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I really shouldn’t have brought that up, but it has to be said that I really like the way my husband supports me. I’ll be going out of my way to exhaust him completely during his hike tonight.
* * *
We spendtwo more long hours schmoozing our way through the gala. I stay with Bradford for most of that time but Bradford’s mother rescues me from him and Alan towards the end of the night when she sees me beginning to melt down on the inside.
“Thank you,” I say as she guides me away. “I think I was maybe a little too close to stabbing Alan with my stiletto.”
Ingrid laughs. “I could see that in your eyes.”
The pre-midlife-crisis Kristen would have been horrified that she could read me like that. Now, I don’t care.
Ingrid and I haven’t spent much time together since we arrived at the gala. She’s been busy working the room with Edmund. She may not be encouraging her sons into the political sphere but from what I know of her and have seen tonight, she’s very much the dutiful wife. I like that she left her husband to come over to me. Just like I loved how she embraced me into her family tonight.
I stop and turn to her. “Thank you for making me feel so at ease tonight. I’m not sure if Bradford told you, but I was super nervous about meeting you.”
The lines around her eyes crinkle with kindness. “Do you know what I like the most about you so far, Kristen?”
I was not expecting that question. If anything, I imagined we’d have a slightly awkward conversation about my nerves (which I actually hadnointention of mentioning, but hello, my new life, where I just blurt random truths) and then move on to chat about what we thought of the gala.
“I’m not sure,” I admit.
“I like that you don’t hide from the world.”
I stare at her, stunned. And before I can stop myself, I say, “I’ve spent my entire life hiding from the world, Ingrid, and I’m not sure I’ve changed that.”
“Well, the Kristen who is married to my son sure seems done with hiding. You could have told him no to all these social events. You could have shut yourself away at home. But you’ve stood tall all week and shown your face in the middle of a scandal, and you’ve done that with grace.” She stops talking but when she sees I’m lost for words, she continues. “I suspect my husband hasn’t gone out of his way to welcome you to our family, but I want you to know that isn’t because he doesn’t support your marriage. He does, but he just needed some time to get his head around what that meant for Bradford’s political ambition.”
I swallow the thousand emotions I’m feeling, pushing them down to be sorted through later. “Thank you for saying that. I think I needed to hear it.”
“It’s daunting marrying into a large family. Especially one filled with so much testosterone. I know because that was my experience too. The boys were all more than glad to hear that Bradford married you, and so was I. And now that we’ve met you, we’re even happier, and not just because we’ve seen just how happy Bradford is to be with you, but also because we like you and are looking forward to getting to know you better.”
My eyes water and I blink a few times to try to stop the tears falling but I fail. “Oh, God.” I wipe the tears. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually a crier. It’s just been a big week.”
Ingrid closes her hand over mine. “Never apologize for feeling things, Kristen.”
I decide, in this very minute, that Bradford inherited some of his best qualities from his mother. She might just end up being the best mother-in-law there ever was.
Gage joins us as I keep trying to wipe my tears. He glances between his mother and me before settling his gaze on me. “If anyone was going to make you cry tonight, I would have bet good money on it being Alan.”
A laugh barks out of me and soon I’m both laughing and crying. I can’t help myself; Bradford’s family is being so beautiful to me and I’m not used to this kind of niceness.
Ingrid and Gage give me a minute to get myself under control. Gage waits patiently, not looking even a little perplexed at my outburst. Once I’ve recovered, I look at him. “I give you full credit for coping well with a woman who didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or cry.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve got a five-year-old daughter and an ex who taught me that I knew not a fucking thing about women before I got one pregnant. Give me all you’ve got; I’ll handle it.”
I think I’m really going to like Gage.
“Okay, I’m going to the bathroom to clean my face,” I say.
“Bradford’s ready to leave,” Gage says. “Are you?”
I nod as I look at Bradford who appears to be on his way to me. As a couple stop him, his eyes meet mine and he communicates how much he wishes they hadn’t. “Yes, I’ll just be a minute.”
After Gage tells me the family will wait for me near the front door, I leave him and Ingrid and make my way to the bathroom. It takes me far longer to clean my face than I thought it would because there are a lot of women in here and some want to chat with me. Some also just want to stare and whisper among themselves about me. I have to bite my tongue not to tell them tojust fuck off, which seems to be the anthem of my life these days.
Tonight has been exhausting with all the hushed murmurs and long stares I’ve been treated to. Thank God for Bradford who reads any room he’s in perfectly and knew to keep his arm around me at times, making me feel safe and protected. Unfortunately, I don’t have him by my side when I exit the bathroom. It’s unfortunate because as I wind my way along the hallway that leads back into the ballroom, a woman crosses my path and stops me.
Her red hair catches all my attention first. Or maybe it’s those green eyes of hers that are blazing with hatred. Or it could actually be her mouth that’s pulled into the kind of vicious line that screamsyou are everything that is wrong with this world.
