Page 50 of Endlessly Yours
“What? It isn’t like I set you up on a date. I was just bringing a friend.”
I let out a breath. “Mom, I’m… this isn’t a good time.” In fact, it would never be a good time when someone tried to set me up.
She leaned over and patted my hand. “It will never feel like the right time. And I’m not pushing Lauren on you. I’m just bringing a friend.” She paused, her voice going soft. “I loved Amara.”
“It’s not that.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. We were on the far end of the room where we could keep private with our voices low, and thankfully, the rest of the family was loud and boisterous as they finished dinner. As if adding random members to dinner for casual setups was par for the course. “Did I ever tell you that Amara made me promise to date again? To not fall into a pit of despair and actually love someone again? Did I tell you that?” I asked quietly.
My mom’s eyes widened as they filled with tears. “No. Oh, baby…”
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Mom.” I blurted out the words, knowing they weren’t the exact words I needed to say. I needed to talk about Rory. To tell somebody. And yet everything felt so twisted inside.
“You don’t need to know what you’re doing right now. And I know you’re following a path that’s hard. I’m sorry I’m making it harder. Everything just happened all at once, and then I was inviting her, and I couldn’t warn you, and I don’t know what I’m doing either.”
“Mom. This really wasn’t a good time, though,” I said after a moment.
“What wasn’t a good time?” Lauren said as she came up to me, looking statuesque in her perfectly cut suit and bright smile. She really was a beautiful woman, but she did nothing for me.
No, Rory was the only one that did that to me these days.
And I wasn’t sure what to do with that.
My mother beamed up at Lauren, but I saw the tension in her shoulders now. “I’m annoying my son like usual. Here, Lauren, take my seat, and I’ll get something to eat. Brooks, entertain her while I do that then hug my grandbabies.”
She was so smooth about it that I couldn’t protest without being a jerk, and then, somehow, Lauren was sitting next to me at the table, and Wyatt and Ava glared at me over the others’ heads. From how people were reacting, it seemed that not everyone knew about me and Rory. Not yet.
And I had a feeling I was going to hear an earful if I didn’t fix this. Soon.
Lauren blinked at me, shaking her head. “I love your mother, Brooks. But wow. I have no idea how I found myself in their car with them, let alone at a family dinner with you. I’m sorry. I’m totally not here to hit on you or anything. Promise. I really just wanted to see the place that made my favorite wine since I needed to come out to San Antonio anyway.”
I let out a breath at her wince, feeling awkward as hell. “I’m going to be blunt with you. Usually, I’d beat around the bush, but frankly, I’ve had a long day. It’s not your fault that my mother and the rest of my family keeps trying to set me up with women.” I cleared my throat. “I lost my wife four years ago now, and they are all doing their best to help me move on. Too bad they don’t get that I am fine figuring things out on my own.”
Lauren’s eyes widened, and she leaned forward, setting her hand on my forearm. “I am so sorry about your wife. And… well, I don’t have any words. I’ll try to let your mother know both of our feelings about that. It’s nice to meet you, Brooks Wilder. And I’m truly sorry for your loss.”
I opened my mouth to mention I wasn’t free, but then the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I paused as I looked to see who stood in the doorway. Rory stood there, a hand on Alice’s shoulder, Cameron on her other side.
My gut clenched at the look on Rory’s face when she noticed where Lauren’s hand was.
“Oh. Well.” Rory cleared her throat. “The girls and I were just popping up to say hello on our way home. Sorry for the surprise.”
My parents looked between us as my mom’s eyes widened, and my dad cursed under his breath. Each of my other family members might have had their own reactions, but I couldn’t pay attention to them. Instead, I stood up and walked right to her, throat tight.
“Hey, girls. I didn’t know you’d be at the Inn today. Did you enjoy dinner?” I asked.
“It was fine,” Cameron said softly as Alice just smiled up at me.
“Come join us for dessert,” I offered. “Okay?” I looked into Rory’s gaze, but she merely blinked at me.
Then she looked toward Lauren, who had also stood, her face pale.
“Thank you for the offer, but we have to head back home. School night. Say goodnight to the Wilders, girls.”
I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying, not with the roaring in my ears, but as I reached out for her, she took a step back. Then, in a blink, the three were gone, and I couldn’t move. The idiot I was.
I cursed under my breath. “No. I need to fix this.”
“Yes, you fucking do,” Wyatt growled.
“What’s going on?” Faith asked, but the others pulled the kids into other conversations about desserts.
