She didn’t hug back, but that didn’t matter. The act wasn’t for her. It was proof that April had broken through the mirror. She’d become a Duncan on her own terms and she’d end the cycle that had so completely devastated their family.
April released her and smiled at the stunned woman in front of her. A woman she no longer needed to be and for the first time in her life, she felt more powerful than her mother. Love and grace didn’t make you weak. It made you strong.
She swallowed, more shaken than April had ever seen her, but still managed to stiffly shove her purse strap on her shoulder. “I need to be going, but if you do hear from Bradley, please tell him I’m… worried.”
“I will.”
She nodded a goodbye and sashayed to the entrance in a motion only Claire Manchester could pull off. Seconds later, without a glance back at her daughter, she was gone.
A closed door that April hoped, for her family’s sake, would one day reopen.
Chapter 37
The condo doors swung out putting him face to face with April’s mother. He’d seen her coming, considered ducking behind the bushes to avoid contact, especially since Zane’s father had given him a verbal right hook Sean still hadn’t recovered from.
It had been over a year since he last saw her, probably more since he last spoke to her, but nothing in her appearance had changed. Her hair was pulled into an intricate twist, her feet clad with some ridiculously expensive pair of heels, and her mouth immediately formed a tight line the minute their eyes met.
“Sean,” she said crisply but didn’t move from her perch in front of the door.
“Mrs. Duncan.” He waited. If she wanted to dialogue, he would, but the days of trying to make her accept him were long past.
“I suppose you’re dying to rub my face in your victory.”
His muscles tightened. After all this time, she still didn’t get that he wasn’t her enemy. “I don’t consider what’s happened this last year a victory. It’s been a tragedy for all of us, and I hope for Andrew and April’s sake, you stop turning your relationship into a battle.”
“You’ve been in touch with Andrew?” She tucked a stray hair. “How is he?”
Was he hallucinating or did she just show a flicker of regret?
“He’s fine. But feel free to call him if you want more details.” She’d made the choice to cut off communication; Sean wasn’t about to give them free information without some effort.
“Maybe I will.” She stepped past him without a goodbye and he shook his annoyance off, continuing his trek back inside his building.
He’d already let one parent get the best of him today. He wasn’t going to make it two.
April was by the elevators when he entered, and seeing her gave him immediate relief and a shot of fear. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together—April and her mom had spoken, and he doubted any of it included a congratulations on their reconciliation.
Her face brightened when she spotted him, calming a portion of his doubt.
“That didn’t take long,” she said as he approached.
Sean didn’t speak; just pulled her into a hug so tight she squirmed. He needed to know nothing had changed in the twenty minutes since he’d last seen her.
“Babe, you’re cutting off my airway,” she mumbled, and he relented.
“Sorry.”
She took his fingers in hers. “That bad huh?”
“Worse.” Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed the underside of her wrist. “What about your impromptu visitor?”
“You saw her?”
“Yeah, just long enough for her to mention that I was somehow victorious. I’m guessing there’s a few details you need to tell me.”
April let out a long, exhausted sigh. “I’m going to need a glass of wine and a very rich piece of cheesecake in order to get into what I learned in the last two days.”
“Should I be worried?”
“No. If anything, I think you’ll feel vindicated.” She smiled apologetically and pressed the button for the second floor. “Now tell me what Mr. Warbishaw said. I know all that stress I see isn’t just from crossing paths with my mom.”
The elevator opened and they stepped through, a united unit, and the last of Sean’s fear dissolved. Whatever was to come, they’d get through it together.
“Turns out that Mr. Warbishaw’s annual donation to the school is more significant than I realized and includes five scholarships to boys deemed athletically superior.” The elevator door edged closed and his stomach dipped when the floor began to rise. “Three of them are on my football team, the other two play middle school basketball. These kids are covered until graduation.”
“Let me guess, he threatened to pull their scholarships?”
“Yep. As well as the additional $200K he gives as an alumnus.” He shook his head as the doors opened to their hallway.
“Smart move. If he can’t control you, he can control the money. My dad would have done the same.” Hand in hand, they made their way back to his condo.
“I think his exact words were, ‘you may be a fine coach, but I doubt you’re worth a half million dollars.’”
“I’m sorry.” She squeezed his hand tighter. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” He wanted to call the man’s bluff. Have him go ahead and pull three of their starters and forfeit the team’s shot at a winning season this year. But as much as he was willing to gamble with his career, he wasn’t willing to gamble with the kids. He’d checked their records and all of them came from an underperforming school district. “I’m going to talk to Coach Kent on Monday. See what he says.”
“And if he tells you to give Mr. Warbishaw what he wants?”
Sean shrugged. “Then I guess I have a decision to make.” Could he really coach a team with no real authority? It was a question he’d yet to answer in his mind.
He stopped at Mr. Trapp’s condo door, needing to get an important detail out of the way. “Can we talk in here for a minute?”
“Sure.”
