Page 77 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince
Bethany stood and hugged Elaine. “Elaine, I’m so excited to see you again. Ashlyn is such a dear I knew I had to get to know the woman so instrumental in her upbringing.”
I held my breath, waiting for Elaine’s response.
“Of course, I’ve always treasured Ashlyn. She has been such a gift to me over the years.”
And with one sentence, Elaine became who Bethany believed her to be. A doting, loving stepmother who adored me. Only I knew the truth.
Bethany hugged me next. Her warm arms and sweet floral fragrance enveloped me. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight. When she pulled away, she held my gaze. I flinched, waiting to hear her tell me how awful my appearance was. “Darling, you look lovely today. Don’t you think Elaine?”
“She certainly does. I was just saying how the color of her dress brings out her beautiful eyes.” Elaine’s lips twisted into a smile.
I blinked. She hadn’t directly smiled at me in years. My brain took a minute to understand that it wasn’t a frown or a scowl.
I forced myself to smile back.
We sat at the table, and I watched how Bethany engaged Elaine in conversation and how easily Elaine responded. She seemed so genuine. Sadly, I looked on, wishingthiswas the mother I could have grown up with all along.
“Tell me about Ashlyn as a child. I bet she was darling.”
“Oh, she was.” Elaine reached out and placed her hand over mine.
Instinct took over, and my body froze. It was as though fight-or-flight didn’t exist. My body just played dead.
“Such a precocious child. Always questioning things, wanting to do what I did. It was really quite adorable how she followed me around. After her father died, we were both lost and found comfort in having each other.” She patted my hand before withdrawing hers.
“Ashlyn, I can only imagine how it was growing up without your parents. You were so lucky to have Elaine and your stepsisters.”
I swallowed hard, working to wet my dry throat. I needed to say something. Bethany expected a response.
“When my Dad asked Elaine to marry him, it was one of the best days of my life.” At least that much was true. Tears pricked my eyes as I remembered that day. I’d been thrilled to have Elaine officially become my mother, and Dad had included me in his request that she become his wife.
At seven-years-old, I’d thought she was the most lovely and beautiful person in the world, and I welcomed her with open arms. For a short time, I’d thought she had accepted me too.
Elaine flinched, choking on the sip of water as it went down. She gracefully lifted her napkin from her lap to cover her mouth until the fit was over. A few stray tears trailed down Elaine's cheek. I knew it was from the choking, but she made it seem like it was the emotion of the day I'd described.
“Yes, that was one of my favorite days too." I thought I caught a touch of wistfulness in her tone, but it was so unlike her I couldn't be sure.
The rest of the lunch was more of the same, and I was about ready to jump into Dean's arms when he arrived. He pulled out the seat beside us and introduced himself to Elaine.
"Dean Prince. It's so wonderful to finally meet the man that has swept my daughter off her feet." Elaine's laughter was like the painful sound of a record scratching to my ears. I'd never mentioned Dean in that way once to her.
He took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles before turning back to his mother and Elaine. "How has lunch been, ladies?"
I gripped his hand a little too tight, earning me a concerned glance from him. My fingers eventually loosened their death grip.
"Absolutely delightful." Elaine gushed. "I adore any time I get to spend with Ashlyn. I never get to see her outside of work, and usually, then we're so busy we have so little time to catch up."
"Right, we don't get a lot of time together," I responded. My words felt wooden and stiff as they tumbled out of my mouth.
Elaine's eyes bored into mine as though to tell me to play along or shut up. "Thank you so much, Bethany, for arranging this."
"I can only hope we get to do this more often. And who knows, maybe someday there will be a wedding we could plan together." Bethany shot a wink at Elaine, who shockingly returned it with one of her own. I hadn’t even known Elaine knew how to wink.
“Can you imagine the two biggest businesses in the Rhode Island wedding industry coming together as their children tie the knot?” Elaine’s eyes gleamed in their old familiar way. Curious I watched to see if she’d break character.
“Oh, uh, well of course, our individual businesses would get incredible coverage from it all, but I was imaging how lovely would it be to help create that special day.”
“Absolutely. And what a lovely day it would be.” Elaine quickly took a sip of her wine.
