Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Her brow creased. “I did text you to let you know I was on my way.”
“Sorry, I mustn’t have heard the phone chime,” I said, closing the door. “I had music playing while I packed.”
I padded into the living area, conscious of her following me. On the sofa, Gypsy—who was curled into a ball—lifted her head and let out a fussy little chirping sound at my mom. Vienna crossed straight to her, sat down, and began petting her while muttering sweet nothings.
I scratched my cheek. “Want a drink or anything?”
“Nah, I’m fine.” She glanced around. “No Alicia?”
I shook my head. “She went to grab us some takeout food.” Before that, she’d been helping me box up my things.
Crossing one leg over the other, Vienna smiled up at me. “You all set for tomorrow?”
“Yup.”
“Nervous?”
“No, but that’ll probably change in the morning.” I cocked my head. “So, what brings you here?” I asked, keeping my voice casual.
She reached into her purse. “I have something for you.”
Surprise flickered in my belly. “Oh, okay.” I walked to the sofa and sat beside her.
“As you know, I married your dad in Vegas and then we later held a reception in Redwater.” She held out a small, white box. “Your grams gave this to me for my wedding reception, and now I want to give it to you.”
Removing the lid, I felt my brows lift. It was a large safety-pin that sported four tiny charms—a horseshoe, a sixpence, a blue heart, and a photo frame. Inside the frame was a picture of my mom cradling a newborn-me while my dad hovered over us.
“Old, new, borrowed, and blue,” I uttered to myself, having seen other brides with similar pins.
“Yes. Obviously, the photo isn’t the same. The frame originally held one of me and Simon. I changed it for you.” She lightly touched the pin. “I clipped it to my bouquet. I thought you might like to clip it to yours.”
I licked my lips and met her gaze. “Thank you.”
“There was another thing your grams gave me at the exact same time she gifted me this pin.”
“What?”
“An apology.”
I double-blinked, straightening in my seat.
“You see, she found out after I’d married your dad that he’d needed a wife to access his trust fund—I won’t go into how she learned of it, it’s a long story,” Vienna added with a flick of her hand. “She rightly assumed that was why he married me, but she thought I didn’t know that; thought he’d tricked me into believing he loved me when, in fact, I was very aware he didn’t feel that way about me.”
It was genuinely hard to picture him not adoring my mother—she was his world.
“Because Melinda had doubted his feelings for me, she’d acted a little cold and stiff toward him for a time.” Vienna’s gaze dropped to the pin. “But the day she gave me this, she apologized; explained she’d reacted that way because she’d been terrified I’d be hurt … and that’s basically where I am with you now. I’m scared that this won’t work out the way you hope, but I shouldn’t have let that fear get in the way.”
Not liking the heap of guilt in her voice, I gave her arm a little squeeze. “It’s okay. I get why you did.”
“It’s not okay. With the exception of your sisters, we’ve all been a little pessimistic about you marrying Dax. I should have made more of an effort to be the opposite, because I know better than anyone that you can grow to love someone who you never expected would become important to you.”
“So you hadn’t cared for Dad when you married him?”
She gave her head a small shake, her mouth curving. “I liked him. I respected him. I thought he was too gorgeous for his own good. But I married him only as a favor, and I didn’t plan to be his wife for more than a year. That was our agreement. He hadn’t wanted any part of marriage back then.”
I would never have guessed he’d been so averse to it.
“I know it’s different with you and Dax. The marriage won’t be fake or temporary. You’re determined to make it work. But still, you’re going into this without the main ingredient that keeps couples together. That initially worried me. You were right that feelings can grow, though. Me and your dad are evidence of that—something I’ve repeatedly pointed out to him over the past week while pushing him to kick his overprotectiveness aside and give the marriage a chance.”
“But he’ll still walk me down the aisle looking like he’s chewing on a lemon,” I said, feeling my mouth kick up.
She sighed. “Probably. He’s not exactly pleasant in the best of circumstances.” She stroked a hand over my hair. “I’m sorry that I reacted the way I did initially. I’m sorry that I made this about how I felt rather than about how you felt.” She made a face. “I totally pulled a Melinda.”