Here and Now (Forever and Always #13)

by E. L. Todd

  Cassandra came outside then shut the door, still looking flustered. “What can I do for you?”

  My mom grabbed her hand and held if firmly. “I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you. You’re a lovely girl and my son would be the luckiest man in the world to have you in his life forever. I didn’t mean to be so rude to you. I said a lot of things I wish I could take back…but I can’t. But I hope my sincere apology will suffice.”

  Her eyes softened. The green color reminded me of the fanned leaves of palm trees. “It’s okay, Mrs. Preston.”

  “Please call me Diane.” She swallowed the lump in her throat.

  I wondered if my mom would change her name back now that she was getting divorced.

  “Sean told me you and Mike are no longer together…” She squeezed her hand. “Please give Mike another chance. He was so happy with you. I hate knowing my son is miserable.”

  Cassandra’s eyes started to water. “I love your son very much…but we couldn’t work it out. I’m sorry.”

  “Why won’t you marry him?” The pain was in my mother’s eyes.

  I knew my mom meant well, but she took it a little too far. “Mom, that’s none of our business.”

  “I just don’t want to get remarried,” Cassandra explained. “It’s something I decided a long time ago. While it hurts that Mike left me, I understand why he did. He deserves to have what he really wants. The last thing I want to do is hold him back…even though it kills me to be apart from him.”

  “Please don’t be scared of Mike,” my mom said. “He’s a gentle giant. He’d never hurt you.”

  “I…I’d like to believe that,” Cassandra said. “But I just can’t risk it.”

  Deep inside, I hoped my mom could say the right thing to get Cassandra to change her mind, but if my wife couldn’t do it, then no one could. “Mom, we should go.”

  Diane sighed. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”

  “It’s okay,” Cassandra said. “I appreciate the apology.”

  “I hope you change your mind.” My mom turned away and headed down the hallway. I knew she was emotional, on the verge of tears.

  I looked at Cassandra and didn’t know what to do. “Do you need anything…?”

  “No. But thank you.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair. This is the first time I’d seen her since they broke up. To say it was awkward was an understatement. “You okay?”

  “I’m hanging in there. How’s he doing?”

  “You don’t want to know,” I said sadly. “He’s miserable, Cassandra. I hate seeing it.”

  She lowered her gaze because she couldn’t look at me.

  “Cassandra, this is stupid. If you love Mike, marry him. Not tomorrow or next week. Just some day. You’d really rather lose him forever than just legally become his wife? I’m sorry, I don’t understand that.” I tried to keep my anger back but I was struggling. I was very protective of my brother. If someone messed with him, they messed with me.

  “You don’t understand…”

  “Damn right, I don’t. How can you call him the love of your life then walk away? You know what’s going to happen, right? He’s going to move on with someone else and then you’ll be too late. You’ll lose the greatest thing that ever happened to you. Pull your head out of your ass.”

  “Sean, I’ve made my decision.” Tears bubbled under her eyes. “You have no idea how hard this has been for me. I miss him like crazy and I hate being apart from him. I love him and I will always love him but—”

  “But you’re already fucking someone new? Fuck you, Cassandra.”

  Her eyes widened at my accusation. “Excuse me? I haven’t been with anyone.”

  “I saw the shoes, the jacket, and the wallet. If you really loved my brother, you wouldn’t have opened your legs for someone else so quickly. He still carries a vigil for you every single day. I guess it was a good thing you broke up because your words of love are obviously empty and meaningless. Looks like my brother dodged a bullet.” I glared at her for a second before I marched off. When I reached the end of the hallway, I heard her cry then slam the door.

  When I came home, I was in a sour mood. I used to like Cassandra a lot, but now I just hated her. How could she sleep with someone else so quickly? And more importantly, should I tell my brother? It would kill him. Literally.

  Scarlet eyed me as soon as I walked inside. One look at me told her something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong?” She swarmed to me and cupped my face, the concern in her eyes. It was hard to stay upset when I saw how much she loved me. I was her whole world. When my life was so complete and utterly perfect, it was almost impossible to be mad.

  “I didn’t have a good day.”

  “What happened?”

  “I saw my mom.”

  “Oh no.” She rubbed my shoulders. “What did she do?”

  “Actually, nothing. She was…different.”

  “Like she’s matured a lot?”

  I nodded. “She’s been giving stuff away to charity, and she did something else.”

  “What?”

  “When I told her Mike and Cassandra broke up, she was upset. We drove to Cassandra’s apartment and mymom apologized to her. And she begged Cassandra to work it out with Mike.”

  “She did that?” She was just as shocked as I was.

  “I couldn’t believe it either.”

  “What did Cassandra say?”

  I sighed. “This is the part I’m upset about…”

  She eyed me, waiting for me to elaborate.

  “She said no, just like I thought she would. But I saw a man’s wallet, jacket, and shoes inside. And she wouldn’t let us enter the apartment. I’m pretty sure she’s sleeping with someone. I told her off then stormed off.”

