Page 73 of Sweet Wicked Vows
“It’s time, you two!” Mal called over. “Get your lovebird asses over here and let’s toss some freaking pumpkins!”
Chapter TwentyThree
Thanksgiving dinner turned into the Spanish Inquisition.
Shame coated my tongue with each mouthful of food.
I hated lying to Samantha and Harry, but I hated the sharp twist in my gut more as I listened to Jaxon and found myself craving the lies he weaved. He never shied away, openly giving details about our fake relationship and portraying the illusion that we were deeply in love.
He made us sound real.
“We are sorry that we couldn’t make it to your wedding party.” Samantha placed an obscenely large slice of pecan pie on my plate. “The pictures Lola showed us were out of this world.”
Harry tucked into his dessert. “Unfortunately, my knee was giving me hassle. Doc says he didn’t want me risking it swelling up on the flight to New York.”
Samantha rolled her eyes with a smile.
Harry was born and bred in the state of Kansas. He owned a lumberyard, while Samantha ran her own hair salon. He never so much left the state, never mind been on an airplane. I knew that he and Samantha weren’t likely to attend the wedding party when the invites were sent.
“I have to say, the two of you in the photos—” Samantha waggled her eyebrows. “—you make a fetching pair standing side by side.” She laughed when my face no doubt matched the colorof myMerlot. “All I am saying is you look good together. Happy.”
“Happier than you were last Thanksgiving, that’s for sure,” Mal said between mouthfuls of pie.
Lola slapped her brother around the back of the head. “Don’t be so fucking rude.”
“Don’t swear,” Samantha scolded her daughter. “And don’t hit your brother.”
“Good to see the whole no-swearing thing comes before assaulting me,” Mal muttered.
Jaxon’s arm rested on the back of my chair. “What happened last Thanksgiving?”
Utter silence fell across the table.
“Nothing bad happened,” Mal finally spoke. “Evie brought Laurence last year, after him avoiding it like the plague the last couple times. He just put a dampener on the whole holiday. He didn’t want to toss pumpkins or help out with anything. Hell, he didn’t want to spend time with anyone.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Samantha tried to act as a peacemaker. “It’s always hard meeting families for the first time.”
“They were together for four years,” Violet interjected. “The fact it took him that long to meet the important people in Evie’s life speaks volumes.”
“Exactly!” Mal lifted his glass of water toward Violet. “Nice to have someone on my side for once.”
“Merely an observation.” Violet met my gaze. “You loved him, so we did, too. His energy last year, however, was not on the level it should have been.”
“He was a total douche the entire weekend,” Mal said.
It was true. The only reason Laurence finally caved in was because his golfing friends were otherwise engaged with a wedding he wasn’t invited to. He was furious at his lack of invitation. He begrudgingly agreed to come with me to Kansas after I pretty much begged him.
He spent the entire holiday sulking and watching golf.
Honestly, the whole thing was embarrassing. He knew how important the Junipers were to me, yet he made no effort with them.
Hell, even Jaxon tossed a freaking pumpkin. It was one of the most wholesome and hilarious things I ever witnessed, and damn him, if it didn’t make my heart freefall faster.
“Now that the two of you are over, I can finally say it. That guy was an egotistical asshole. He wasn’t good enough for you, Evie. Everyone knew it, they were just too scared to say it.” Mal dodged Lola’s incoming slap. “Marrying him would have been a mistake.”
Fingers delicately traced the nape of my neck.
“God, you’re such a prick.” Lola shook her head.