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“All right. You guys can go ahead and sit down. I’ll let them know we’re here.”
Actually, he should have said that Pam and he would do it, but it was too late as her hand slipped from his, and she opened the gate to the patio area to allow her mother and his sister to walk through first.
Funny, he hated to be away from her for even the time it took to go in and tell the waitress they were outside. He had to laugh at himself. He was acting like a kid in junior high with his first crush. Not like this was Pam, who had been his best friend for the last ten years. Now all of a sudden, he didn’t want to be separated from her for thirty seconds? What in the world was wrong with him?
Maybe this was what love felt like. Or infatuation anyway. He shook his head, having thought that he was immune to such a thing. He definitely needed to get over whatever it was, because he was sure to ruin their friendship and scare Pam to death if he couldn’t get a handle on his feelings.
Chapter 12
Pam watched as Mark came back outside. Funny that she missed him for just the thirty seconds that he was gone.
Her mother was talking to his sister, and she allowed the conversation to go over her. They were complaining because neither one of them had known that Pam and Mark were getting married.
She did not know what to say. They were married, and that was that. In hindsight, she could see why they’d be upset. Maybe she would be, too. Although it seemed a little arrogant to expect people to plan their marriage in such a way as to keep her happy. She hoped she would be able to see that and get past any slight she might feel.
She had noticed her mother looking at her ring finger pretty hard and was thankful that Mark had given her his grandmother’s ring, because if he hadn’t, her mother would have known right away she was wearing a piece of jewelry that she already owned. Her mother had sharp eyes that way and a memory that didn’t forget anything.
Mark noticed her looking for him, and she couldn’t help but notice that his eyes had gone directly to her when he had stepped outside.
Interestingly, she could feel her cheeks heating. How could her best friend make her cheeks heat and her heart race? It was just Mark.
“Oh my goodness, you’re blushing,” Paulette said, and Pam’s hands went to her cheeks. She really was blushing.
“Maybe it’s just the fresh air,” her mother suggested, but she looked at Pam with concern in her brows.
Why would her mother be concerned? Shouldn’t she be happy?
But her mother never had the reactions that a normal mother might. Pam had long ago decided that she was going to love her anyway, but sometimes it was a difficult relationship and she wished she didn’t have to.
But she was reminded, over and over again, that God loved her mother. God had loved her mother so much that He had actually sent His son to die for her. If God could love her that much, surely Pam could love her just a little.
Sometimes she was easy to love, but most of the time, their relationship felt like a minefield that Pam was constantly trying to make her way through, but never with a lot of success.
Mark settled down beside her in his chair, in one motion sliding it toward her and casually slipping his hand around the back of her chair.
All right, so she was kind of happy that her mom came to visit. After all, she liked this whole cuddling with Mark thing. It was...different but good. Good in a very nice and cozy and I-wish-this-would-last-forever kind of way.
