Page 23 of Say You Love Me

Hudson lifts his brows at Liam as Ava runs over to him and wraps her arms around his neck. Liam mouths an apology. Ava pushes her body against Hudson, and I feel a flame of jealousy. She is the sort of girl who looks as though she belongs with Hudson. She’s from the same sort of family as him. Had the same sort of background.

But I remind myself that it wasn’t Ava who he chose. It was me.

Hudson cooks the meat on the barbeque while I serve drinks and bring all the salads and side dishes to the table. Ava stands between Hudson and Liam regaling them with dramatic tales of her adventures, while Megan tries unsuccessfully to engage in a conversation with my mother. Megan is a bold woman, a straightforward one, the sort of woman that makes my mother uneasy. Not that it’s hard.

Lori helps me with the salads, chatting aimlessly about the weather and the TV shows she’s watching, all the things my mother hates.

Finally, dinner is ready, and everyone is seated on one of the odd collection of chairs around the table. Hudson makes a great deal of clearing his throat and getting to his feet. Already I can feel the heat coloring my cheeks. He has a bottle of beer and he clangs a knife against it exaggeratedly, even though everyone is already quiet.

“Thank you all for coming,” he starts.

“Like we had a choice,” Liam mutters under his breath.

Lance leans back in his chair and places his arm around his wife. “Come on, get on with it,” he teases. “We’re all in suspense here.”

Ava takes a sip of her wine. “I literally have no idea what’s going on.”

“Nothing out of the norm there,” Liam says.

“Quiet.” Hudson clears his throat again, loudly. “As you all know, Finity and I have been seeing each other for about four years now.”

“Seems like longer,” Liam calls out.

Ava rolls her eyes.

“For god’s sake, let the man speak,” Megan huffs. Admittedly we don’t spend a lot of time with Liam and Megan because they live back in Hudson’s hometown, about an hour’s drive away, but from what I can tell, I think I like Megan.

Hudson continues, “And a while back, she did me the great honor of saying yes when I asked if she would become my wife.”

“What?” The word rushes out of Ava’s mouth. I make a point of looking at her and smiling.

“Have you finally set a date?” Lori’s blue eyes are hopeful. She clutches her hands together beneath her chin as a prayer. I feel a little guilty at denying her the chance to see her only son, her only child, get married.

Hudson looks at me. “Not exactly.”

Reaching for my hand, he pulls me to my feet and we stand in front of the small group of people we call family with stupid grins on our faces. In unison, we hold up our hands and turn them to expose our rings. “We got married.”

The smile drops from Lori’s face. She looks to Lance who just sort of shrugs. Liam lets out a surprised snort of air. Megan is the only one with enough composure to say congratulations, and Mum just stares at me with narrowed eyes.

Ava is the one who reacts the most though. She gets to her feet so violently the chair falls to the ground behind her. She looks only at Hudson.

“You got married?” Her voice is nothing but a high-pitched squeak.

He nods and pulls me close to his side, pressing a kiss to the side of my cheek. My eyes are stuck on Lori. She’s struggling with the news. There are tears in her eyes, and she’s looking at Hudson and me with a sad smile. Finally she gets up from the table and walks around to open her arms to us both. She holds me tightly.

“I couldn’t wish for a better wife for my son.”

Tears get stuck in my throat. Guilt lodges itself in my chest. “I’m so sorry, Lori. It’s just when I started to think about everything a wedding entails…” I let my voice trail off and flick my gaze to my mother.

“Nonsense,” Lori says, her voice tight with unshed tears. “I’m happy for you. So, so happy for you both. These are tears of joy, not sadness.”

I don’t deserve the affection of this woman, but I take it anyway, letting myself drown in the security of her strong embrace.

“I’m just so pleased my son has found a woman that makes him as happy as you do. You two are meant for each other. You have been right from the start.”

Lori wipes the tears from her eyes as she untangles herself from me and walks back to her seat. “Sit down, Ava,” she admonishes. “You look like a fool.”

Ava sits down hard. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is slightly ajar. “You’re married?” This time she says it more as a whisper.

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