They made their way into his condo together, and the act of entering the place as a couple cast away the burdens of the morning. He led her to the living room and tried to forget the last time she’d been on the couch—telling him goodbye. “Wait here.”
April’s eyes danced with challenge. “What are you up to?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Too bad.” He kissed her nose and gently pushed her down until she was forced to sit. “Now wait. I’ll be right back.”
She sighed excessively, but stayed put. He should have known that even though her heart had blossomed, the stubborn girl inside would never change.
It didn’t take long for him to find his treasure, and he scooped it up, kept it clenched in his hand as he joined her on the couch. “All that fuss and I was only gone a second.”
“Maybe, but that look in your eye implies something much bigger.”
He swallowed, suddenly more nervous than he’d been the first time he asked. “I hope so.” Sliding down, he took her hand with his free one and settled on his knees in front of her. With his height, they were eye to eye, but he could tell she knew exactly what was about to happen because her breath hitched slightly.
“Sean…”
“Nope. My turn, Jelly Bean.” He opened the box and showed her the ring that had once signified their forever. The ring she’d returned and the same one he’d held onto for nearly a year, biding his time until it could go right back where it belonged.
“You kept it,” she whispered and her eyes filled with tears.
It took him aback, seeing her so exposed, and his own eyes went blurry. This new emotional April was going to make him a blubbering fool.
He carefully removed the delicate ring. “I want you to know, I’m not asking for us to be engaged this time.”
She bit her lip, looking far too nervous to be his girl. He wanted to reassure he
r, but his terms were immovable. He would not allow what happened before to happen again.
“I’m asking you to marry me. This week.”
“Sean.” He could hear the hesitation in her voice, her mind already forming the argument he wasn’t willing to hear.
“I already looked into it, and we only need 72 hours between getting a license and saying, ‘I do.”
“I love you, but it’s too fast.” She reached out and caressed his temple. “We can move back in together; take our time.”
His stomach twisted, but he kept his grip on the ring firm. “No. You kicked me out. Left me without a goodbye. You were able to do that because even though we lived together, there was no real commitment between us. I can’t risk it happening again.”
“It’s different this time. I’m different. My parents, they have no influence over me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do,” she insisted.
“Okay then, what if it’s something else. Work. Stress. Your insane temper. I can’t chance that kind of pain a second time.”
“So you’re saying I have to marry you in 72 hours or we’re done?”
“No. Of course not. But if you still aren’t ready to marry me, then we have bigger issues than just this last year apart.” He leaned closer, pressed his palm to her porcelain skin. “Our original wedding day came and went. What else are you waiting for?”
She swallowed, looking completely unsure how to answer.
“You’re afraid,” he said for her. “That’s okay. But you said all this time. And that is more than just playing house with a promise. It’s being united in a way that cannot be easily separated.”
She was silent for long enough to make him squirm. If she said no, he really didn’t know where to draw the line. They hadn’t had the typical relationship. It was full throttle from the start. Slowing down now felt all wrong.
Finally, she spoke. “You’re asking me to jump off a cliff again.”
He smiled. “It’s what I do. It’s why we work.”
She laid her palm against his hand and whispered the sweetest words he’d ever heard. “I love you.”
“Is that a yes?”
She took the ring from his hand and slid it back where it never should have left. Scooting to the edge of the couch, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s a yes. A loud yes. An I’d-marry-you-tomorrow-if-I-could yes. An I’m-sorry-I-wasted-so-much-time yes.” Her voice cracked. “It’s an I’ll-love-you-forever yes.”
He kissed her before she could say more. Before tears spilled over and he exposed just how much this woman owned his heart. He tunneled his hand through her hair, pulled her as close as he could without them melding into one. He wouldn’t take it farther, not today. It had to be different this time around, in every way.
The next time he touched her intimately, he’d do so as her husband. And that beautiful moment was certainly worth waiting for.
Chapter 38
Caroline stood outside the country club dining room, willing herself to enter. She swore she’d never come back to brunch, and now two months later, here she was again. People milled everywhere, the crowd much bigger than before. A small line had formed near the serving tables and waiters moved in and out, collecting soiled dinnerware, with hurried steps.
“It’s kind of like a Band-Aid, you just have to walk in and grit through the pain,” an unfamiliar voice said behind her.
Caroline glanced over her shoulder and immediately recognized the man. She’d met April’s brother the last time she was here. The day Sean surprised everyone with his grand entrance.
She returned his smile. “Does it get easier?”
“No, but you eventually go numb.” Andrew winked and she knew he was teasing. “Did April summon you too?”
“Yep. I got a very short, non-negotiable text that said she had big news to announce.” Caroline tucked a piece of stray hair, ignoring the way her stomach dipped when an older gentleman moved to reveal Beck sitting at a table with Sean, April, Ty, and Journey.
“Wow. There’s a sight I haven’t seen in a while.” Andrew’s smile broadened. “The Bentwood Brats all together and no one is fighting.”
Caroline studied them closer. Andrew was right. There was an air between them that felt different. Beck and April sat next to each other and more than once they flashed a grin or shared a glance that was more an inside conversation than just a look.
