Page 61 of Because You Loved Me

“Mom, I?—”

“I don’t want to hear about it?—”

“It’s Christmas.” Her father put a hand on each of their shoulders and stepped between them. “I don’t know if we need to talk about this right now. Why don’t we have a nice Christmas drink and we can all just be together right now? With everything that…” Her dad swallowed back his tears.

Noa’s chest ached with the knowledge that she’d brought any heartache to her parents at all after everything they’d already been through. She knew her mom was putting on a tough act to protect her heart, which was already so badly bruised. And that was the only thing that stopped her from offering a sharp retort in response.

Instead, she inhaled deeply and took a seat next to her grandmother, with her father in between and her mom across from her. It might not have been the best decision to have her in eyesight, but it felt safer than having her in arm’s reach.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Noa worked hard not to let her eyes drift to the hotel bar where Asher had retreated. She’d been overwhelmed with emotion the moment she’d seen her grandmother, but now that the moment had passed, she couldn’t help but think about Asher and their last few days.

“See?” Grandma Rose grabbed her arm. “You are absolutely glowing, my dear.”

Noa swallowed hard and wouldn’t meet her mother’s gaze. Not that it mattered.

“Why is that, Noa? Is there a reason that you are glowing after the last week, when any glow you have should be coming from being a brand-new wife?”

She had a few choices. And none of them were great. Still, Noa chose the lesser of two evils. “Mom, I know you’re upset with the way things went last week, but?—”

“I think Charles is right.” Grandma Rose jumped in. “We shouldn’t talk about this right now. The only important thing is that Noa is here and we’re all together.” She reached over, and Noa took her grandmother’s hand.

The moment she squeezed her grandmother’s hand, emotion rose up in her chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”

“We’re not talking about it right now.” Grandma Rose put her foot down. “I mean it.” She stared at each of them in turn. “Today is about family. No fighting today.”

Noa’s mom looked as though she might fire back, but swallowed hard before a word came out. “Okay,” she conceded. “But wewilltalk about this, Noa.”

“I would expect nothing less, Mother.” She forced a grin. “But for now….”

“For now, I just want to hear that you’re okay, sunshine.”

Grandma Rose smiled so sweetly that Noa almost cried. There was so much to tell and, at the same time, nothing she could say.

With her free hand, she reached for her necklace and rolled the golden rose between her fingers. “Of course I’m okay, Grandma. And I’m really sorry that I worried you. I really didn’t mean to. That wasn’t my intention. I just needed to?—”

“Worry us and waste all our money.”

“Janice. That’s enough.”

Noa smiled in her father’s direction.

“We said we weren’t going to talk about this right now, and we won’t. Let’s just enjoy our time with Noa while we?—”

“While she’s decided to grace us with her presence?” Janice jumped up from her chair. “I’m sorry. I know you told Ryan you wouldn’t make a scene about anything today. But I didn’t make that agreement.”

Ryan? An agreement?

“I have questions, and I think I deserve answers. We all do.” Janice focused her attention on her. “And it’s not just us who deserve answers, either. Ryan and his family have been so patient while you’re doing…” She waved her hand in a sporadic flip. “Whatever it is you’re doing. With whoever you’re doing it with. So yes, I think I deserve some answers, Noa. And I can’t sit here and pretend that everything is okay, because I’m just not capable of ignoring the elephant in the room.”

“Aren’t you?”

Noa regretted the words the moment they were out of her mouth. She watched her mother’s face contort into a mixture of shock, anger, and then finally sadness as she realized what Noa was referring to.

“Alessandra Briggs, that was just cruel.” Her mother shook her head. Worse than anything else she could have said, she pressed her lips together, and, without another word, turned and left.

For a moment, Noa considered going after her, but her father stopped her.

“Let her go.”

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