Chapter 12
Vera
V era was suddenly overthinking everything.
She had been invited to dinner with Isla and Mason innocently enough and thought she was doing the neighborly, friendly thing by inviting them to spend the night in lieu of inhaling paint fumes. But the more Vera thought about it, the more she hoped Isla didn’t think she wanted an adult sleepover .
No, Vera would be opposed to that. Her feelings for Isla were developing faster than she ever knew was possible. However, she knew it was too soon to be crossing over from friends to something more. Heck, they hadn’t even had an official date yet.
It would happen soon; Vera was going to make sure of it. But in the meantime, she had to make it clear to Isla that she wasn’t expecting anything out of their night together. And she knew exactly the person who could help her with that.
Parking the vehicle at her mother’s house, Vera hurried up the driveway and rang the doorbell.
Bellamy Forsyth wasn’t the type of mother that would like her children barging into her house, even if it was the house where they grew up. In fact, Vera didn’t even have her own key anymore. Neither did her younger sister, Lena. And especially not the youngest, Walker, who eagerly opened the door.
“Hi,” Walker giggled as she hugged Vera.
“Hey, sis.”
At seven, Walker was young enough to be Vera’s daughter. And in a way, that dynamic fit them better than sisters. They hadn’t grown up together as Vera was already out of the house by the time Walker was born. But Vera made it a point to hang out with Walker as much as she could. Which, she could admit, had been less over the last few weeks as her focus had been on Isla.
Vera pushed the guilt back down and smiled at Walker.
“Are you ready for pizza?”
“Yup.”
“Get your stuff.”
As Walker ran off to get her coat, Vera stepped into the house. She looked around the large rooms for signs of their mother. Vera knew Bellamy was home; the Jaguar in the driveway confirmed that. But her mother was nowhere to be seen.
Fine by me.
“Got it.” Walker had a backpack in one hand and a jacket in the other. She held her coat out to Vera, who helped her put it on.
As she was zipping the coat up, Bellamy seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Vera,” she greeted, although it felt far from welcoming. “Are you keeping her the whole weekend?”
She’s not a dog , Vera wanted to snap. But she refrained. Getting into an argument with Bellamy Forsyth was useless. She was always right, even when she was wrong. And Vera had also decided years ago she wouldn’t talk bad about their mother in front of Walker. Vera didn’t have that rule in place for Lena, and Vera often wondered if she tainted the middle Forsyth daughter toward their mother.
“I can.”
“Good.”
Biting her tongue, Vera smiled down at Walker as she tucked her blonde hair behind her ear.
“You ready?”
“Ready!”
There were no hugs or kisses or even goodbyes as Vera and Walker left. The door slammed behind them with a thud, but it no longer caused either of them to react. Vera’s heart hurt, but not for herself. She was old enough to know her mother wasn’t made to be a mother. But Walker didn’t understand that.
Bellamy was made to be a businesswoman. She was born to sit in on board meetings and buy real estate like it was a bag of chips. And she had done that with no regard to the children she’d left neglected in her path. Neither Vera, Lena, nor Walker were close to their mother. They each had different fathers that weren’t in the picture either, so they truly only had each other. Vera was thankful that Lena had her friends and Walker had the Carlson family that had taken her in under their wing.
Vera vowed that whenever she had kids, she would be the opposite mom to them as her mom had been to her. She would never put work first and would always be there to tuck them in at night. Her kids would always know she loved them and they mattered, no matter what. Just like she wanted the same thing for Walker.
Scooping Walker into her arms, Vera twirled her around and kissed her cheek.
“I love you, Walker. Always know that.”
“I do,” she giggled again. “I love you too, sis.”
Putting Walker on her hip, she opened the back door to the SUV and buckled her in. They drove to the Pizza Parlour as they chatted about Walker’s week at school and her best friends, Maddie and Emily.
“You remember Mason?” Vera looked into the rearview mirror at Walker, who nodded. “Well, she and her mommy are going to meet us for pizza and a sleepover tonight. Won’t that be fun?”
