My Almost Ex (The Greene Family #2) - Piper Rayne Page 0,52

down the aisle, but I want you to know how honored I am to give you to my son. Marla and I are both ecstatic that you’ve chosen Adam to be your husband.”

“Thank you,” I said and tried not to cry before I reached Adam.

“Laurie would have loved you. I like to think she’s smiling down on us today.” He nodded a few times as though he was fighting his own tears. “Let’s make you an official part of the family, shall we?”

“Sounds great.”

We walked down the aisle, and at the clearing, Adam was standing in the middle of a flower petal circle, right at the edge of a cliff. I didn’t see the guests in the white chairs or anyone else standing at the front. All I could see was him and his giant smile. His gaze had shifted to the necklace for a brief moment and his smile had grown. He mouthed he loved me, and my heart could’ve burst into confetti I was so happy.

“You remembered?” Marla’s voice drags me out of the memory.

I close my eyes to make sure I wasn’t daydreaming. “The necklace.” I cover my neck with my hand. “What did I do with it?”

Marla shrugs. “I don’t know, sweetie. Just be happy you remembered. I hope you forgive me for being pushy. I just felt like if you saw the dress or the room, it might help. If not today, another day.”

I wrap my arms around her and squeeze tightly. “Thank you, Marla. Thank you so much.”

This is the most precious memory to come back to me. The only problem with the memory is that I could feel in my bones how happy I was, and it doesn’t make sense that five years later I walked out on him.

I really hope I didn’t lose that necklace or get rid of it in anger. I hope it’s in one of the boxes at the house. I couldn’t have been that careless with something that meant so much to him. I know I never would be now, but would the old Lucy?

Friday morning, I’ve decided on a trail for us to go four-wheeling and gotten the trailer and the four-wheeler out of the garage.

Lucy’s been a little off since Monday when we went to Marla and Dad’s. She was so happy she remembered our wedding day, but still… something about her demeanor seems different since then. I thanked Marla even if at the time I thought she was being pushy.

I love Marla. She’s never tried to replace my mom, but still finds a way to guide me like a mom. I should’ve trusted her instincts.

When I walk into the house, Lucy’s dressed and sitting at the table, spinning her phone.

“What’s up?”

She looks up and grabs her phone, standing. “Nothing, just waiting on you.”

“You were thinking pretty hard there.”

“My mom,” she says. That gives me all the answer I need.

Susan texts or calls daily. Sometimes Lucy talks to her and other times, if I’m in the room, she always ignores her, which I hate. I can’t help but think Lucy’s trying to hide the fact that we’re living under the same roof again.

Although nothing has happened—my blue balls are proof of that. I might beat off every night thinking of the woman in bed downstairs, but I haven’t laid a finger on her. When we were at Marla and Dad’s, I thought about it for a moment in the laundry room. But if I kiss her, I know she’ll have expectations, and I don’t know if I can promise her what she wants.

“What did she say?” I ask.

“I was asking her about that last journal that’s missing. I really want to find it.”

“And she doesn’t have it?”

“She says no, but if I kept every one from my entire life, why would I not keep the one from right before I left?”

“True.” I grab a water and open the bottle, then down a quarter of it in one gulp.

“Hey, Adam?” she says.

“Yeah?” I get the cooler ready with the sandwiches and snacks I made for us to eat midday when we take a break.

“Can we do something today?”

I turn around and place the drinks in the cooler. “Something else, you mean?”

She shakes her head. “No. I mean, can I have one day where we don’t talk about my memory or what happened or who I was then and who I am now?”

The toll from the past couple of weeks shows in her body. I wish I’d noticed