Page 84 of Wood Riddance
Adele
Ihad a secret hookup. Or was he a fuck buddy? No. He was so much more than that. A secret lover? Ha, this wasn’t a bodice-ripper. Secret boyfriend, maybe? Other than nixing the termgirlfriend, we hadn’t defined our relationship, and I wasn’t very clear on the details. Regardless, it was surprisingly fun.
A torrid, secret affair sounded exhausting, but what we had going on was hot. Sneaking around with Finn wasn’t just sexy; it was the most fun I’d had in a long time.
So much fun, in fact, that I was strategizing a way to escape family dinner as soon as possible so I could meet up with him. I had skipped last week, and my mom tended to get nosy and ask questions when one of us missed too many, so my best defense tonight was to show up.
In my pocket, my phone vibrated. Discreetly, I tilted forward and slid it out, but I kept it in my lap.
Stretch: I have a surprise for you.
Adele: ??? Better be good. Hoping to get out of here soon.
Stretch: You want me waiting for you? Naked?
Adele: Not waiting. Vacuuming or doing something useful. But naked. You know how much cleaning turns me on.
Stretch: Yes, my Virgo queen.
“Would that be nice?” my mom said, her voice so pinched my head snapped up in response.
I knew that tone. I knew it well. Shit. My entire family was staring at me. Heat bloomed in my cheeks, which meant they were probably bright red. Had they caught on to my little dalliance? Why was I suddenly the center of attention?
My mother eyed me while plating a third slice of pie for Tucker. “Adele, what do you think?”
Shit. She was calling me out. There was nothing to do but smile and wait for one of my siblings to fill in the blanks. They weren’t great at staying quiet, so I had no doubt I’d be out of the hot seat in a minute.
“We were talking about Thanksgiving,” my mother hinted, with a fake smile plastered across her face. Oh no. We could not be doing this again. “Alice offered to host.”
Across the table, my sister-in-law was smiling serenely. Since joining the family two years ago, Alice routinely offered to host holidays, and my mother always politely declined. Did Alicestillnot understand that Loraine Gagnon lived for holidays? And that if she insisted on taking over, my mother would probably lose both her mind and her will to live?
Sitting beside his wife, Henri was oblivious. He had already turned away and was deep in conversation with Remy, clearly not keeping his wife in line. I adored Alice, and so did my mother, who worked with her at the school every day. But she did not know the kind of strife she was creating.
“Thanksgiving is so far away,” I said lamely. Not sure how to deflect. Being caught off guard meant I was off my game. I shot a glare at Hazel, who looked like a deer in the headlights, and then my gaze settled on Parker.
She gave me a subtle nod, silently signaling that she’d help. The woman routinely took down criminals. She could deescalate the monthly holiday hosting dispute.
“Actually,” Parker said, grabbing Paz’s. “We have big news.”
Paz leaned over and gave her a kiss on the temple. It was a gesture I thought my brother incapable of before he met Parker. “Brace yourself, Mom.”
The crickets chirping outside the screen door only emphasized the anticipation growing as we all waited with bated breath for what they had to share.
“We’re pregnant!” Parker said after an unfairly long pause.
The entire table erupted into chaos. Squealing (my mom and Goldie), questions (Henri and Tucker), and hugs (Hazel and Remy and Alice).
“Guys, please,” Paz said, holding out his arms and gesturing for everyone to sit.
My heart stuttered and my stomach did a weird flip. My best friend and my brother were having a baby. I’d have a new niece or nephew soon. Damn. It took a minute to register the emotion that had washed over me, but when I did, I couldn’t help the smile that split my face.
My mom immediately pulled out her phone and snapped photos. Tucker was already concocting a plan to place bets on whether it was a girl or a boy. Everyone was talking all at once, and across from me, my friend was truly glowing. I was surrounded by so much joy and happiness that my chest ached. Though a twinge of sadness hit, too, because Finn wasn’t here with me. What would it be like if he were sitting at the table with my family? Would he fit in with the crowd seamlessly like Alice and Hazel and Parker had? We had the room—my parents had purchased this table long ago with our future families in mind—and I wanted to believe my family had room in their hearts for him too.
But what if they didn’t?
My family was my whole world. These people right here were everything to me. And being with Finn could tear us apart. Right now, what we had was light and fun and sexy, but he’d been clear about wanting more. Only, what if more simply wasn’t possible?
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