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“It’s my last night with them, Liam. My aunts and uncles and cousins. I love them, but they come in a package deal with my mother, and if I’m done with her forever after tonight, I probably won’t see them all in one room again. So it’s my goodbye. They don’t know it, but that’s what it is.”
“If you’re done with your family, does that mean we can come out with the truth?” Liam asked, his eyes hopeful but cautious. “Does that mean I can tell the world that I’m with Sasha Blakely? That I’m in love with her, and that I would do any fucking thing in the world for her?”
I wet my lips, thinking of Riley. Not just Riley, but her divorce. “Yes, it means that. But not quite yet.”
“For Christ’s sake, Sasha.”
“It’s going to happen. It just needs to happen at the right time.” I knew he wanted to argue so I drew in a deep breath. “Riley’s getting a divorce,” I exhaled. “She’s sensitive now. She went through a lot yesterday, too, and I honestly don’t know right now where her relationship with our mother stands, so for her sake, we need to hold off. But only for a little bit, because I don’t think she can handle another bombshell just yet.” I took his hands in mine. “Beyond that, I need you to swear to me, Liam, that you won’t say anything to my mom tonight. I don’t want it to all come out tonight. I don’t want to punish my poor relatives who have been cooking all day with some crazy, horrible dinner. I just want tonight to pass so we can move on. Okay?”
Liam gazed down at me with a storm behind his eyes. But taking my hand, he pulled me to my feet and brought me onto his lap. “Okay,” he murmured, his hands cupping my thighs as he kissed me with a surprising sweetness – an ease I’d never felt before in my life. Draping my arms around his shoulders, I melted into him. I smiled against his lips as he grasped my waist and laid me down, kissing me on the bed I’d spent years fantasizing about him in. Under the weight of his strong body, I prayed that this was it – that this night would mark the start of an us that was drama-free, and so damned peaceful we’d have to think about nothing in the world but loving each other. It sounded like such a simple wish, but to me, it was like climbing a mountain.
I thanked God that we were finally halfway there.
* * *
I waited several minutes after Liam to go downstairs. When I did, I saw every one of my relatives already seated at the massive table, and my Aunt Karen immediately catching my eye with one of our looks. We always had an odd bond and a tendency to gossip without saying a word. It was usually with these wiggly-browed looks she’d shoot me throughout the night, and they were generally about someone who had had too much to drink. But tonight, it was about the hundred-twenty pound elephant at the table named Bree Dalton.
She was sitting next to Liam wearing a floral mini-dress and being flirty enough that Aunt Karen flashed me her most scandalous look to date. “Swear to God, she’s been trying to give him a handy under the table for the past ten minutes!” she muttered in my ear on her way to the kitchen for wine.
I snorted. Taking the seat next to Riley, I found myself directly across from Liam. Our eyes met in a tender moment that acknowledged what we had just spoken about in my room, but I averted my gaze when I saw Bree lean into him, her hand obviously sliding down to his knee.
“Poor guy,” Aunt Karen muttered in my ear as she came back. She was barely in her chair before she went ahead and said exactly what was on her mind. “So, Bree, right? Tell me – what’s going on here. You said you’re not the girlfriend, you’re not even dating, so who are you?”
“I… I don’t know. Pamela invited me,” Bree said, her cringe half a giggle.
“Pam – explain yourself. Why’d you take this poor girl away from her family on Thanksgiving? Don’t you think she has better places to be?”
As usual, my mother conveyed her distaste for the topic with silence. In a blue pantsuit and pearls, she responded with a dainty flick of the wrist, laying her napkin smooth over her lap. Across the table, I could actually feel Liam roll his eyes. To my left, Riley spoke up in a mock ladylike tone.
“Oh, you know how Mom meddles,” she said. “She needs to see people paired up. She feels threatened by those who can stand to be alone sometimes.”
“I’m sorry?” Mom shot daggers at Riley as my cousin Holly choked on her wine.
But as quickly as the drama started, it ended. I did my best to steer the topic into the harmless directions my family generally enjoyed, like football and movies and recent vacations. I wanted at least one decent conversation with every one of my relatives at the table, even if it meant passing the tongs or the wine to my mother every once in awhile. It wasn’t as if I made eye contact with her. After last night, I couldn’t, but I refused to let that get in the way of hearing about Aunt Karen’s trip to Iceland, or the baby my cousin, Matt, and his wife were soon adopting. For awhile, faking it wasn’t even that hard. I was almost enjoying myself fully – almost thinking about things besides Owen and Riley and the stress I’d just unleashed upon Liam.
But within a few hours, the tension made a swift return.
“Are you dating anyone yet, Sash?”
The question came from Holly. I tried not to blame her for it because at sixteen, she was obsessed with the romantic lives of others. Of course, it was the perfect question to hush the table with. I stretched my lips into a smile f
or her. “Not yet. You know, taking my time.” I couldn’t help the quickest glance in Liam’s direction. I had to bite back a grin when I caught the smirk on his lips.
“Well, when you find someone, you’ll know,” Aunt Karen said easily. “And he’ll probably be a million times better than Ethan what’s-his-name.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
The doubt came from Mom. And then there were crickets. I could practically hear the squeaky discomfort as everyone turned their heads just a bit to peer at her. “Jesus Christ. What does that mean?” Aunt Karen finally asked.
“Exactly what it sounds like, Karen,” Mom said plainly. Tensing, my eyes went to Liam, trying to make sure he was still as easy and relaxed as he was a second ago. But that smirking expression was gone. His jaw was tight as a bow now, and he stared hard at nothing in particular. I knew he was working tirelessly to keep his gaze from Mom. I knew he was keeping himself away from the temptation of saying something. I felt awful for whatever I was putting him through, so I forced a laugh and tried to keep the chatter moving again.
“Anyway, we don’t have to talk about this...”
“Yeah, let’s not,” Aunt Karen said shooting Mom a stern look. She let herself boil in her own anger for a second, but when it stayed quiet for another two seconds, Aunt Karen clapped her hands. “You know what – I think everyone needs a little more wine. Let the kids try a sip, too. Better to drink at home, right? Come on.” She let out that boisterous laugh of hers, and I had to crack a grin despite feeling uneasy. Riley was an unpredictable block of tension next to me and across the table, I couldn’t guess what Liam was thinking. Suddenly, I was wondering if a last night with my relatives was worth what felt like a ticking time bomb.
“I’ll go get more,” I volunteered the second Karen poured out the last few drops of white wine. I was barely in the kitchen before I heard Liam’s chair push out from the table. When I turned from the fridge, I found him coming toward me with intensity. Wordlessly, he took the bottles of wine from my hands and set them down on the counter.
“Let’s go,” he said. I closed my eyes and breathed out hard. “I mean it, Sasha. Let’s just go. Before it gets worse.”
