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“I’ll get it,” I tell Dad, whose face is a little pale. After giving him an encouraging smile, I open the door.
Mom’s also dressed nicely, an unsure but loving smile on her face.
“Colt,” she says as she bends forward to hug me. I return the hug, feeling like a little kid when my mom calmed me down after I hurt myself or was feeling down. It’s a feeling only a mom could bring.
“Thanks for coming,” I tell her.
“Thanks for inviting me.” She looks into my eyes. “I’m so sorry for what happened, Colt. So very sorry.”
I shake my head. “It’s okay. It’s in the past. I want us to start over. Clean slate.”
Her smile is full of hope. “I want that, too, sweetie.”
She hugs me again, then I invite her inside. Dad stands there with his hands at his sides, his face filled with guilt and anguish.
“Olivia,” Dad says. The look in his eyes tells Mom that he still loves her and wishes he could take back what he said. “You look beautiful.” He walks over to her and takes her hands. “There’s so much I’ve wanted to say to you the past few weeks, but I’ve been a coward. I’m so sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize. I don’t deserve for you to even talk to me, but thank you for coming. I…” He hesitates. “I haven’t stopped loving you. When I vowed to love you for all eternity, I meant it. I know I haven’t been perfect, I said things I didn’t mean. And while I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness, please, Olivia. Forgive me for all I have done to you. I’ll love you forever, even when I’m long gone from this world.”
Tears spill down Mom’s cheeks. “I haven’t stopped loving you, either, David. I don’t care what you said to me the night I left. I know we were both hurting and turned on each other. We made so many mistakes, but I’m ready to fix them. We have a beautiful family.” She gestures to me. “A wonderful son. Let’s both be in his life.”
Dad smiles sadly. “You were a good mom to Bri,” he whispers. “It’s true she had problems, but you did the best you could. I know she died loving you.”
“And she loved you, too.” She reaches for me and envelops both me and Dad in her arms. “You two are my world. Never forget that. We’ll go through more hardships—because that’s life—but as long as we’re here for each other and love each other, we’ll be okay.” She looks from me to Dad. “We’ve been through a lot, and I think it’s best we all talk to a professional.”
Dad nods. “Yes, I believe we can all benefit from talking to someone.” He smiles shyly at Mom, like he’s a teenager again and is asking her out. “Would you care to join us for dinner?”
Mom glances around, taking in the table we set with a beautiful tablecloth and our finest china. “My, this looks incredible. Who cooked?”
Dad and I point at each other, then laugh. “We tried,” Dad tells her sheepishly. “We wanted tonight to be special for you.”
Mom presses her forehead to his. “It already is, because I have my two wonderful men in my life.”
We settle down at the table and eat and talk. Things are a little awkward at first, but then we ease into a comfortable conversation. While it’s still not like it was, it’s a start.
A beginning to the rest of our lives.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Willow
“If the lovebirds would take a break from kissing long enough to allow the staff to take their jackets, that would be great,” Ava teases.
With groans, Colt and I pull our lips off each other and offer our jackets and an apologetic smile to the staff member waiting there.
Then I face my friends, who are standing in the Knight living room trying to hide giggles. “I can’t help it if all I want to do is kiss my boyfriend every thirty seconds.” I smile at Colt and slide my hand into his. He returns the smile, his eyes holding nothing but love for me.
“What was that?” Lily cups her hand around her ear. “Did Willow Park just state that she loves kissing? I must be imagining it. Because if I recall correctly, she used to grumble and roll her eyes every time I kissed my Romeo.”
I playfully fold my arms over my chest. “I admit, I was wrong. I never imagined it could feel so amazing. So magical. So, please. Make out all you want.”
With a chuckle, Xavier gathers Lily in his arms. “I’ll do just that.”
Every single couple in the room is now making out. Honestly, I’m not sure Ava’s parents would approve if they were to walk into the room—the fact that they trust us to be alone for a few hours means a lot. I don’t want to betray their trust, so I reluctantly pull away from Colt and say, “Okay, okay, everyone! You know what we promised the parents. Let’s try to be on our best behaviors.”
“But my boyfriend is so awesome,” Ava whines as she steals one more kiss with Aidan.
“What are you complaining about?” I demand. “You had all those extra months to make out with Aidan. Colt and I have a lot of catching up to do. But seriously, our parents wouldn’t be okay with us making out all day.”
They frown, but they know I’m right. So, as we all settle down in the living room, we keep some distance from our guys. Only some, though.
