Page 109 of Forever Yours

“April, the lasagna is getting cold.”

“Not hungry.” She sat back down on the bed, petulance oozing off her.

Mom opened the door wider, making it clear April was to leave. “I need to speak with Elijah in private, please.”

April looked over at me before relenting, and like the still seventeen-year-old she was, she sulked past Mom, grumbling irritably under her breath, “Don’t know why Dad’s marrying you since he’s going to cheat on you within a month of saying ‘I do.’”

But I heard her, and so did Mom, based on her squinted eyes and pinched lips.

Shutting the door, Mom turned to me and sighed.

“That girl has been nothing but attitude.”

“I like her.”

Mom flicked her gaze over me. “You look… well.”

She had already said that a few minutes ago.

Playing along with the niceties, I replied, “I’ve been running every morning and swimming every day. I have a job at the CU natatorium training athletes in aquatherapy.”

She wasn’t paying attention. She was looking everywhere else other than at me.

“How’s your father?”

There was something close to regret in her voice that caught me off guard.

I couldn’t help myself. “He’s happy. He started dating. She’s very nice.And young.”

Mom looked stricken. Her hand fluttered at her throat again. “That’s… he didn’t say anything the last time we spoke.”

“Why would he?” I snapped, defensive of Dad.

It was none of her damn business. She chose to leave. She broke his heart, not once, but twice. She was getting married to another man and had moved on. She was also being a hypocrite, seeing as she never told anyone about Brad or that she got engaged and moved to Charleston.

“I didn’t mean… I’m sure she’s lovely.”

Her heels clacked against the wood floor as she walked over to the suit bag hanging on the closet door. Without my permission, she unzipped it and inspected the contents.

Fingering the material of the jacket, she said, “At least you brought a decent suit to wear.”

“It’s Julien’s.”

“Who’s Julien?”

Didn’t matter that she had met Julien a few times when she had come back to live with Dad and me in the months before she walked away for good that New Year’s Eve.

“My boyfriend.”

She spun around, overly mascaraed eyes bulging with surprise. “Gabriela didn’t say anything about you bringing someone to the wedding. The seating has already been arranged.”

“He can sit in my lap,” I replied with a bite of sarcasm, getting pissed.

Mouth pursed, she said between gritted teeth, “Youare notgoing to embarrass me at my wedding by parading around your… your…” Her hand waved around furiously as she tried to come up with the word.

“Boyfriend.”

Mom stomped her heel on the floor. “No. Absolutely not. I will not allow it. Tomorrow ismyday.Mywedding. How dare you do this to me?”

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