Love Me Forever - Juliana Stone Page 0,70
sighed. “Regan says he’s lucky as hell, but I wonder. He drinks too much, and sometimes I think he wants to end up like Rick, six feet under.”
Poppy didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. She didn’t know Ethan Caldwell all that well, but she knew enough to know he hadn’t gotten over the death of his best friend—Emily’s husband. And that he blamed himself.
“Am I interrupting?” They both turned, and Poppy’s jaw tightened. Great. She wasn’t in the mood for her mother, not today when the sun was shining and the air was fresh. Not today when this For Sale sign signaled a new life she couldn’t wait to grab.
“I’m just leaving,” Emily said with a wave as she pulled her puppy along and headed back the way she came.
Serena Fairbanks glanced toward the house, and then her eyes settled on the sign. They’d had maybe two conversations since that awful day in the summer at the park, and both of them had ended just as abruptly as they’d started. And they’d ended badly. Poppy hadn’t seen her mother in weeks and still hadn’t forgiven her for sending Boone away all those years ago, for reading her diary, and for lying about it all. She knew she would in time, but it was still fresh. Still hurtful.
“You’re selling,” her mother said softly.
“I am.”
“Moving in with Boone?”
“Already have.” Poppy held up her ring. “We’re getting married over the holidays. Going somewhere warm. Bali, I think.”
“How lovely.” Serena made no effort to hide her pained expression. “I want the best for you, Poppy.”
“Do you?” Poppy wasn’t so sure. “You had me twisted up thinking I meant nothing to Boone, when it was the furthest thing from the truth.” She needed her mother to understand something. “We’re good, Mom. Really good. I’ve told him everything. He knows about LA, about what happened with Mark, about that night when he attacked me and gave me this.” She pointed to the scar on her face. “He knows I’d been so down that I let a man control me until I didn’t know which end was up. He knows about the endometritis and that I’ll probably never have children. And he knows that I love him the way he deserves to be loved. More importantly, he does the same for me. He completes me. He’s my person, and we’re a family now.” She looked her mother straight in the eye. “Boone and Benji are my family, and if you want any chance of being a part of our lives, you need to be as open and honest as I’m being right now. You need to love me and be happy for me the way a mother should be happy for her child. You can’t be jealous because I have something you lost. Maybe something you never had. You need to take Dad out of the equation, because what happened between the two of you has nothing to do with me or the man I love.”
Her mother didn’t answer at first, and when she did, Poppy barely heard her. “I’m sorry, Poppy. Please accept my apology.”
“I do, Mom, but the thing is? We’ve been here before. Right in this exact moment. But because I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and because I’m generous, so much so that I wish you can find this same kind of happiness, I’m willing to believe this time is different. But the thing is, Boone is my love. He owns my heart, and he’s going to be my husband, and the only way you can be in our lives is if you support us. No more snide comments or rude looks. There is no other way.” She turned and watched Emily until she disappeared around the corner. “Life’s too short, and I’m not wasting another second.”
She walked forward, because she wasn’t joking about being happier than a pig in mud, and she kissed her surprised mother on the cheek. “I have to go. We’re having dinner tomorrow with Elise, after Pumpkinfest. You’re more than welcome to come.” Poppy stepped back. “The ball’s in your court, Mom. I hope you play things right.”
Poppy turned, got into her car, and sped out of town, headed toward River Road and her new home. It didn’t take long before she pulled in behind Boone’s truck, and a minute after that, she walked through the front doors, went all the way to the back, and paused at the entrance to the kitchen.
Benji was at