Page 55 of Forever Mine

Chapter 19

Scott

“She's the one,” I said, handing my phone to Mom.

She barely glanced at Vaughn’s picture, then handed the phone to Dad. She hid her disappointment, but it was there. I knew from the way she wouldn't look me in the eyes. She’d worn that same expression when Rhys had introduced Maggie to her and Dad.

“Son,” Mom said, “Isn't it too soon? You met this woman how many weeks ago?”

“Six.”

“And you think you're in love with her?”

I scraped a hand over my hair, while my father watched me with eyes the same shade of blue he'd passed down to me. Up to this point, he hadn't said anything.

“No, Mom, I know I love her.”

So, I hadn’t told Vaughn as yet but it didn’t matter. Just thinking about her increased my heart rate and put me in a better mood.

I must have been out of my mind when I asked Lucy to marry me. We were comfortable together, and I was attracted to her, but not madly in love. On the flight to Miami, I admitted to myself I’d felt pressured into proposing, figuring it was the right thing to do. So much for that.

Lucy had her own agenda and like a fool, I’d fallen for everything she was selling. We’d known each other for years, as we grew up in the same community, but we’d lost touch and connected again in the last two years.

As if she could hear my thoughts, Mom asked, “But what about Lucy? I thought the two of you would get back together. She's called several times in the last few weeks.”

“To say exactly what?” I asked with a bite to my words.

Mom ran a hand through her salt-and-pepper hair and shifted in her seat.

I watched her over the coffee table, with my face twisted in a frown as I waited.

“Well, she wanted us to talk to you to see if ... ”

My grimace stopped her in mid-sentence. The home in which I’d grown up suddenly made me claustrophobic. My parents had redecorated the living room in burgundy and beige. They’d also bought a couple of end tables and upgraded Dad’s La-Z-Boy. Scanning the area only served as an ineffective distraction. When I could talk without losing my cool, I looked at my mother. “Did she tell you why our relationship ended?”

Mom shook her head, and her gaze turned accusatory. “You didn't tell us either. You just said the wedding was off.”

“Because I don't believe in blasting my business around.”

The wrinkles in her forehead deepened as she turned to my father, who sat next to her on the sofa.

Dad cleared his throat, then sighed. “Please tell us why you cancelled the wedding. Just so we’re on the same page.”

I got up and walked around the room with both hands shoved into my pockets. Every time I thought about Lucy’s betrayal, the memory of it was like a knife twisting in my gut. This time was different, though. I wasn’t as cut up about her cheating and dishonesty as I’d been months or even weeks ago.

“I met Vaughn at the right time,” I said, with no point of reference for them to grasp what I was saying. “What Lucy did, doesn’t matter anymore.”

“But, isn’t she pregnant?” My father asked, with disappointment coloring his words. “She said—”

My heart thudded in slow, heavy beats as I admitted. “It isn’t mine.”

“Are you sure?” Mom asked, with a hand pressed to her chest while her cheeks flushed.

“As sure as I am that night follows day,” I said matter-of-factly.

My father’s skin had gone pasty white, when his mouth opened. “So why is she—?”

“Dad, I don’t know and I don’t care. What we had is finished. I told her so months ago, and in the weeks since then she’s kept calling.”