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“Oh, sweetie.” She leans forward to kiss my forehead. “Honestly, I thought the same when I was your age. But that’s not true. Of course you won’t be single forever.”
My chest heaves as I gulp in some air. “This thing with Liam, it’s been eating away at me.”
“How do you feel about him?”
“I don’t know…”
“Don’t be afraid to delve deep into your emotions. You have feelings for him, don’t you?”
With my gaze on my bed, I nod.
“And he’s your best friend,” Mom continues. “I understand it can be scary.”
I finally look her in the face. “There’s so much unpredictability. We’re good together as friends. What if we try to date and realize how weird and awkward andwrongit is? What if we can’t go back to being friends? That will ruin everything. I’d lose my best friend. And what if we broke up? We’d tear the Junior Musketeers apart.”
I lower my gaze back to my blanket. “I know Liam had good intentions and was acting from the goodness of his heart, but he still hurt me. I do forgive him because I understand why he did it. But what if he accidentally hurts me again in the future? It’d sting so much more because he’s my best friend.”
Mom slides her hand into mine. “Sometimes the people we love most are the ones who hurt us the most. But of course they don’t mean it. It’s because you have such deep feelings for them. So when they make you happy, you’re over the moon. And when they make you sad, it hurts pretty badly. But Liam made a mistake. You know he’s an unbelievably sweet and amazing guy.”
“Yeah. He’s the best.”
“Why do you look at the negative?” she asks. “Instead of thinking this might ruin your relationship, why don’t you think of it positively? That you and Liam could have a wonderful relationship. Maybe even a wonderful life together.”
“I guess because it’ll hurt more if I look at it positively and then it crashes and burns.”
“I understand that,” she says. “It’s easier to hide behind your fear. But you could miss out on something wonderful if you keep hiding.”
“But what about my friends? What if things don’t work out and the Junior Musketeers are torn apart?”
“Sweetie, I think you kids are tight enough to withstand something like that. If that does indeed happen, you’ll figure it out. You guys mean the world to each other.”
“Yeah, but…I don’t know.”
“Sweetheart, your father and I made mistakes when we were your age, too. The whole business with the fake relationship to begin with. I should have told him how I felt from the start. Like mother like daughter,” she adds with a smile as she squeezes my hand. “But the worst mistake I made was believing that Dad had feelings for Teagyn. I saw him kissing her and assumed he liked her. I didn’t want to listen to him when he tried to tell me the truth. He didn’t kiss Teagyn—shekissed him. And he pushed her away. But when we finally talked and I listened to him, I believed him. Because I knew he spoke the truth and that his words came straight from his heart.”
She plays with my hair. “I know it’s scary to put yourself out there, especially with a friendship that means so much to you. But you have the opportunity to have something amazing with a special young man. You don’t want it to slip through your fingers, do you? You might spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been. Liam might move on and meet someone else. Start a life with her. And you might do the same.”
I feel like my eyes have nearly popped off my face. “Liam with another girl?” The thought makes my heart ache in the worst way possible.
Mom leans forward to kiss my forehead again. “Based on your reaction, I think we both know how you feel about your best friend.” She gets up and walks to my closet. “It doesn’t matter what you wear because I know Liam loves you just the way you are. But if you want to wow him, I think this would do the trick.” She holds out a sapphire dress that reaches just above my knees. “I remember how stunning you looked at Grandpa’s birthday party.”
“Thanks.” I take the dress and hug her. “And thanks for the talk.”
“Of course, sweetie. Let me know if you need help with your hair and makeup.”
After I get dressed and Mom does indeed help me with my hair and makeup, we meet Dad downstairs. He looks so good in his crisp black suit, such a contrast to the usual clothes he wears during PE. He smiles when he takes Mom and me in, nothing but love shining in his eyes. “My two beautiful, amazing women. How am I so lucky to have you in my life?” He presses a kiss to Mom’s lips before hugging me. “Thanks for being the wonderful people that you are.”
“Thanks for not giving up on Mom when you were my age,” I tell him. “Because of you guys, I know what it’s like to have a loving and happy marriage. I want to have that one day, too.”
“You will,” Dad assures me.
“And if you wouldn’t have made up, I wouldn’t be born,” I say, horrified. “Or worse, Teagyn could have been my mom.”
Dad looks like he’d rather jump into a snake pit. “Never in a million years would I choose her. I’d rather stay single for the rest of my life.”
“Did you just say you wanted to marry Teagyn Abberton?” Noah asks as he walks into the room. He, too, looks amazing in his suit.
“Heck no!” Mom says. “That’s how rumors start. Your dad said he would never in amillion yearsmarry Teagyn.”
