected.”
You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife, the air so thick with it I felt like I was being crushed. No interaction with Laurel’s parents was particularly pleasant, but something was off today, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe they'd discovered that their daughter and I were no longer together and were trying to keep up the illusion that they were oblivious. A strange thank you for the work I did over the summer. Or maybe, me, being the one that saved Anders’ life, was reminding them of times they would rather have forgotten. Either way, I hoped Paulina hurried up and served the food as quickly as possible so I could choke it down and make some excuse to leave early.
At some point, Laurel’s hand came to rest on mine, where it lay on top of the table. She squeezed my fingers, glancing toensure her father’s attention was elsewhere before mouthing,Sorry.It wasn’t her fault, and I leaned in to reassure her, but the sound of the doorbell cut me off.
Linda stood so fast I thought she would send the table flying. She moved to answer the door, but Alexander tugged her back into her seat. “Sit. Paulina will get it.”
She shifted awkwardly, glancing between the doorway to the dining room and where her nervous fingers fidgeted in her lap.
“Mr. Carmichael!” Paulina’s voice came from the hall. “What a surprise to see you. You are all grown up.” I was so taken aback by the unexpected affection in her tone that the words themselves were lost on me.
“It is so nice to see you again, Paulina. I hope you have been well.”
That voice.
I would recognize it anywhere. The last time I heard it in person, it was breaking my heart, but I still heard it every night in my dreams, whispering soft words to me in the dark.
I’ll be good to you.
I’ll take care of your heart.
Lies, they had been lies. But the worst part was that I couldn’t fault him for them. He was right. We had been too swept up in one another. He had been deflecting his addictive habits onto me, and to get better, he needed to do it on his own. I knew this. I knew it, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to center myself. The sound of his footsteps coming closer kicked my already erratically beating heart into overdrive. His mother was standing again, this time accompanied by Laurel’s father, and she moved quickly to the doorway with more emotion than I’d ever seen on her face.
“Anders.” His name came from her lips in a soft cry.
“Good to see you, son.” Mr. Mitchell said in his usual gruff tone.
I imagined him holding his hand out to Anders to shake in the formal way he seemed to greet everyone, even family, but I refused to turn around to confirm it. A long, thin mirror ran above the buffet table, barely large enough to be useful, but I caught the reflection of Laurel embracing her brother in it. The back of her head blocked his face from view. I wanted her to move so I could see him as badly as I wanted her to prolong the hug so I didn't have to. But she pulled back a moment later, and the sight of his face was enough to shatter what little resolve I had left.
I snapped my head around, finally allowing myself to take him in.
He looked good.
So fucking good.
His hair was cut back into the style it had been in when we first met, a tight, neat fade on the sides and slightly unruly ringlets on top. They were shorter now and no longer fell into his eyes, but my fingers twitched, regardless, with the need to run them through it. Paulina helped him out of a camel-colored coat, revealing a navy suit sweater over a white collared shirt. The sleeves were cuffed at his elbows, the sweater’s cut accentuating his trim waist. He turned to thank her, blessing me with the sight of his perfect ass in a pair of khakis that were so form-fitting they should have been illegal.
“You might actually be drooling,” Laurel whispered in my ear, her return startling me. I quickly schooled my features. “Only slightly better.” She added before pulling away.
Anders, finally unable to ignore my presence in the room any longer, turned to me and headed my way. I held up my arms to embrace him, but his hand was already out before him, making it clear it was only a shake he would allow me to have. His palm hit mine, and it was like every feeling I’d spent the last fourmonths pushing as deep down as they could possibly go, came barreling to the surface.
“Beckham.” It sounded short and unnecessarily formal for two people who knew each other as intimately as we did. “Good to see you again.”
Before I could respond, he let go of my hand and moved around the table across from me. He pulled out his mother’s chair, pushing it back in as she sat before taking his seat across from me. Paulina rushed to replace the setting she had only just removed. His gaze lingered on me for a fraction of a second as I took my seat, but he flicked his attention back toward his parents.
31
ANDERS
“My apologies for being late. The roads through the mountains were worse than expected.”
I tried to keep my tone even and cold, but it was almost impossible with my heart beating a frenzy inside my chest. I hadn’t expected Beck to be here when I finally gave in to my mother’s begs about joining them for the Christmas holidays. She had whined on and on about family obligations and how almost losing me had shown her the importance of fixing our severed relationship. I was happy to let things continue on much the way they always had, but my newly appointed therapist had drilled into me over the last few weeks the importance of reforming bonds I’d broken during my addiction.
