29. June
CHAPTER 29
JUNE
R yan doesn’t tell me what he plans to do, but when he returns from the chapel, Cory and Mackenzie are in his mother’s room again, so he goes in to see her too. I stay with Jake and Lachy in the waiting room. Jake stands with a cup of good coffee in his hand.
“How is he?”
“I think he’s going to be all right. Is that for me?” I point at the cup.
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
I sit between Jake and Lachy and don’t say much while I drink my coffee. My phone pings with a text message, and I get a little jumpy. What if it’s Bill again?
Jake and Lachy both stare at me.
“Are you going to check yer phone, lass?”
“You guys are more curious than I am.”
“I won’t look. I promise.” Jake smiles.
“You’d better not.” I fish my phone out of my purse and sigh a breath of relief. It’s not Bill. Thank God.
“It’s Maya. She wants to know if we’re going to Wendy’s Halloween party.”
“Not a chance,” Jake grumbles.
I wasn’t planning to pressure Jake to attend just to please Wendy, but now I want to go. Hanging out with Maya last night was fun. Yes, she does say things that I don’t like, but I don’t think she’s a bad person.
“But it’s your birthday,” I reply.
“You found out about that, huh?”
“Yeah, from Wendy . Thanks for letting me know, by the way.”
Lachy laughs. “Don’t take it personally. Jake hates his birthday. He never celebrates it.”
“Why not?”
“I have my reasons.”
He doesn’t elaborate, and I suspect his reasons have to do with his father.
“Well, I want to go. And I got the impression from Wendy that bringing you to the party is a test. You won’t let me fail, will you?”
He gives me an exasperated look. “Do you really want to go?”
My plan was to spend Halloween at Katrina’s like I do every year, but I’m curious about Wendy’s party. And Katrina will totally kill me if I don’t go and then report every bit of juicy gossip to her. “Yes.”
“Okay, fine.”
Lachy bumps my arm. “Well played, lass. We’ve been trying to get Jake to celebrate his birthday for years.”
“I’m not celebrating my birthday. Just to be clear. If anyone buys me gifts, I’ll be mad.”
“Really? No gifts?” I pout.
“Nope. Besides, I already got my gift. You .” He taps my nose.
“Oh, all right,” I say. “Only Halloween then... and a cake.”
“Do not say no to cake, Jake, or I’ll be mad,” Lachy pipes up.
Jake sighs. “Fine.” Then he squeezes my leg. “See the things I do for you, Junebug.”
“We need to think about costumes,” I muse.
“You know what would be fun?” Lachy smiles like the cat that ate the canary.
“Oh brother. Here you go with your crazy ideas,” Jake murmurs.
“Tell us,” I say.
“We should dress up as the Wizard of Oz characters.”
My eyes turn rounder. “That’s genius!”
“Oh God,” Jake grumbles. “I’m regretting agreeing to this party already.”
Lachy glares at Jake. “Ignore him. He’ll try to veto every costume idea.” He looks at me with a smile. “Anyway, that book you were reading gave me the idea.”
“Oh... the why choose romance.”
“Why choose?” Jake arches a brow.
I shrug. “That’s what the genre is called. Meaning the female lead doesn’t have to choose among her many love interests.”
Lachy laughs. “That’s bloody brilliant.”
“If we dress as the Wizard of Oz characters, what would you be?” I ask them both.
“Lachy should be the Scarecrow for obvious reasons.” Jake smirks.
“Ha ha, very funny.”
“Well... you’re blond, it makes sense. Besides, the Scarecrow is the sweetest of all three characters, so it fits you perfectly.”
“Are you saying I’m not sweet?” Jake interjects.
I look at him with a brow raised. “Do you really want me to answer that question?”
He shakes his head and smiles. “Nope.”
“You can be Tin Man... heartless.” Lachy pipes up.
“Or because of other reasons...” I mutter.
Jake leans closer and whispers in my ear, “Are you referring to my piercing, my love?”
“Maybe?”
“That leaves the Cowardly Lion to Ryan.” Lachy chuckles. “It’s kind of perfect.”
“Why? Do you think he’s not courageous?” I ask.
“No. It suits him because he’s a Leo through and through. Ryan can’t see a mirror and not preen in front of it.” Jake explains.
“Oh. Wow... then those are the perfect costumes, but won’t it be weird if we dress up as a group?”
“I don’t think so.” Jake throws his arm around my shoulder. “Too bad we can’t bring Winston to the party.”
I nod. “He’d be a perfect Toto.”
“We can take pictures beforehand though. Mrs. Carpenter will love it,” Jake replies.
“Look who’s excited about Halloween now?” Lachy points out.
I grin broadly. “Right?”
“I’m not.” Jake crosses his arms and frowns.
“Sure, you aren’t.” Lachy eggs him on. This entire convo is making my chest a bit lighter. I know Ryan is going through a hard time, but I hope we can cheer him up too.
Maybe I summoned him with my thoughts. He’s walking over, and the expression on his face wipes the smile from mine. All three of us stand, but it’s Jake who asks, “How was it?”
Ryan’s eyes are red and puffy, and he didn’t do a good job drying his cheeks. “I made peace with my mother.”
“That’s great. How do you feel?” I ask.
“Lighter.”
I step into his space and give him a big hug. Not surprisingly, Jake and Lachy join me, so now Ryan is in the middle of a giant embrace.
He laughs. “Guys, you’re crushing me.”
We all step back, and I say, “Sorry.”
Cory and Mackenzie join us, both looking in a similar state as Ryan. I guess it was an emotional visit for all of them.
“Are you going back to LA now?” Cory asks.
“I’m not sure. It’s up to Ryan,” Jake replies.
Ryan looks at his watch. “It’s almost noon. Maybe we can have lunch.”
I look at the time and confirm Ryan is right. I didn’t realize we’d been here for so long.
“I can eat.” Lachy stretches his arms.
Jake turns to him. “Really? Is water wet?”
My gaze connects with Mackenzie’s, and I remember we didn’t officially meet yet. She has Ryan’s dark hair and fair complexion, but her eyes are hazel instead of blue.
“I’m sorry. We weren’t officially introduced. I’m June.”
“Hi.” She smiles shyly. “I know who you are.”
My brows arch. “You do?”
“I saw your picture with Jake online. You’re his girlfriend, right?”
I switch my attention to Ryan briefly, and I swear I see a flash of something in his eyes. Is he not happy with this arrangement?
“June?” Mackenzie presses.
Jake puts his hand on my lower back. “Yes, June is my girlfriend.”
Heat spreads across my face. God, I hope Mackenzie didn’t notice the brief gaze exchange between Ryan and me. I have to do better at hiding my feelings for him and Lachy when I’m in public. I feel horrible though. I love them all equally, and it depresses me that I have to keep my distance.
If these dark thoughts are bouncing around in my head and making my heart tight, what’s happening to my boys? I was so focused on telling them all how I felt that I didn’t stop to think about the future. How are we going to move forward? One thing is certain, I don’t want to hide my love for any of them.