Page 92 of Rebel Heart
I sighed. “I won’t hold a grudge forever, Layla. It’s not who I am. But I also won’t apologize for doing something that made me happy. They are my family, and they’re supposed to be there to love and support me the way I’ve supportedallof them. I love them, and if they extend that olive branch to me, tous, Beau and I will grab hold of it. But if not, I guess this will be how it is.”
Sadness washed over her. Layla clearly wished there was something she could do to fix this. No doubt she’d try whatever she could to make it happen. “This family won’t be the same if you’re not in it.”
“Then my family needs to figure out how to make this right.”
My sister-in-law nodded her understanding and reached for my hand. “They’ll come around. They have to. And until that happens, please know that I’m always going to be here for you.”
I squeezed her hand in response. “Thanks, Layla.”
With that, I let go of her and moved to my car. Then I drove home to see my husband. But when I pulled into the driveway and came to a stop, my phone rang.
Ivy’s name was on the display.
Maybe Layla had gone to my sister and tried to reason with her.
“Hello?”
“I got to your place a few minutes ago, and you aren’t here. Are you almost home?”
In all that I’d managed to share to turn my family’s world upside down a week ago, evidently, I’d inadvertently left out one additional piece of information. “I… I don’t live there anymore, Ivy. I’m living with Beau.”
Silence came through the line for a few beats before I heard some rustling and the distinct sound of a car door slamming. “Wow. You really have done everything without sharing. I don’t understand, Jules. I thought we were closer than this. What kind of man did you marry that he’d rip you away from your family like this?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the line went dead.
It was like none of them realized I was just as responsible for where I was. Beau hadn’t forced me to doanything. Everything that had happened was because I’d asked for it, in one way or another. And Beau had been happy to give it to me.
Unable to shed another tear, I grabbed the box of desserts, got out, and went inside.
Beau was overjoyed to see I’d brought goodies, but he was even happier to see me. Of course, it didn’t take him long to recognize that something was weighing on my mind. So, after we ate dinner, which he cooked, we curled up on the couch, enjoyed dessert, and I spilled what was weighing on my heart.
We still hadn’t said those words to one another, but I wondered if we needed to. Because they said that actions spoke louder than words. And right now, Beau was proving to me what was important in ways that the people who claimed to love me weren’t.
How could I not feel myself falling harder and harder for him with every day that passed?
BEAU
“So, where have you been, man?”
At Talon’s question, my lips twitched. Unfortunately, before I could share the news, Jamie interjected, “Hemust’ve had good luck getting the girl, and he’s been so caught up in her that he forgot about us.”
Technically, he wasn’t wrong. But my friend didn’t know all the details. And when I told them everything, they would likely lose their minds. Talon and Jamie would be shocked but happy. Vic would be devastated, if only because that’d leave him as the only guy not interested in settling down any time soon.
“It could be that,” Vic reasoned from the opposite end of the couch. “Or perhaps she turned him down, and he’s spent weeks sulking. I mean, it’s been nearly a month now, hasn’t it?”
“Four weeks since we got back from the tour,” I confirmed.
“Well, what’s been going on?” Talon pressed.
I dropped my gaze to the ground, a smile playing at my lips as I thought about how much my life had changed over these weeks. Nothing had ever felt this good, not even when I’d made it as a professional skateboarder.
“I have some shocking news to share,” I confessed.
Vic let out a laugh and said, “You make it sound so serious, like you went out and got married or something.”
I said nothing as I pinned my stare on him and held it.
The smile was wiped off his face in seconds. “What? I was just kidding.”
