Page 87 of I Love You, So What?

Even though I’m getting what I want, I hate that she has to do this. I want to reassure her that he’ll be okay, but that feels like a lie. If the roles were reversed, I would be anythingbutokay realizing I lost the girl curled up against me again. “I wish I knew what to say right now.”

“It’s okay. What you said helps. Thank you.” She pulls back and kisses me before sliding back to her seat.

“Where are we going?” Maci questions as we pull onto my parents’ street. We have four more hours until she has to be at the rehearsal dinner, and I don’t want to wait any longer. I park my truck in the driveway of the midnight blue house that mirrors the sage green one next to it.

She leans toward the dash, peering at the house through the windshield.

“There’s someone I want you to meet.” The memory of Maci telling me how much she wanted to meet my mom when we were together the first time floods my mind. Mom all but begged me back then. It seems like that was both last week and a lifetime ago. I’m not messing anything up this time around.

Maci immediately knows where we are and hops out of my truck before I can even open the door for her. She takes off, doing some cute half-walk, half-skip to the front door and knocking. I can’t help but laugh at her impatience. By the time I reach her, she’s rocking back and forth on her heels, waiting for my mom to answer the door.

“You can just go in,” I say, reaching for the handle.

Maci slaps my hand. “Don’t you ruin this moment for me. I’ve been waiting for this forever.” Right as her head turns to look at me with a grin, the front door opens, Mom’s eyes bounce between the two of us.

Maci’s eyes snap forward in time to see my mom’s hands fly to her mouth in surprise. I stopped by to see my parents yesterday, but I didn’t warn them I’d potentially be back today. I didn’t want to get Mom’s hopes up.

“Hi, I’m–” Maci’s peppy greeting is cut off by Mom.

“Maci! I know who you are, sweetie.” She barely gets the words out before she’s wrapping my girlfriend in a hug under the door frame. I lean against the wood paneled wall of our front entrance watching the scene when my mom’s tear-filled eyes meet mine. Her happiness radiates off her as she takes in this moment. Only she and Marcus know its significance.

When they finally part, Maci looks back at me, her eyes watery again. I push off the wall and pull her into a side hug, her head falling to my shoulder, and she wraps her arm around my waist.

Sensing we need a moment alone, my mom says, “I’ll go get lunch started. If you two can stay?”

I nod, and she heads to the kitchen, leaving the door open for us to follow her when we’re ready.

“You’ve never introduced anyone to your mom before,” Maci states.

“Oh, that was me introducing you?” I laugh. She hits my chest playfully before shifting into my arms. “Okay, okay. In all seriousness, I’m sorry it took me so long. I know you’ve been worried our relationship won’t be as strong in the real world, or whatever you want to call it. I’m going to prove to you it can be even better. No holding back this time. Wherever we are in the world, you are my world, Maci. I love you.” I tuck a stray strand of fallen hair from her messy bun behind her ear, the three words flowing out of me in a way that makes it hard to believe I was ever hesitant to say them.

She smiles as she leans into a hug, and I kiss the top of her head before pulling her inside.

MACK

“Ican’ttellyouhow much it means to me that you’re here,” Avery says as she floats into her room where I’m waiting to trial run her walk down the makeshift aisle in the backyard. As far as I know, the rest of the wedding party is already outside in their places—which means Maci will be waiting for us by the altar. When I returned to the house, I made a beeline for Avery’s room. I want so badly to run to her right now. Knowing she’s so close makes me unsure if I can wait another minute not knowing. But even though it'stheday, it’s also Avery’s day, and I refuse to take away from that–if I can help it.

I wrap my arms around my sister in a hug. “I’m sorry Mom and Dad aren’t here for this.” I pull away as I finish my thought, focusing on keeping my anger contained. We don’t have any sort of contact info for Mom, but Avery sent an invitation to Dad. He never acknowledged it.

“I have everyone I need.” Her smile is bright and believable. “Okay, glad that’s out of the way too. You better not cry when you give me away tomorrow. I’ll kick your ass if you’re the reason my makeup is ruined.”

“No promises, Sis.”

“Uhhh, we just agreed to all the emotions going on hold tomorrow, so figure it out, dude.”

I shake my head with a grin. “Fine,” I lie, knowing I’ll probably be a wreck from how happy I am that my sister found the husband she deserves. “Are you ready?” I ask, as she loops her arm through mine.

“Yes!”

We make our way down the hall, veering into the kitchen at the end. The sliding back door is open, but I pause when we reach it. The sudden stop jerks Avery back slightly. She turns toward me, her hand reaching to squeeze my arm. “Maybe we should have had a better plan,” she whispers. “We can have dinner first, if you want. Then finish rehearsal?”

I wonder if all siblings have each other’s backs the way we do, or if it's special to us since we never had parents in our corner. Whatever happens, I’ll get through it. “Nope. Whether I talk to her now or later, her decision will be the same.” I take a breath. “I’m good.”

The look on her face tells me she doesn’t believe me. I don’t believe me either. I told Maci I wanted us to make sure we don’t take moments away from Avery and Miller. That’s what’s keeping my hope up despite her not coming to find me as soon as she got here.

I tell myself I’ll stay focused for the next five minutes, but my eyes betray me, wandering to Maci the second we are in the backyard. She’s standing near the fence wearing a sundress I’ve never seen before that’s fluttering in the light breeze.

Avery and I take slow steps toward Miller and their friends, and the closer we get, the more clearly Maci comes into view. She looks like the same Maci I’ve always known, besides the golden glow of her skin that’s darker than it’s ever been.

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