By the time I got to my car and pulled out my phone, I was mentally exhausted. The last thing I wanted to see was a text from my mother asking me to dinner. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep for two days. But we had cancelled Sunday night dinner last weekend, so I guess this was my mother’s way of making up for it.
Mom: Dinner tonight? Noah will be here with Amy.
Sighing, I dropped my head back onto the seat of my car. I wasn’t sure why I felt this way. I loved dinner at my folks’ house, and I adored Amy. Plus, I hadn’t seen Noah in about a week or so.
I pulled up Landon’s number and hit Call.
“Hey there, beautiful. How did the venue search go?”
“Ugh. They picked the very last one, of course. But not before I had to talk the bride off of a bridge.”
Landon laughed. “I’m almost done here at the shop. We’ve been going and blowing all day; want to come over and we can order takeout?”
Lately we had been spending more time at Landon’s place than my own. So much so that Lady was now camped out at Landon’s and loving the dog door he’d installed for her spoiled ass. She had free rein, going in and out of the house all day. Next to where Landon worked, I had set up a small space with my laptop and a few other things I needed. I had a drawer in his dresser, a second set of toiletries that were now housed around the larger sink in Landon’s bathroom, and my dog had her own container of food just for Landon’s house. I had practically moved in with him.
“That sounds amazing, but my mom asked me to come over for dinner. Noah and Amy will be there.”
“Okay, not a big deal. I’ll order pizza or something.”
For some reason, him saying that made my chest ache. I was tired of not showing my affection for Landon in front of our families. I was tired of worrying about which lie I was going to mess up. I was tired of pretending.
“I want you to come to dinner with me.”
“Yeah, you gonna miss me?”
I could hear the smile in his voice and that made me smile. “I do miss you, and, well…I want to tell my parents the truth. I mean, about us. I want to tell them we’re dating.”
Landon remained silent for a moment. “Are you sure, Emme?”
“Do you not want to?”
“No! I mean, yes! Fuck, I want to shout from the rooftops that I’m in love with you.”
Heat radiated through my chest, and I was breathless for a moment. “I want to do that too.”
“Then let’s do it. Let’s tell your folks, and then we can swing up and tell mine.”
I giggled. “Okay! All I want to do is tell everyone how much you mean to me, and how happy I’ve been these last few weeks. They’re going to be over the moon!”
Landon laughed. “I also think they’ll be happy about it, baby.”
I swooned at his endearment, and then we made plans to meet up and go to my folks’ together.
Landon
EMMERSON HELD MY hand as we drove down the long drive that led to our folks’ place. When she had texted her mom that I would be joining dinner, it soon became a two-family dinner, with my folks and Hailey coming as well.
I heard honking from behind me, and I looked in the rearview mirror to see Hailey in her black Toyota Camry. I lifted my hand and waved, but she kept honking. Then she started to flash her lights at me.
“Geesh, how fast does she want me to go down the drive?” I asked as Emmerson looked back at my sister.
“She’s passing you!” Emmerson laughed. She turned to face the front again—only to scream when Hailey slammed on her brakes.
I stopped in barely enough time. Pushing my truck into Park, I jumped out as Hailey got out of her car. Emmerson was right behind me.
“What in the hell, Hail! Why did you do that?”
“I’ve been trying to call you both! Why are neither one of you answering your phones?” Hailey asked, her hands placed firmly on her hips.
Emmerson shook her head. “Mine must be on silent.”
“Mine too. Why, what’s wrong?” I asked.
Hailey closed her eyes, took in a long, deep breath, and then pushed it out and immediately started panic talking. “It’s Mike. He’s gone off the deep end and has been begging me to take him back. Last week, he threatened to expose your fake engagement unless we got back together. I told him to go ahead, but I figured he was bluffing. But then today, he called and was so upset on the phone. He was crying, and I could hardly understand a word he was saying and he…” She paused only long enough to drag in a quick breath. “He kept saying how sorry he was and to please forgive him—”