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I turn my whole body towards him. “What?”
“Gemma invited me and said that under no circumstances would I be excused from attending. I don’t take that woman’s threats lightly.”
I scowl. “That sneaky old biddy. I knew she was up to something. This is just…” I let my head fall on the back of thecouch. I’ve been dreading this party, and now it’s just gotten a hundred times worse.
“Hey.” Sean squeezes my knee. “What’s wrong?”
“Um…spending the evening in the same room as my mother with whoever else is there is bad enough, but now, assuming you’re not going to risk getting raked over the coals by my grandmother, you’re going to get a front-row seat to the most uncomfortable and likely humiliating interaction of my life.”
His hand slides higher on my thigh, comforting my growing anxiety.
“Why?” His voice is gentle and soothing.
I peek at him from the corner of my eye. “You’ve kind of met my mother. I’m sure you have an idea. Plus…” I roll my head towards him. “I’m taking Ax. Maybe I shouldn’t, but it’s Gem’s birthday, and he’s my life. If they don’t want to acknowledge him, that’s their problem. It’s embarrassing and–”
“Hey.” He swings his arm up on the couch behind me so he can turn toward me. “I don’t want you to ever be embarrassed about anything with me.” I search his way too handsome face and see his honesty. “If you really don’t want me to go, I’ll risk Gemma’s wrath.”
That’s not what I want. I know Sean would never judge me because of my parents’ actions. He showed me that the day my mom showed up here, and he interrupted her verbal beat down to ask if I was ok. I know how they’ll ignore Axel and try to make me feel small for the decisions I’ve made. Her behavior is inconceivable, and it’s embarrassing.
I know Gem has good intentions and thinks getting them in the same room with Ax will change things. I know she probably invited Sean, thinking it would help me, but this is not how I want it to be. I don’t need her meddling with my parents or with Sean.
I grab his hand off the couch behind me and hold it. His fingers are rough with callouses, and there are a few small scrapes across his knuckles. “I want you to go, but I don’t want you to go because Gem invited you.” I look at him, and all that goodness underneath the muscle. “I want you to go with me. It’s going to suck and be really hard, and I’m absolutely dreading it, but if you’re there, it won’t be so bad.”
He laces his fingers with mine. “Then I’ll be there.”
“She’s not going to be nice,” I warn.
He smiles, pulling me closer, and I curl into him and rest my head on his chest. “I’m not afraid of bullies. I’ve dealt with my fair share.”
“Will you beat her up when she starts rambling on about all my poor life choices and how it’s time for me to get my life together before it’s too late?” His arm comes around me, his hand spreading across on my hip. He feels safe and warm and smells so freaking good. A smell I’m becoming more and more familiar with, and I like it so much.
“I don’t hit women, but I certainly won’t stand for her talking to you even close to the way she did that day she was here or ignoring Ax.”
“If it weren’t Gem, I wouldn’t be going.”
“It won’t be so bad. We’ll get tacos afterward.”
I smile against him. “Really?”
His fingers press into my hip, holding me tighter. “It’s all going to be alright. You don’t have to deal with them alone this time.”
I don’t have to do it alone this time. I can’t remember the last time that was true, and it feels really, really good.
Chapter 42
ANDIE
Nora’s newly dyed fuschia hair makes her light brown eyes look like little golden rings, and those rings dance around the small space, afraid to look at me.
We’re meeting at the coffee shop to finalize our marketing plan for my album release. But first, I need to address these secret party plans with Gem.
“Nora, I want to know what you were thinking when you decided not to talk her out of this. This is going to be an absolute nightmare, and now Sean will be witness to it.”
“But now he’s going because you want him to, not because Gem threatened him,” she points out delicately like it changes everything.
I roll my eyes. “Yes, I want him there, but it doesn’t change that this didn’t have to happen. I need to figure things out with Sean all on my own. I don’t need Gem or you sticking your noses in, and she knows there’s no making things better with my parents.”
She straightens in the chair across from me. “She’s just trying to help. Gem knows your mom is a narcissistic twit, and your dad is uninvolved and aloof. She has her own issues with them, but she doesn’t want you to be alone when she’s not here anymore.”
