“Did you see? Did you hear the good news?” Lifting her left hand, she kept rushing my way until her fist was half a foot from my face.
Given the size of the diamond projecting from her finger, I stepped back so as not to get stabbed in the cornea. “Congratulations, Avalee. That’s so great.”
I took hold of her hand and studied the ring long enough to mollify her. It really was a nice ring, sparkling like a disco ball and large as a quail egg, but I couldn’t imagine going about a person’s daily business while wearing it twenty-four hours a day. If it wasn’t snagging sweaters, it would be scratching kids’ faces.
“I know, right? I can’t believe it finally happened to me too!” She lifted her eyes to the ceiling like she’d been waiting eons to get engaged at the ripe old age of twenty-one. Down here, that might have held some truth.
“Avalee’s engaged. I’m getting married. When’s it going to be Clara Belle’s turn?” A different voice filled the foyer, spoken in a tone that seemed intent on rubbing my face in all of my mistakes.
“Hey, Charlotte. How are you?” I dropped Avalee’s hand and angled my body in Charlotte’s direction.
She was leaning against the doorway leading from the living room, arms and ankles crossed, bestowing a look upon me that made me wonder why I’d been invited to this thing in the first place.
“I’m about to marry Ford McBride. I’m doing fabulous,” she replied, a smile slipping into place.
I gave myself a moment to clear my head before replying. I wasn’t getting into this with her again. Ford McBride wasn’t worth fighting over. Ever again. “Cold feet?”
She stuck out her foot, a pink suede heel adorning it. “Toasty warm.”
“Must mean it’s meant to be then. You found your soul mate.”
Charlotte watched me for a moment, searching for anything that might give away that my words were anything less than genuine. She wasn’t going to find anything though, no matter how hard she looked, because I’d gotten over Ford so long ago, I couldn’t even remember what I’d seen in him at the time.
“Speaking of soul mates,” she said, shoving off the doorway and coming in our direction, “where is this new guy of yours?” She looked over my shoulders before scanning the foyer. “He isn’t the imaginary kind, is he?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Charlotte knew how to push me—she always had, and it had only gotten worse since she’d stolen my boyfriend. “He’s upstairs. Probably passed out asleep by now.” My gaze wandered up the stairs. No Boone in sight. Thank god, because I could barely manage this Abbot Estrogen Reunion on its own, sans bad boy from my past. “You’ll all get a chance to meet him tomorrow morning.”
“What’s his name?” Avalee asked, clapping in fairy-like excitement.
I shrugged. “His Name.”
She shoved at my arm, smiling like I’d just made a joke. I hadn’t meant to, but I’d take it if that’s what they wanted to think.
“Tell us something about him,” Mom piped back into the conversation now that we’d moved on to the topic of my beau. “When we found out you’d be bringing your boyfriend along, I can’t tell you how excited we all were. Your father and I . . . well, we’ve waited for this day for a long time.”
“Me to bring a boy home?” I asked, confused.
“You to finally get serious and settle down.” Mom’s continued smile was starting to creep me out. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a serious Botox job was responsible for the smile that redefined creepy.
“Who says I’m settling down and getting serious?” My eyes crept up the stairs again, wishing I could escape before answering any more questions.
“You do, silly girl,” Mom circled her hand in the direction of my face. “It’s that look on your face right now, and that sound in your voice. I haven’t seen you like this with anyone since . . .” She caught herself not a word too soon. Clasping her hands in front of her, she turned to my sisters like she was looking for a little help.
Avalee and Charlotte looked as surprised by Mom’s near blunder as I was. After Boone’s and my fallout, speaking his name had been like high treason within these walls. Even speaking of him had been a crime. I’d thought with all of the time that had gone by, paired with no shortage of other drama and debacles, Boone and what had happened would seem like old, tired news. Clearly not.
Avalee was just stepping forward to give me what looked like another hug—she was the “hugger” in the family—when someone else stepped into the foyer. Someone I hadn’t seen in years and someone, had he not been marrying my little sister, I would have wished to avoid for another fifty.
“Clara Belle.” Ford cracked a smile and leaned into the same doorway his wife-to-be just had. “I like your hair.”