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“Easy, Mom.” Everly took a quick, steadying breath. “Megan sent me photos of him making out with Natasha Franco at a gala last night. When I confronted him about it, he basically tried to blame me.”
“No, he didn’t,” her mom spat.
“This whole thing sounds like something out of a soap opera. Natasha Franco, Mom. Like, couldn’t he have at least cheated on me with someone normal?”
“Everly Grace Cooper, I won’t listen to you put yourself down. It’s–”
“I know, Mom. You can calm down. I was making a joke. Sort of.”
Her mom’s tone was stern and unwavering. “It wasn’t funny. I can’t believe he did this.”
Everly glanced at the doorway leading back toward the room where Blake waited. “Me either, but I’m beginning to come to grips with it. I can’t marry him.”
“Of course not! We’ll need to cancel everything.”
“Cancel what? I haven’t booked anything.”
There was a beat of silence before her mother asked, “You haven’t?”
“Um, right. I haven’t booked anything yet.”
“The venue?”
“I asked Linda to pencil me in on dates at the new venue at the ranch, but I told her she could move them if someone else really needed them. I didn’t think David would like the idea of getting married at the ranch anyway.”
“Well, I… I didn’t realize you hadn’t started planning.”
“I wanted to, but every time I tried to pick something, I felt overwhelmed. Like I was going to change my mind later and want something else so I should just wait until I was sure.”
“Sweetheart, you’re never indecisive. You think things through and then you stick with it. What was the hang up?”
Everly sucked in another breath of old books. “I don’t know. Cold feet?”
“It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine.” Her mother gasped. “The house!”
Great. The one thing Everly had actually been worried about. “Yeah. The house.”
“What are you going to do? Can you move back in with Jess?”
“I don’t think so. Remi moved in when I moved out.”
“Do you need to come home?”
It was nice hearing her mother refer to home as if it were a place. Throughout Everly’s whole life, her parents had moved the family around depending on where Ridge could get the best exposure or chances. They’d insisted that home was wherever they were and tried to make the best of their nomadic lifestyle. Deep down, Everly had always longed for a home–an address. She wanted a place with its own smell and memories.
For a moment, she’d thought her home could be the house David had bought–the one she’d been living in for months. So much for that dream.
“I don’t want to leave, but I’ll have to find a new place. Somewhere here in Blackwater.”
“Do you want me to come help you look for something? I can get a flight right now.”
“No, no. You don’t need to do that. I’ll figure something out.”
“Are you sure? I can’t let you do this on your own.”
“I’m not on my own. I have lots of friends who can help me. I’ll start looking tomorrow. David hasn’t exactly kicked me out yet.” She failed to mention that he was probably trying to do just that, but she hadn’t answered his calls.
“What are you doing if you didn’t go to Cleveland?” her mom asked.
