Chapter 17 The Addams Family #3
While we lingered over the meal and music, I noticed Summer’s expression change.
There was a sparkle in her eyes and a flush to her cheeks.
She was looking at something behind me. Turning my head, I found a welcoming scene: a man on his knee with a ring in his hand.
He was proposing marriage, just like I had years ago in this very place.
“I wish them better luck than we had,” Summer said, causing a pit to form in my gut. Would the darkness from our past follow us forever?
Since learning of our baby, I’d desperately tried focusing my resentment on Summer’s dad and separating her from that. The woman who I loved, I’d painted her as a villain because of her betrayal, but I’d never tried to see it from her side.
Returning my attention to her, I took a sip of my drink. “We got something going for us. I think we’ll be just fine.”
“What’s this magical thing we have?” Summer asked, clearly needing me to fill in the gaps.
“Love.”
The word hovered in the air like an avalanche about to rush down a mountain. You’d think I just uttered ‘murder.’
The heart doesn’t lie. I wanted to hold a grudge against her for loyalty’s sake, but she was the only woman who’d drawn me in after all these years. What was the point of pretending she didn’t affect me in a way no other woman could?
The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Summer was visibly flustered, but my mind felt clearer than it’d ever been.
I’d promised to love this woman for the rest of my life, and no amount of anger could undo it.
My heart and brain had been at odds for years and, finally, my heart won.
“We used to love each other,” Summer started, then stopped. “I don’t know what to call what we have anymore.”
Her voice wobbled, like she wasn’t quite sure the words on her tongue matched what swirled in her head. I know that feeling. We’d both forced ourselves to carry certain roles. I, the bitter enemy, for killing her father. She, the traitorous fiancée, for defending her dad.
We might’ve had every reason to carry on hating each other, but there was no ignoring the aching in my chest. The desire flickering in her eyes.
She could fight it all she wanted to. I was done and not afraid to call it as I saw it.
“Listen, for ten years I thought of you every day. Only, deep down, I was probably just getting angry at the thought that you wouldn’t have been thinking about me. ”
Summer sighed. “I never said I didn’t think of you. Not one day went by that you weren’t on my mind.”
“Well, you could’ve answered my letter.”
She frowned. “That wasn’t a letter. You were taunting me.”
“No, I wasn’t.” I tensed, shooting forward over the table when I caught myself. Now was not the time to resume restoring our old habit of arguing.
Summer stared into my eyes. “All I’ve ever done was try to protect us.
From the moment I found out my dad was responsible for Gina’s death, all I selfishly thought about was us.
How not to lose us. I didn’t want to lose my dad either, but I thought if you didn’t know he’d done it .
. . we’d be okay. It was stupid. I was just so desperate to hold on to you. ”
I reached over and patted her hand. “It’s okay. I get it. And I forgive you.”
Summer’s eyes flashed at me. “You forgive me?”
“Isn’t that what you always wanted? There, you have it.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I’m the one who should be forgiving you.”
“Then go ahead and do it.”
Flustered, Summer dropped her napkin on the table and stared. “Thaddeus.”
“Summer, in eight months, we must figure out a way to share an innocent baby.”
Nodding, Summer seemed eager to move on to a lighter subject. “Did you pick this place intentionally?”
“No. Well, maybe a part of me did. The last time we sat in these seats, we were planning an entire future together. Seemed like a good place to try it again.”
“Okay, let’s try,” Summer said in a whisper.
I leaned closer to make sure I heard her correctly, and our eyes met.
For a second, it felt like we were the only two people in the restaurant.
Suddenly, the space between us felt too small.
Slowly, I leaned over, just a bit more, until I was close enough to feel her breath.
When Summer didn’t pull away, my heart began to race.
Leaning forward just a bit further—
“Summer?”
The way we jumped apart, you’d think we were back in high school and afraid of a scolding from a parent. I cleared my throat, and Summer stared at a face that was sort of familiar.
“Olivia.”
She looked down at us in shock. A wrinkle formed between her brows. Yup, she was definitely from Tarrytown. She carried the same judgmental face that was so common around there.
“This is Olivia, my old boss at Legal Aid,” Summer explained.
The lady still looked dazed. The shock was too much. “I-I-I’m just surprised to see you . . . here.”
“A lot has changed,” Summer said, clearly uncomfortable.
Maybe we’d have to move away for Summer, myself, and the baby to live any semblance of a normal life.
“Well, I’ll let you two get back to whatever you were doing,” she mumbled.
It took me a minute, but I finally placed her. She’d been there that day I’d had to convince Mr. Dorman to leave his crumbling home. “Bye.”
Summer looked at me, then back to Olivia. “Let’s talk tomorrow. I’ll explain everything.”
The woman still looked ready to fall over. “I can’t wait to hear it. Seems I’ve missed a lot.”