Page 41 of Between Now and Forever

His father barks out a laugh. “Yeah, so is Walmart.”

I blush.

“You’re embarrassing her and us, Lor,” Penn says in a stern voice, and I flush even hotter.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that she’s being so modest,” he says good-naturedly.

I look at Carter, who’s watching me so closely that I can feel the caress of his eyes. My core clenches, and I look away from him before I say something to embarrass myself.

“Wolfe is one of the largest construction companies in the country.”

“Thelargest,” his father amends.

“The largest,” I concur with a deprecating smile.

“I hear your father’s running for governor again.”

My father’s repeated attempts to win back the office his father held has become a joke. The snickers and public ridicule has only made him more determined to win. It’s the most important thing to him right now.

“Third time’s going to be the charm,” I say with a tight smile.

“So, Liz, are you like, the small-town princess?” Nadia asks.

I laugh at how ridiculous that sounds when held up against the truth.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because we think of everyone in terms of archetypes,” his mother interjects with a shrug. “It’s a hazard of being on a reality show for so long, you think about how you’d cast everyone you meet.”

I’m immediately intrigued. It’s been a long time since I spent time with people I don’t know. I wonder how they see me without my backstory for context.

“How would you cast me?” I ask.

Carter chimes in. “That’s easy. You’re totally the small-town princess. You’ve got a rich powerful father, and you're the beautiful, smart, charming daughter. You’ve probably got shelves that sag under the weight of your trophies and tiaras.”

I sputter a laugh at how off the mark it is.

“And, you’re not strung out, you have impeccable manners, and you’re not a diva. You’d be a dream for the show. Everyone loves girls like you. The guys would want to bewithyou.”

I gape at her.

Beautiful?

Smart?

Girls like me?

I set them straight.

“None of that is reality, but I’m going to say thank you. It’s my birthday tomorrow, and I’ve never looked a gift horse in the mouth,” I say happily.

They all wish me happy birthday, and for once, I think it just might be.

“You should spend the night. We’ll make you a celebratory breakfast in the morning. Hopefully, the water will have receded; that little bridge is completely flooded,” Penn says.

It’s still raining. I told James I’d be home when he woke up, so I could stay and leave at first light. But…I’ve never spent the night anywhere but at my house and his, and my makeup won’t hold all night.

I glance at Carter, and he’s looking at his mother like she just grew horns.

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