Walker’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! I like Mason. She’s not afraid of bugs.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” Vera chuckled to herself. As she parked the car at the pizza place, she waved at Isla and Mason, who were waiting by the front door. “Oh, good. They’re already here.”
Helping Walker out of the SUV, Vera held her hand as they walked over to the restaurant. Mason's eyes lit up when she saw Walker, which let Vera know she made the right call to bring her little sister along.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Isla briefly hugged Vera before pointing at Walker. “She’s a mini you. Where did she come from?”
“She’s my sister.”
“Ahh,” Isla laughed. “For a moment I thought you had a secret kid.”
“I might as well.” Vera tried to keep her tone upbeat so as to not signal to Isla she was annoyed by her sister’s presence. It was the furthest thing from the truth. “Let’s just say the Forsyth kids could have benefited from having a mom like you.”
Isla blushed as she lowered her eyes from Vera’s gaze. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
“I mean it. Mason is lucky.”
Vera wasn’t sure she should mention Blake, so she didn’t.
Once the group headed inside, they chatted over plate after plate from the buffet about what the girls were learning in school and how they both loved dogs. Vera couldn’t help but imagine she and Isla were out to dinner with their two kids. Her heart swelled at the mere thought of raising kids with Isla.
What the hell is wrong with you?
Vera quickly reached for her glass of water as she tried to push thoughts out of her mind unsuccessfully. She knew she was constantly thinking about having kids because of her job, but it was more than that, too. Things were easy with Isla. Isla made her smile, made her laugh, and made her happy. Even in the short time they’d known each other, Vera knew she wanted Isla to be in her life forever.
And as more than friends.
If only she could gather the nerve to tell her that.
On some level, Vera thought Isla felt the same. After all, why else would Isla be kissing her or flirting with her or looking at her with the most beautiful smile in the world sitting across the table from her? God, she’s gorgeous. Vera sipped on her water until the glass was empty.
“Hey, Walker,” she cleared her throat and turned toward the kid beside her. “Why don’t you take Mason to the arcade?”
“Okay!”
“Can I go, Mommy?”
“Of course, baby. Let me get you some…”
“I got it,” Vera rummaged in her purse for a few dollars and handed them to Walker.
“Come on, Mace!”
As the girls scampered off to the arcade at the back of the restaurant, Vera scooted over so she was directly across from Isla. Their hands were nearly touching on the table, and their eyes were locked so intensely that it was like no one else was around. It took all the restraint Vera could muster not to lean in and kiss her.
“Did you bribe them so we could be alone?”
“Would you be mad if I said yes ?”
Isla laughed. “No. I definitely wouldn’t be mad.”
“Good.”
Vera could see the same passion in Isla’s eyes that she felt in her own heart. Her mind ran wild thinking of what would or could happen if they weren’t in a crowded restaurant or responsible for two kids. Tenderly, Isla laced her fingers through Vera’s and smiled.
“I’m glad you brought Walker.”
“I thought her and Mason would get along. They’ve hung out at Maggie’s before.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Vera smiled, “Maggie mentioned it to me before. I meant to tell you, but life’s been a little busy.”
“Painting other people’s apartments will do that to you.”
That smirk. That damn smirk. It’s going to be the death of me.
“That’s what I hear.”
“So,” Isla cocked her head slightly, “does Cameron have a dog?”
Caught.
Vera nervously chuckled as she felt her cheeks blush. “No, she doesn’t.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“She’s not subtle.”
“She’s not, but I’m glad we got to have dinner,” Isla paused, licking her lower lip, “together.”
“Me, too.”
“So, tell me about your family.”
Vera inhaled sharply and sighed at the abrupt change in topic. “Well, there’s me and Walker, and then we have another sister, Lena, in the middle.”
“Big age differences.”
“Oh yeah.”
“Did your parents not want kids close together?”
“Well,” Vera laughed, “we actually have three different dads and none of us have any contact with them. My mom isn’t one for relationships. With men or her kids. We all came from one-night stands on business trips, I think. As far as I know, at least. I am the product of a real estate marketing conference in Ohio.”
“Oh, wow.” It was obvious that Isla wanted to laugh but wasn’t going to out of respect. But Vera waved her off.
