Page 79 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

Of course he isn’t defending me. Why would he?

I’m a stupid girl with stupid expectations.

“No, no.” Papa waves him off. “I’m actually headin’ out. I have a meetin’ to get to.”

On cue, there’s a knock at the door.

Sally fucking Sanderson pops her head in. “Don, are you… Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt.”

The irritation in my veins ratchets higher, threatening to explode out of me at any second.

A brash laugh bubbles out before I can stop it. “Have fun in your ‘meetin’.’ Hope it doesn’t run late, so you can still make it home to your wife.”

Something dark glimmers in Papa’s eyes, but he simply jerks his head, and waltzes out of the room, his hand resting on the small of Sally’s back.

The sound of the door clicking shut echoes off the tension in the air.

So much for professionalism.

I inhale a deep breath, trying to find my center, but it’s too late. The scabs from my past have been picked open and left to bleed, and now they’re impossible to ignore.

“So.” I clap my hands, pasting a smile on my face. “Let’s talk weddin’s. As you can see” —I wave my hand toward the door Papa just left— “marriage is somethin’ to celebrate. Relationships last forever, even when you don’t want them to. Let’s get y’all hitched, shall we?”

I’m bitter and I know it, but screw this whole thing. This entire situation is a gigantic flashing sign, reminding me that this is the reason I left Eli all those years ago.

Because one day, he’d be having meetings with his mistress while I pine away, living in our memories. That fact is staring me directly in the face, in the form of a strawberry-blonde, prim and proper angel, wearing his ring and sitting by his side.

The one he works with.

Just like Papa.

I stand up straighter, a renewed determination spreading through my chest.

I did the right thing.

Small moments of happiness aren’t worth a lifetime of misery. I won’t forget that again.

37

Eli

“Relationships last forever.”

“Not all relationships,” I snark at Becca, unable to help the jab after what she just said.

Sarah cocks her head. “Honey, that’s depressing. Why would you even say that?”

I grab her hand, kissing the back and placing it on my knee.

Forever.

The realization hits me like a freight train that once I marry Sarah, there is no going back. It will be us, every day of forever. It doesn’t fill me with excitement. Not the way it should.

I care about her, though. She’s been exactly what I’ve needed the past few years, and the type of woman Ma would have wanted for me. But for the first time, I feel selfish in asking her to be my wife.

Regardless, I wasn’t talking about the relationship I have with Sarah. My words weren’t meant for her.

Becca swallows and turns her face to the side, biting on her lips, I’m sure to keep that infuriating mouth of hers in check. Annoyance pricks my insides that I’m not getting the reaction I want.

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