Page 20 of Sunset Serenade
Lillian tried to catch Rose’s eye, but she was watching Marty.
She spoke again. “No, it’s okay. You can go, but first tell me one thing.”
Marty nodded. “Anything.”
“How’d you both know you’d found the right partner?”
Marty crossed his arms. “Why are you asking that?”
“Oh, isthatall you need to know?” Emma laughed. “It’s hard to put into words.” She paused, looking up at Marty with a bemused smile. “I can tell you he’s a wonderful person, and that made it easy. But before I met him, I felt like…” Her voice trailed off. “This is kind of pathetic, but I felt like a burden. Like no one actually wanted to be with me.”
“That’ssonot true,” Marty said, turning to her. “Your ex was a terrible person, and that was the problem. You could never be a burden.”
Emma smiled and dropped her eyes. “See? The sweetest.”
“I’m not sweet.” He shook his head. “You’rethe sweet one, and you’re way too nice.”
“Ugh!” Lucy put her hand up. “Take your overly sweet butts hiking before you make me sick.”
Marty laughed and put his arm around Emma. “Thank you!”
Lillian felt Dustin grab her hand and she glanced up at him. He winked and butterflies took off in her stomach.
Rose waited until they were gone to speak again. “I didn’t realize Marty was proposing to Emma today. I wouldn’t have asked them to come.”
“What?” Lucy blurted out. “How do you know he’s proposing to her?”
Her mom gasped. “Do you really think so? That’s so wonderful.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Rose shrugged. “He’s being weird, he kept putting his hand in his pocket, and he’s worried about the time. Marty isneverworried about being on time. You can basically distract him at any moment with a piece of cake.”
Lillian frowned. “You have a point.”
“Why don’t we follow them on the hike so we can all enjoy the moment together?” Dustin suggested. “Jump out and yellsurprisewhen she says yes?”
Everyone laughed and took their seats at the table. Lillian wasn’t shocked Rose was the only one who knew what was going on with Marty. She picked up on everything – except when it came to her own relationships. There she was blinded, especially when it came to Greg.
Oh, Greg. Lillian didn’t hate the man. It wasn’t that simple. When he and Rose were together, it was fine. Rose was happy. She’d thought she’d foundThe One, that they’d graduate and get married and have a family.
Greg couldn’t see it, though, and any talks of the future scared him. When Rose had started asking questions about where things were going, he broke up with her in a panic. From then on, he refused to fully cut ties, instead insisting they were still friends.
Let’s stay friendsis one of the cruelest sentences in the English language. What good is friendship after a life-altering love? It’s the hollow chocolate Easter bunny of relationships.
Rose didn’t need him to be her friend. She needed him to make up his mind whether he wanted to be with her or not.
But Greg couldn’t make up his mind. He couldn’t decide if they should be long distance, then he couldn’t decide if they should date once she moved to San Francisco, andthenhe couldn’t decide if he was the marrying type at all.
He’d pulled poor Rose along for years, promising her this and that. It wasn’t malicious, but it was exceptionally self-absorbed. It was alwayswhat does Greg want, what does Greg need?
It was the one thing Rose couldn’t see. Her nature was to set herself on fire to keep others warm, and Greg was happy to keep her nearby.
Lillian’s hope was that maybe, justmaybe, this job would help her see the light.
Rose pulled out a notebook and a pink pen. “Thank you all for coming here today. Mom, is Chip busy?”
She shook her head. “He’s on his way. Just dealing with some hotel business.”
“Good.” Rose clicked her pen. “Since I’m going to start my formal matchmaking services next week, I thought it would be wise to talk to some actual couples about how they met, the challenges they had, and how they knew they’d found the right person.”