  Scarlet didn’t speak for a moment. “You don’t know that for sure…”

  “It was pretty clear, Scar. Why else would she keep us from entering the apartment? And I know a guy’s wallet when I see one. And believe me, we don’t take it out of our pocket unless it falls out when we’re ripping our clothes off because we’re about to get our dick wet.”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s seems likely but that’s still not absolute.”

  My wife always wanted to see the best in everyone. It became a problem when she was blind to people’s evilness. “Should I tell him?”

  She shook her head quickly. “He’s already on edge right now. Don’t mention it. There’s no point anyway. It’ll just hurt him. And there’s no point in getting him upset about something when we aren’t absolutely sure.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m absolutely sure.”

  “Don’t say anything. I’m worried about him.”

  “I know he’s depressed but he’s not doing that bad.”

  She shook her head. “I know he’s so close to falling to the dark side. I can see it in his eyes. He wants to give up on himself and everything he used to believe in. We have to watch what we say around him.”

  “He seemed fine yesterday at Ryan’s.”

  “He’s an excellent faker.”

  “You should be a scientist,” I said. “You’re good at observing people.”

  “You just said I was blind to people’s poor qualities.”

  “You have a point.”

  My dad came down the stairs. “Hey, Sean.”

  “Hey, Pops.”

  He put his hands in his pockets. “So…how was your mother? You went, right?”

  “Yes, I went.”

  “And?”

  “She’s…not doing well.”

  The light left his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “She looks thin, she isn’t getting dressed, and she’s…depressed.”

  My dad nodded. “That’s to be expected.”

  “But she sold a bunch of stuff in the house and gave it to charity.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Really? Your mother?”

  “And she’s selling the house—giving it to charity too.”
>
  “Wow.” My dad rubbed his chin. “That doesn’t sound like Diane at all.”

  “She said she’s finally learned what you’ve been trying to teach her all along.”

  My dad stared at the wall and said nothing for a long time.

  “Then she went to Cassandra’s and apologized for her behavior. Then she begged her to take Mike back. I felt like I was talking to a different person.”

  “Did you think it was an act?” Andrew asked.

  “No…I don’t think so.”

  “She was different when I saw her too,” Scarlet said.

  “Dad, maybe you should talk to her…”

  “Maybe I should.”

  I wanted the best for my dad, but I couldn’t make his decision for him. “I want you to be happy, Dad. If you don’t want to be with Mom anymore, I accept that. Whatever you want. But if you did get back together, I would support it.”

  “We’re signing the papers soon. We’ve already divided everything.”

  “It’s never too late,” Scarlet said.

  My dad became quiet. Scarlet and I stared at him, wondering what he was thinking.

  “I need to run an errand.” He grabbed his keys and walked out the door.

  “Do you think he’ll work it out with your mom?” Scarlet asked.

  I hooked my arm around her waist. “I don’t know. But for the first time, I wouldn’t mind if it happened.”

  5

  Scarlet

  Sean and I were the first ones to the apartment, so he sat down on the couch and watched TV while I headed into the kitchen with Janice and Ryan. My brother looked at Sean with longing, wishing he could sit on the couch with a beer.

  “How long is it going to take to plan this damn thing?” he snapped.

  Janice’s eyes widened when she looked at him. “I’d watch your mouth if you want to be invited.”

  I chuckled. No one else could shut my brother up like Janice could. And it was hilarious.

  “This is important to me, Ryan,” Janice said. “I want it to be perfect.”

  His eyes softened. “I’m sorry for being an ass. What can I do?”

  “We still need to pick a venue,” she said.

  “I don’t care where we get married.”

  “I was thinking the Plaza.”

  “Sure.” Ryan shrugged. “What’s that?”

  I rolled my eyes. My brother really needed to get a clue.

  “One of the nicest hotels in the city,” Janice explained.

  “Oh. That sounds great,” he said.

  I had a feeling Ryan had no idea how much Janice was spending on this wedding. He cared more about sneaking to the couch then watching his checkbook.

  We sat down at the table and Janice turned to me. “My sister is coming. She finally got some time off work.”

  My heart accelerated. “Does she know Mike’s going to be here?”

  “I told her. It didn’t seem like she cared.” Janice flipped through the binder.

  Oh. I guess it wouldn’t be awkward then. Mike didn’t seem like he cared either. But he was depressed as hell. “Where does she work?”

  “I’m not sure. She sells curtains or something….” She shook her head. “Whatever.”

  “I thought you were close with your sister?”

  She shrugged. “We kinda drifted apart this past year. But she’s still my younger sister and I want her to be my maid of honor.”

  “I’m sure you guys will reconnect,” I said.

  Ryan wasn’t listening. He was watching the TV.

  “Earth to Ryan,” Janice said.

  “The blue ones,” he blurted.

  “What blue ones?” she asked.

  He turned back to us and looked at the open binder. “Just get whatever you want, baby.”

  She rolled her eyes then looked at me. “Sometimes I wonder if I should go through with this.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure Sean would be worse. We’re lucky we didn’t have to plan anything for our wedding. But Sean would just try to have sex with me the whole time to avoid picking out flowers and crap.”

  “Damn right,” he said without turning around. “Ryan, your new flat screen is awesome.”

  “Thanks. It’s got surround sound,” Ryan responded.

