Page 93 of His Heart

Brooke stayed quiet. I put a reassuring hand on her leg.

“This is really good, Mrs. McKinney,” Olivia said. “Thank you.”

Mom smiled. “You’re very welcome.”

My dad cleared his throat. “Sebastian, how’s the new semester going?”

“It’s good,” I said. “I’m taking a full load.”

“That must be about it, then,” he said. “Almost finished with that business degree?”

“Not quite,” I said. I’d been back in school for the last two years. With the credits from my first year and a half at U of I, I should have been almost finished. But I’d thrown in some extra math classes that weren’t required for my major. And I wasn’t so sure about that business degree anymore. But I hadn’t discussed that with anyone yet—especially not my parents.

“Well, hurry it up, son,” Dad said. “I need you at the dealerships. As soon as you’re finished with school, that assistant manager position is yours.”

“Family business,” Olivia said. “Nice. Are you and Brooke planning to move out here, Seb?”

The tension heightened, but either Olivia didn’t notice, or she’d said you and Brooke on purpose. Charlie choked back a snicker while Olivia looked at me with an innocent smile. Definitely on purpose.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “We haven’t really talked about it.”

“Of course he is,” Dad said, apparently ignoring the and Brooke part of her comment. “That was always the plan. Waverly is home.”

I just shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about this.

“Well, Cami, how are you adjusting to life back in town?” Mom asked, giving Cami a pleasant smile.

“I’m really happy to be back,” Cami said. “There were things I loved about Chicago, but I realized life in the big city isn’t for me.”

“No, you’re a Waverly girl at heart,” Mom said. “You’re right where you ought to be.”

Cami nodded and her eyes flicked to me. “I think as we grow up, we learn more about what we want in life, and it isn’t always what we once thought.”

“So very true,” Mom said. “It’s perfectly normal to experiment a little when you’re young. Maybe go off to college, or live somewhere new. Make new friends. But home always brings you back if you let it—back to the people you’re meant to be with.”

For fuck’s sake, this was ridiculous. My mom couldn’t have invited Cami in an attempt to get the two of us back together. But the way she kept looking at Cami, then at me—and ignoring Brooke—made it really fucking obvious that was exactly what she was doing.

I squeezed Brooke’s thigh under the table, then grabbed the half-empty bread basket and stood. “I think we need more bread. Mom, can you come help me with that?”

She opened her mouth like she was going to say the basket wasn’t empty, but I leveled her with a hard stare. Plastering on another smile, she put her napkin aside and stood.

I stalked into the kitchen and tossed the basket on the counter, then led her into Dad’s den. I didn’t want everyone at the table to hear this.

“What is going on?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “Why is she here?”

“Cami?” Mom asked. “She moved back to Waverly recently. I thought it would be nice for all of us to reconnect.”

“Did you forget what she did?” I asked. “I know you’re friends with her mom and you never wanted to say anything bad about her. But she left me when I really needed her. That doesn’t bother you?”

“That was a difficult time for everyone,” she said. “And people grow up and mature. They change.”

“So I’m supposed to overlook the fact that she bailed on me because she couldn’t handle it when things got hard?” I asked.

“She was young,” Mom said.

“I can’t believe you’re making excuses for her,” I said. “You, of all people. I was dying, Mom. If she was the person I was meant to be with, she would have stayed.”

Mom took a deep breath. “I know, honey. I was angry at Cami for a long time, too. It put a lot of strain on my friendship with her mother. But she came to me recently and we had a very long talk. She deeply regrets what she did, and she wants the chance to apologize to you.”

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