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“You’ve met him before. Remember? He came home for winter break one year while we were dating,” I told her quickly.
“Well, yes, but you were just dating then. Now you’re married. And a lot of time has passed since then. He’s your husband now. My son-in-law. I want to meet him. Have a proper family dinner, you know,” she suggested. Her worry was swiftly turning into excitement, which was an improvement, but still more than I cared to deal with at the moment. Then my phone beeped, informing me that I had another call coming in, this time from Beverly.
“Look, can I call you back? Beverly is calling me,” I pleaded.
“What? But we just started talking.”
“I know, I know, but Beverly has called me a jillion times and I need to tell her what’s going on. She’s worried, too, I think,” I admitted. God, I felt like such a jerk.
“Fine. Go answer her. But you have to call me back, Haley,” she sighed.
“Okay. Got it. I will. Love you, Mom. Bye,” I told her hastily. I clicked the other line to answer the new call. “Beverly. Hi.”
“What the hell, Haley?” she demanded.
“I know.”
“Do you? Do you know?” Beverly exclaimed. “You got married? To Chase freakin’ Hawthorne of all people, and you didn’t think it was necessary to call me and let me know?”
“Look, I just got this same lecture from my mother,” I groaned, sitting down on the bed.
“I’m sure you did. She’s been pestering me for more information but I didn’t know what to tell her. So, it’s true? You really did get married to Chase?” she asked.
“Yeah. It’s true,” I confessed.
Beverly whistled. “Wow. That is… insane. How did that even happen? Didn’t he, like, super break your heart in college?”
“Yes. Yes, he did,” I confirmed. “I kind of wish people would stop bringing that up.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Haley? I could’ve been the best maid of honor ever.”
I smiled. “I know. You would have. But it happened so quickly. We just couldn’t wait to have a normal wedding. We wanted to be together immediately,” I told her, hoping she wouldn’t press the issue.
“I can’t decide if that’s crazy or romantic.”
“How about both?” I suggested.
She laughed. “Sure. Both. Well, I can’t say I’m not still a little pissed that I had to find out about my best friend’s wedding from the Internet, but congratulations. If you’re happy, I’m happy. You are happy, right?”
“Yes. Very happy,” I agreed hastily.
“Damn. The new Mrs. Chase Hawthorne. Who would’ve thought it?” she mused.
“You’re telling me. It still hasn’t totally sunken in yet,” I told her honestly.
“You’ll get there,” she assured me. I hoped she was right. “Anyway, I’m sure you have a honeymoon or something you’re supposed to be jetting off to right now, so I won’t hold you up too long.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I agreed. “I’ll talk to you later and give you more details, okay?”
“You better!” she laughed. We hung up, and I sat on the bed, staring off into space.
My heart sank even lower. It was hitting me just how abnormal this marriage was. Of course we didn’t have a honeymoon. This marriage was all about business. It was just a deal, nothing more. One year of pretending and it would be over. But everyone around me was ecstatic, making a huge deal out of it. I wondered how long the guilt would eat away at me. If it was going to feel like such a painful lie the whole time, then this was going to be one long year.
19
Chase
“I don’t care what the previous interior designer thought a modern presidential suite looked like, I’m bringing in someone I know,” I informed one of my contacts over the phone as I climbed into my private jet.
