Page 129 of Honeymoon Phase
At one point I feed Stevie a bottle and it’s the first time I feel good all day long. I hold my niece to my chest, and press a kiss into her chestnut curls, aching inside because I know I’ll never have this. If I don’t have this with Roe, I don’t want it with anybody. I’m trying to come to terms with the idea that I’ll always be the single uncle.
“You look great, Luke!” Everly says excitedly as she boundsinto Calder’s living room where I’m slipping on my hunter-green wool blazer that I picked out weeks ago.
I turn on my heel and eye Everly’s navy velvet gown. Under normal circumstances, I would remark on how lovely she looks. How grown-up and mature she’s become. But these aren’t normal circumstances.
I’m miserable.
“Thanks,” I reply flatly and force a smile I don’t feel.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, tipping her head to look at me closer.
“Nothing.”
“Not nothing. I can tell something’s up. What is it?”
I sigh heavily, knowing she’s going to get it out of me eventually, so I might as well tell her now. “Your mastermind plan is a bust, kid.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrug half-heartedly. “Addison found out everything we’ve been doing last night, and she told me she just wants to be friends.”
Everly’s lips part. “What the hell?”
“We’re done. We’re doing the wedding to keep the peace with everyone, but after this Addison is moving back to Boulder. Doesn’t sound like she’s inheriting the lumberyard anymore, so she doesn’t really need me anymore.”
“No, Luke,” Everly exclaims, her blue eyes wide with horror. “This can’t be the end. We can fix this. You just haven’t done your grand gesture yet. Let’s think. There’s still time. We could—”
“Enough, Everly,” I growl, my tone harsh. “We’re done plotting. No more games.”
“But—”
“But nothing,” I snap, cutting her off. “It was stupid for me to take advice from you anyways. You’ve never even been in love. You know nothing. You’re just a kid.”
Silence spreads in the room like a fucking wildfire and I look up to see hurt and pain all over Everly’s face.
“Fuck,” I murmur, pushing a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry, Everly, I didn’t mean it.”
“No, you’re right. I don’t know anything about love.” She steps back and tightens the brown fur shawl around her shoulders. “I’m just gonna go check on Grandma.”
“Everly,” I call out, but she ignores me, rushing out the door and making her way down the hill to Wyatt’s place where the ladies are all camped out for the day.
“Way to go, Luke,” I murmur to myself as I stare out the window at the snowcapped pines and the beautiful wedding setup. “Now when you tell your mother you’re getting divorced in a few weeks, you will have made every woman in your life hate you.”
Chapter 43
Fact or Fiction?
I’ve always been a daddy’s girl.
Addison
“My God, Addie May. You really do look like a princess,” my dad says as I step out of the spare bedroom at Luke’s to find him standing in my kitchen nibbling on a piece of bread.
I force a wobbly smile as I look down at my dress. It’s a simple satin long-sleeve gown that’s a mermaid fit so it’s tight around my hips and bottom. It has a boat neckline and a long row of silver buttons down the backside all the way through the train. It’s simple and I remember the day I tried it on, feeling like I’d never felt more beautiful in my life.
Today, I feel ambivalent about it.
I thought my run at the cemetery this morning would help me collect my thoughts, but it didn’t. I feel just as wretched about my plan now as I did last night when I presented it to Luke. Not even a conversation with my brother, Aaron, could help bring me any sense of peace over all of this.
