Page 51 of Endlessly Yours
My mom moved to my side, hands clenched in front of her. “Oh damn. I am so sorry, Brooks. I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t, nobody knew.” I cleared my throat and looked at my family members, who happened to still be in the room. “I’ve got to go. But seriously? I’m seeing Rory. Please stop setting me up on dates. Please stop making it weird. Because it’s already hard enough,” I growled, realizing that I didn’t usually share my thoughts or feelings, and I didn’t really feel like doing it right now. But I’d seen the hurt on Rory’s face, and I had to wonder what exactly she had seen before I had noticed her.
Lauren waved slightly and I knew she had to be feeling so far out of the loop it wasn’t even funny. “If it helps, I truly came here because I love your parents and Wilder Wines, so I’m not going to make it weird. If you need me to talk to her to let her know that I’ve literally spoken six sentences to you, I will.”
I snorted, wondering why the hell this was my life before I turned and ran. The others all spoke at once, but I ignored them, knowing I needed to find Rory. I didn’t know what I felt for Rory other than I had made a promise. And I wasn’t about to fuck this up. And that meant I needed to make sure that I hadn’t just pushed away the one woman who could stand me after all these years.
CHAPTER TEN
RORY
There was an odd echoing sound between my ears, but I ignored it. Perhaps it wasn’t an echo, a buzzing? I wasn’t sure, but I was going to pretend it didn’t exist while I quickly went through the evening’s chores and checklists.
The drive back to the house from the Wilder property had been awkward, mostly because even Alice had noticed the tension.
I had done all in my power to pretend that I wasn’t breaking inside, wondering how stupid I could possibly be. It wasn’t as if we had said we were exclusive. Or had we? I had thought maybe we had. He had been territorial and demanding, but maybe that was just how Brooks was. And I had read too much into it. Just like I always did. And frankly, I didn’t have time to even worry about men. I had two girls who needed me, a job that was overwhelming because I was slightly behind, and a future that was so grayed out that I wasn’t even sure how I was supposed to function.
So, in the end, I didn’t need to worry about anyone else, but wondering what the heck I was going to do.
At least when it came to my family.
Because the girls and I were family. We were the only ones left, and though that was a kick in the gut, I was just going to focus on what I could handle. Even though I wasn’t sure I could even handle this.
“Can we have ice cream?” Alice asked as she bounced on her toes.
I shook my head. “You had ice cream at the restaurant. Remember?” I reminded, trying to keep my voice light. Alice, though, kept staring at my face, and I knew she was searching for something. Maybe answers? Well, it wasn’t as if I could give them to her. I barely had them for myself.
“It was really good ice cream.”
My lips twitched. “Better than what we have. They make it fresh.”
“Why didn’t we stay? I thought that they were your friends,” Cameron asked, frowning at me.
I played with the hem of my sleeve and shrugged.
“It was a family thing, and we have things to do. Plus, you guys have school tomorrow. In other words, we should get ready for bed. Go brush your teeth and your hair, and I will be upstairs to help tuck you guys in soon.”
“I don’t need to be tucked in. And it didn’t look like all family. I didn’t recognize that one woman.”
I met Cameron’s gaze and tilted my head, studying her. “We had to come home anyway. It’s fine,” I lied.
Because that woman wasn’t family. And she had her hands on Brooks. Perhaps I was the idiot, or perhaps it was something I would have to deal with later. But not with a child who wasn’t even a teenager yet.
“Is Brooks going to come by tomorrow? I really like him. He promised that he would help me figure out if I want to do soccer or football,” Alice said with a grin.
“Girls don’t do football,” Cameron snapped.
At the sound of Brooks’s name, I ran my hand over my heart.
“First, girls can totally play football. Especially in this area. There’s a whole team for it, and if that’s what Alice wants to do, or if that’s something you want to do, Cameron, you can. Second, I don’t know if Brooks is coming over, but we can go over everything that you’d like to do. Both of you. We have another week until we have to finalize signing up for teams because we’re new in town. I will make sure that you guys can do everything that we possibly can, but please know that I’m just one person, and I’m going to try to get you everywhere.”
“I’m just really excited to play and make new friends,” Alice said as she wrapped her arms around me.
Cameron didn’t say anything.
The doorbell rang, and Cameron met my gaze, an odd sense of fear in her eyes.
I didn’t understand it for a moment, until it clicked.