“You can laugh, it’s okay.”
“I’m not laughing,” she said with a laugh and quickly covered her mouth while she composed herself. “It’s just I can’t imagine you with a mom like that. Is that weird to say?”
“Honestly, I can’t imagine myself with a mom like that.”
“I mean that you’re so good with Mason and Walker and you’re so sweet. I just assumed you had really loving parents and a great home life.”
“Don’t get me wrong, my mom did the best she could.”
“I’m sure.”
“But she wasn’t meant to be a mom. Not like some people are.” Vera rubbed her thumb over the back of Isla’s hand. “Like you.”
“Thank you. And I know you’ll be a great mom, too.”
“I hope so.” Her eyes locked with Isla’s. “One day.”
“One day,” Isla repeated.
“So, tell me about your family.”
Isla smiled sadly. “My parents aren’t in my life anymore, but that’s my choice and I don’t regret it. I have three sisters and a brother, but I’m only in contact with two of my sisters, Nora and Eden.”
There was definitely more to the story than Isla was saying, but Vera didn’t dare ask Isla questions she might not be willing to answer.
“Nora has a daughter about Mason’s age and Eden is fifteen and lives with Nora in New York City.” If only for a second, Isla’s smile was happy, which made Vera happy. But as soon as it appeared, it seemed to fade away. “Anyway, I met Blake and Mason’s father when I was sixteen. He was an altar boy in our church. Everyone told us we’d get married, but I never loved him like that. But then I got pregnant at eighteen, and well,” she sighed, “here we are.”
Vera gave her a moment to see if she would continue, which she did.
“I had big plans, you know?”
“I’m sure.”
“I was going to be on Broadway. I had a gig and everything.”
Vera felt her mouth hang agape. “Excuse me? Broadway ? Isla Mackenzie, you’ve been holding out on me.”
“It wasn’t a lead or anything. I was part of the ensemble,” she tried to brush it off but Vera remained impressed. “But I got pregnant with Blake before the show opened so that was the end of that chapter in my life. Not that I regret getting pregnant,” Isla quickly added. “I don’t.”
“I know.”
“Blake and Mason will always be the greatest things I’ve created in my life.” A slight smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “And any other kids that I may have with someone down the road.”
Isla leaned in ever so slightly toward Vera, and Vera did the same. But as they were about to kiss, Mason and Walker came running over to them.
“Mommy!” She jumped into the booth seat beside Isla and held up her handful of tickets. “Look at all the tickets I got!”
“Whoa! That’s so many!”
“And I got a lot too!” Walker held up her fistful to Vera. “We’re gonna put our tickets together and get a big prize.”
“Yeah!”
“Well,” Vera snatched the check off the table before Isla had a chance to even think about paying for the meal, “how about we head on out so you two can look at the prizes?”
As Walker and Mason scampered toward the front of the restaurant, Isla and Vera followed behind them. Isla playfully bumped her hip into Vera’s.
“That’s the problem with kids though. They interrupt all the time.”
“True,” Vera laughed. “But you wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Isla smiled at Mason and Walker, who were excitedly chatting about the prizes in the case by the checkout counter. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like some alone time every now and then.”
Every fiber in Vera’s body was on edge. Did she mean what Vera thought she meant? Did Isla want to be alone with her? Vera felt her face grow hot at the thought of what alone time with Isla would entail. She could barely choke out a response.
“I’d like that, too,” she somehow managed to mutter.
“Good.”
With a wink, Isla walked over to Mason and Walker as they all looked at the prizes. But Vera’s eyes were locked on Isla as images of them alone together began to overtake her mind. She tried to distract herself, but it was useless. Thoughts of Isla filled Vera’s mind as she drove Walker to the house with Isla and Mason trailing in the car behind them.
Focus, Vera. Focus , she repeated to herself as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. But it was useless. Her only hope was she could find a way to be distracted from thoughts of Isla.
“Vera?”
“Yeah?” She glanced in the rearview mirror at Walker.
“I like Isla.”
Vera couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. “I do, too, sis. I do, too.”