Page 89 of Forever Mine
I shake my head no like a crazy person. Fallon nods yes.
“Ry, come on,” he says.
Ryder takes the hint and follows Fallon, and inside me freaks the fuck out when I’m left alone with the Jamesons.
“Elijah, how has Lizzie seemed to you?”
I blink back to the present at Mrs. Jameson’s question.
“Um… better. We’ve been keeping a close eye on her.”
“What about Jayson?”
Mr. Jameson pats her arm. “Honey, don’t put Elijah in the middle. Julien said he wasn’t drinking again.”
I jump in, wanting to reassure her. “He’s not.”
She sighs out a worried breath. “Good… good. It’s just?—”
“Sweetheart,” Mr. Jameson gently says, stopping her.
Maybe I should have gone with Fallon and Ryder.
A few spectators begin shuffling back to their seats.
“If we don’t say it enough, thank you for everything you’ve done for Julien. We’re so grateful he found you.”
Do it. Do it. Do it.
My heart thuds in my ears as it tries to pummel through my ribs. “I don’t know if this is the right time, but I’d like to talk… I mean, ask you about something.”
Holy hell. I can feel the perspiration gathering, and I try my hardest to ignore how icky it feels.
“Of course,” Mr. Jameson replies, giving me his full attention.
My voice falters slightly as I gather my courage. “I love Julien very much. He means everything to me, and I can’t imagine my life without him. So, I’d…” I wipe my clammy palms down my thighs. “I’d like to ask both of you for your blessing to ask your son to marry me.”
There’s a long pause of silence as they look at each other. Each second they don’t say anything is an eternity of pure, hellish torture as I brace for their disapproval.
Mr. Jameson scratches his salt-and-pepper beard. “Have you spoken to your father about this?”
I squeak out through a throat dry as dust, “Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Hating that I may be adding ammunition for them to say no, I reply, “He thinks we’re too young but will support us a hundred percent.”
Shut up, Elijah!
“His point is a valid one,” Mrs. Jameson says.
Wishing I could vanish in a puff of smoke, I instead push my shoulders back and stand up straighter. I don’t know what I have to do, but I will prove to them that I am worthy of their son.
“I—” Don’t get a chance to finish because I’m suddenly pulled into a fierce embrace.
“A parent only wants the best for their child. Someone who loves them for who they are. Someone who will stand by them no matter what. There is no better person for Julien than you, Elijah, and we’d be damn proud to have you as a son-in-law.”
Did he just say…?