“Come on, I’ll go in if you do.” He extended his arm and waited.
“Okay,” she sighed and then narrowed her eyes. “But only if you promise me there’s no surprise ex-boyfriend lurking in the corner this time.”
Andrew laughed, and though deeper and more masculine, the melody reminded her of April. It also reminded her why she’d come. Because despite all logic, April had become her strongest, albeit pushiest, ally. And she’d been friendless long enough to recognize the good ones.
“I promise. No major surprises.”
She walked through the arched entry in front of him and then fell in by his side as they headed for the same destination.
“Yay. Everyone’s here now.” April jumped to her feet when the two of them approached in an uncharacteristic display of happiness. Journey had once said that April was different before Sean left town. Caroline really hadn’t believed it until just then. Her face beamed with color, her eyes alive and expressive, but more than anything was the truly genuine smile that made her absolutely striking.
Andrew pulled out a chair, startling her. “Oh. Thank you.” She sat and scooted in, avoiding eye contact with the man across from her.
“I was raised to be a gentleman,” he said, taking his own seat to her right.
“Among other things that you no longer practice,” April said, a hint of humor laced around the sarcasm. She stopped by her brother, lowering her voice such that Caroline felt mildly guilty that she could hear them. “Did he ever show up?”
“Yeah. Last night.”
Caroline couldn’t quite decipher April’s reaction—relief, but also anger. “You’re a good man,” she said.
“He’s family. Like it or not.” Andrew’s voice wasn’t bitter, but there was a flicker of irritation that April seemed to share. Andrew jutted his chin in Sean’s direction. “I see you two finally made up.”
“Oh, it gets better than that.” She squeezed her brother’s shoulder and returned to her side of the table, leaning down to whisper something to Sean before she took her seat.
“Well, since we’re now all here,” Sean said with an MC’s swagger. “April and I have an announcement.” He wrapped a thick, muscular arm around the back of April’s chair and stared down at her with such adoring affection that Caroline felt her insides swoon. “Do you want to tell them, Jelly Bean, or should I?”
“It was your idea. By all means, take the credit.”
He bounced his eyebrows at her and then redirected his focus to the rest of them at the table. “Since our last attempt at planning a wedding went terribly south, we’ve decided not to bother. We’re getting married this week and we’d like all of you to be there.” He continued on despite the shocked faces around the table. “I’ll text out a date and time as soon as I get one from the Justice of the Peace.”
Journey was the first to speak, though her words to April seemed hesitant. “But you always wanted a grand event.”
“I know I did. But now my grand event will be the marriage. And I’m really okay with that.” She clutched Sean’s hand, and Caroline felt more of her insides melt. Watching the two of them made her want to curl up on her couch, eat a pint of ice cream and watch romantic comedies until the longing ache in her heart went away.
Only the ache grew deeper when Beck stood and spread his arms. “Let me be the first to say congratulations.”
Sean rose from his seat and hugged him like brothers do, without weirdness or insecurity. They spoke quietly and while Caroline couldn’t fully hear the words, she could read Sean’s lips when
he said, we wouldn’t be here without you.
Letting go of his friend, Beck walked around the back of the chair and met April quickly after. Their hug wasn’t anything resembling the relationship she’d seen in April’s condo. There was no animosity or bitterness. Instead, they seemed to have a special kind of closeness.
A flair of jealousy sprung through her stomach, which was completely ridiculous since the girl in question was marrying Beck’s best friend.
Ugh. This was exactly why she did not belong in this blasted country club.
Stifling her treacherous emotion, Caroline stood and followed the crowd, each taking turns hugging the happy couple.
When her turn finally arrived to hug the bride to be, she held back. They’d never really shared physical contact unless one counted smashing food into each other’s faces.
April pulled her in and the hug was surprisingly fierce. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course,” she said. “Congratulations.”
April eased back, but didn’t release her. “I wanted to ask you…” She paused as if trying to find the exact right words. “You know what you said in the car the other day? How your faith helped you like who you are again?”
“Yes.”
“I think I’m ready to talk about it more. If you’re willing.”
“Absolutely. Any time.”
April smiled. “Thank you.”
Caroline smiled back, so encouraged by April’s response that her earlier unease dissipated. Well that is until her friend’s expression shifted, her stare becoming a green laser. “Now, about you. No more flat tires?”
The mention of the incident brought a shiver through her. There was no nail in the rubber. No puncture mark at all. Just two deflated tires with no explanation except for one she refused to consider. “No more flats and no phone calls either. You can stop worrying now.”
“Would you tell me if there was more?”
Caroline contemplated that question, the decision coming easier than she imagined. “Yes, I would. I trust you.” For two years she’d hidden the way Jeremiah tormented her, all under the guise that it could be worse. After all, he never really hit her. She hadn’t understood that psychological torment was just as debilitating, nor that harboring the secret put her further at his mercy.
The Truth Between Us (Bentwood Book 2) Page 26