“We’re practically family. And I’m older than you.”
I rolled my eyes with a snort. “By a little over a year. We grew up together, but we’re not family in that sense, Addi. We’re not related in any way.” I grabbed her hands. “Don’t overthink this. We’re perfect for each other.”
She shook her head. “I need time to think.”
That was never a good thing. Addi would think and analyze to the point we would never have a chance. She would talk herself out of this. Out of me.
In desperation, I went to Sandy—the adoptive grandmother of all of us. She had been the assistant to our fathers, her role growing and adapting as the years went by. She became their nucleus and had been part of our world our entire lives.
I confessed everything to her. My feelings. Addi’s sudden hesitance and worry.
“Am I wrong, Nan? Am I wrong to have these feelings for her?”
She studied me. “Wrong? No. But have you thought of all the implications if this doesn’t work out?”
“It will,” I insisted. “Addi is mine. She always has been.”
She smiled. “You sound just like your father.”
“I know I’m young, but I see my whole life with her. As soon as I kissed her, I knew.” I lifted my shoulder. “Maybe even before.”
“What do you need, Brayden?”
“You know how she gets. Stubborn. She’ll overthink and decide the risks are too great. She’ll push me away.”
“You want me to talk to her?”
“She’ll listen to you, Nan. She always does.”
I waited for two days. I was sitting on the rocks, watching the sun sparkle on the water. Addi lowered herself beside me.
“Hey.”
I peered at her warily. “Hi.”
“Nan called me over. We talked for a long time.”
“And?”
She slipped her hand into mine. “Forgive me. I panicked.”
Relief tore through me. “So, we’re good?”
“She said a year was nothing, and I was being foolish.”
“She’s right.”
“She told me she isn’t shocked by this ‘development’—” Addi used her fingers to make the quotations “—and that we’re both more mature than most kids our age. She told me sometimes we’re lucky and find our soul mates early. That what was important was how we felt, not what others would think.”
“Ah,” I murmured, hope beckoning.
“She told me to look in my heart.” Addi squeezed my fingers. “She said that was where my future was, not in my head.”
“Nan is a wise woman.”
“I want to try.”
“Then let’s do it.”After talking to Addi and letting it settle for a few days, I spoke to my parents. It was a surprisingly short conversation. They weren’t shocked, telling me they had seen it long before I did.
“We were waiting for you to make up your mind,” my mother told me, cupping my face. “Your head had to catch up to your heart.”
My dad had asked some good questions but informed me he wasn’t really surprised about my feelings for Addi.
“You two have always had a bond.” He paused. “But you need to come clean with Bent,” he stated.
“I am. Tomorrow.”
The next day, I paid a visit to Uncle Bentley and Auntie Emmy. My dad came with me for moral support.
Addi was sitting with her parents on their deck, drinking coffee, when my dad and I approached. I sat beside her, my hand finding hers under the table and squeezing her fingers. I swallowed nervously then met Uncle Bent’s eyes. His expression was stern, his brow furrowed as he looked between us. Then he spoke.
“You are aware the table is glass and I can see that,” he said, indicating our clasped hands.
I glanced down then began to laugh. I had forgotten that fact. Addi joined in my laughter, and I relaxed when the adults did as well.
“So, you’re together now?” Emmy asked, smiling at us.
“Yes.”
“Have you thought this out? What will happen if this doesn’t work?” Bentley asked. “How it will affect everyone around you?”
My dad and Nan had asked the same question, so I wasn’t surprised to hear him ask it as well. I drew in a deep breath before I responded.
“I’m young, Uncle Bent, not stupid. We talked about that. But it’s not going to happen.” I met his serious gaze. “Addi is it for me.”
“You’re sixteen. She’s a year ahead of you. What happens when she goes to university and you’re still in high school?”
I shook my head. “I’m in advanced classes, Uncle Bent. I’ll be going with her. And if we choose different schools, we’ll figure it out.” I didn’t bother to tell him we already knew we would be going together.
Addi leaned forward. “You tell me all the time I’m like mom—young in years with an old soul.”
Uncle Bentley’s gaze grew warm, softening his stern look. “You are,” he admitted.
“So is Brayden,” my dad pointed out. “Come on, Bent, we always said this was going to happen. They’ve always been entwined. You can’t possibly be surprised. It was inevitable.”