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Chapter Twenty
“So, Natalie and I are dating,”I announced at dinner with my parents the next night. Wyatt and Gretchen were absent again, which was a huge relief this time.I didn’t want Wyatt trying to get into my head again.
“Yes, we know,” my mom said, smiling at me as she cut into her pork chop.
“Oh. Wyatt told you,” I said. I wondered what other comments he’d added.
“Well, Wyatt, and about ten other people. It’s not like you were hiding anywhere,” she said. I mean, true. She did literally kiss me in my office where several of my family members worked.
“Oh,” I said.
“We think it’s wonderful, don’t we?” Mom said, nudging Dad, who had been too busy focusing on his baked potato.
“Yes, right,” he said. Guess that was as good as it was going to get.
“Great,” I said. “We’re really happy.” I felt like I had to add that.
“Good. That’s all I want for you,” Mom said. I got up and gave her a rare hug.
That was as much as I could ask for from my parents. I was calling it a win.
* * *
That weekend was spentwith shells and glue fumes and resin and cursing when my ideas didn’t pan out the way I wanted them to. The thing in my head was always so different than what I ended up with. I was almost never satisfied with my pieces, which was why I had such a hard time selling them, even though I liked the income.
Something to work on.
Natalie came back from traipsing around with Gretchen and was completely exhausted.
“Want a drink?” I asked as she collapsed on the couch.
“Yes, please,” she said.
I pulled a can of her favorite seltzer out of the fridge and got one for myself.
“I made a suggestion that we just book the same place for both events and you would have thought I suggested having her wedding in a garbage pit,” Natalie said with a sigh as I handed her the drink and sat next to her on the couch.
“You’d probably get a discount if you did that,” I said.
“That’s what I said! But no. She’s got to have two places. Because they’re two very different events, didn’t you know that?” She closed her eyes. “I just can’t.”
Her eyes opened. “Enough of that drama, I see you got a lot done today.”
The place was an absolute wreck. I always made a mess when I was working on a project, and I had several in the works that I alternated between so I didn’t get bored.
“I swear, that lamp is going to be the death of me,” I said. “I fought with it all afternoon. The lamp won, for now.”
She laughed. “At least one of us had a productive day.”
“Do you think you can get out of sister duties tomorrow night? Linley wants us to hang out with her and Gray and Charlie. Esme has to work and Paige has a deadline, so they can’t be there,” I said.
“Yeah, I think I can do that. We only have to see two places tomorrow and they’re not that far away,” she said, sipping her drink. “I’ll see if I can move things along and I’ll just meet you at Linley’s if I have to.”
I texted Linley back that we’d be there and we were both excited to meet her cousin, even though I’d already met her.
“Should we bring her a present?” I asked. “I feel like we should, like, welcome her to Castleton.” Charlie had grown up in Maine, but over an hour away from Castleton, so she was new to town. No doubt the local singles were excited about some new blood, but it didn’t sound like she would be up for dating anytime soon, if she was at all.
“Good idea. I can look for something while I’m out with Gretchen,” she said.