  Boys…

  Cortland and Monnique walked in with Mike trailing behind them. Hazel was busy with practice so she skipped out. But I’m sure she was busy with her new boy toy. Flynn seemed like a really sweet guy. After everything Hazel had been through, she deserved a Prince Charming. I hoped he was patient enough to put up with Cortland, who was being ridiculously overprotective.

  Laura walked through the door, her hair the same intense blonde as Janice’s. She was slim and curvy just like her older sister, and the artic blue eyes popped out. There was no doubt they were related. “Sorry I’m late.” She carried two large bags then placed them at the foot of the table.

  Mike didn’t look at her and she didn’t look at him. I guess there would be no drama.

  “I got the vests you wanted,” she explained. “I need to return them tomorrow.”

  “Great,” Janice said. “Can I see them?”

  Laura pulled them out then placed them on the table. “They are fitted to each guy.” She passed them around, knowing who’s was who’s. When she came to Mike, she handed the vest over. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” He took it from her then examined the material. “It should fit.”

  “Could you try it on, please?”

  “Whatever.” He put it on then buttoned the front. “It fits.”

  “Great.” She waited for him to take it off.

  Mike quickly removed the clothing then tossed if back to her. The exchange was meaningless and quick. It didn’t seem like either one cared about the other. In fact, if I hadn’t known they slept together, I wouldn’t have even suspected it.

  Laura gathered all the vests and returned them to the bag. “Looks like we can check that off the list.”

  “Can’t I just wear jeans?” Ryan asked.

  “Not if you want me to walk down the aisle,” Janice jabbed.

  Ryan rolled his eyes. “What does it matter what I wear? You’re going to rip it off in a second anyway.”

  “Not if I leave you at the alter,” she snapped.

  Laura rolled her eyes. “I hope my husband and I are as happy as you two someday.”

  “Why would anyone marry you?” Janice said. “You’re a brat.”

  “At least I’m not a bitch,” Laura said with a smile.

  Ryan smiled. “Did I ever tell you how much I like your sister?”

  Janice glared at him. He dropped his smile quickly.

  “I’m gonna watch the game with the boys.” Ryan stood up and pushed his chair in.

  “I thought you were going to help with this?” Janice asked.

  “I trust your taste, baby. You’ll pick out something great.” He moved to the living room before she could get another word in. The guys sat down then watched the game, completely uninterested in the wedding plans.

  “He’ll pay for that later tonight,” Janice said under her breath.

  “Cut him some slack,” Laura said. “Guys aren’t good at this sort of thing.”

  “But he could participate,” Janice said.

  “The fact he’s marrying you is participation enough,” Laura jabbed.

  I smiled at their conversation. They strongly reminded me of Ryan and I. I guess all siblings picked on each other until war broke out.

  Monnique flipped through the binder. “Did Ryan agree to the Plaza?”

  “Yep,” Janice said. “He didn’t care.”

  “Awesome,” she said. “It’s going to be amazing.”

  “I know,” Janice said with a smile. “I have to get my dress and we’ll be done.”

  “You aren’t going to wear your mother’s dress?” I asked.

  “God, no,” Janice said quickly.

  “Mom got married in the 80’s,” Laura explained.
“Neither one of us are wearing that ridiculous thing.”

  “She seemed excited about it,” I said.

  “She’ll get over it,” Janice said. She went over all the main points and tallied the cost of the wedding.

  It was a fortune. I mean, it was more than mine and we didn’t even pay for it.

  Monnique raised an eyebrow. “Is that number right…?”

  “Yep.” Janice didn’t seem intimidated by the number.

  “Does Ryan know?” I asked.

  “Nope,” Janice said.

  This was going to be interesting…

  “Please let me be there when you tell him,” Laura said with a smile.

  “Ryan won’t care,” Janice said. “He told me I could do whatever I want. If he was concerned about keeping the cost low, he should have participated more.”

  I could tell there would be a big fight over this. Ryan had money but he wasn’t a billionaire like Sean was. And my brother was on the stingy side. He learned at a young age that you didn’t need money to be happy. All you needed was people who made you feel safe. I learned that too.

  We spent the rest of the night drinking wine and talking. The guys enjoyed their game and started handing out bets toward the end. Sean always broke even because he won as many as he lost. But he didn’t care. It was all about the game, not the winnings.

  Laura didn’t look at Mike once. I just thought it was odd. How did you sleep with him then act like nothing happened? They didn’t even talk about it after it happened. She never called him back. I slept with Cortland, but we had an adult conversation afterwards. How did you move on without talking first?

  Monnique eyed Mike. “Is he doing any better?” The question was directed at me.

  “Not really. Sean spoke to Cassandra, and it’s set in stone she’s not coming back.”

  “He did?” Janice asked. “How did that happen?”

  “It’s a long story,” I said as I brushed it off. “But he thinks she’s seeing someone too.”

  “Bitch,” Monnique snapped. “Fucking whore.”

  “Keep your voice down,” I hissed.

  Mike didn’t seem to notice.

  “We can’t tell him,” I said.

  “Why?” Janice asked.

  “It will kill him.”

  Laura raised an eyebrow. “Sorry…what are you guys talking about?”