Page 10 of Faking Forever
“Where’s your father?” Fern asked. She and Niall had arrived late, both smiling, eyes glowing. Even in her own distracted state, Kenny could tell that her brother was different. The possessive, almost predatory, way he stared at Fern when he thought no one was watching was enough to make anyone blush.
Kenny had met Fern only once before but she quite liked her, even though she wasn’t sure they could, would, or should be friends. Not when the woman was a temporary fixture in their lives. As a result she’d found herself unable to truly relax around Fern. And she sensed a similar reservation in the other woman.
Beth appeared to have no such qualms and, as was her way, had immediately warmed to Fern. The two seemed to have bonded in a way Kenny had been unable to with either woman. She liked Beth, but her sister-in-law always seemed a little uneasy in her presence.
Kenny didn’t have many—or any—close female friends. She’d always been a bit of a loner, the outsider in every group. And honestly, other women didn’t seem to like her much at all. It was hard for her to relate to women like Beth who had a number of close friends.
“His flight was delayed,” Kenny told Fern. “He only arrived about forty minutes ago. According to Beth, he’s freshening up and will join us soon.”
“He must be exhausted.” Fern was much too sweet for her own good and looked concerned. Kenny said something about her father enjoying making an entrance and being an attention hog.
She wasn’t fully invested in this exchange, especially not when she caught sight of Smith topping up his drink yet again. He looked up and caught her watching him. His gaze sharpened and he began moving toward her, his movements spare, graceful.
Fern laughed at whatever throwaway comment Kenny had just made. She couldn’t quite remember what exactly she’d said and to make up for that lack of attention, as well as to ease her nerves while Smith approached her at a snail’s pace, she desperately searched for a new topic of conversation.
Fern was staring up at Beth and Gideon’s over-the-top Christmas tree and Kenny desperately grasped at that straw.
“Gideon and Beth really go overboard this time of year.”
Well, way to sound like a Grinch, McKenna!
But Fern smiled, her eyes bright with excitement.
“Oh my God, I love it!” she said, her voice loud and enthusiastic. Wow. The girl really seemed to like Christmas decorations.
“Oh, you’re one of those,” Kenny said unthinkingly, amused by the other woman’s enthusiasm. She found it charming, and from what she knew about Fern’s background, the excitement was understandable.
“One of what?”
“A holiday whore.” It was a joke. Maybe a bad one? Kenny wasn’t great at small talk or quips. But she liked Fern and thought maybe…
Fern choked on her drink, then laughed. Warmly. Genuinely. And Kenny’s lips lifted in response to that sincere amusement. She was immensely gratified by the other woman’s obvious appreciation of her off-color comment.
“What even is that?” Fern asked, her voice still bright with laughter.
And Kenny leaned into that, inserting a dryness into her voice that she hoped the other woman would understand and appreciate, “Someone wholivesfor this shit. The decorations, the food, thetinsel…”
“Bah humbug and all that, right, McKenna?” Kenna froze atthe bitter voice coming from just behind her. She’d been so diverted by the warmth of this exchange that she’d actuallyforgottenfor the tiniest of moments about her husband’s approach. And his sour interruption leeched all the joy out of the moment. “Nothing as human as a little Christmas cheer for my frosty little snow woman.”
He kept his voice light, but Kenny could hear the acid dripping off every word and from the way the light dimmed in Fern’s eyes, she knew the other woman heard it too. Her stomach churned and humiliation burned its way into her gut.
Fern forced a smiled and tried to lighten the moment.
“I get how some people might think it’s a lot, but Iloveit.” She went on to describe her past Christmases, how she’d spent them at boarding school, without family. And while Kenny listened, she could barely hear over the heavy, frantic beat of her own heart. Smith was still staring at her, something close to hatred in his eyes, a cruel twist on his beautiful lips.
And, embarrassingly, her eyes flooded with tears. She knew he saw them, because that sneer faded and the loathing in his eyes retreated to be replaced with…concern? Regret? She couldn’t be sure. She cast her eyes down to the floor as she beat back the tears through sheer force of will.
When she felt capable of looking back up, it was to see Smith retreating back to the liquor cabinet. Fern’s valiant conversational attempts to alleviate the awkwardness had dwindled into silence, but she remained standing quietly beside Kenny. The stalwart silence coming from the other woman oddly made Kenny feel supported, even cared for.
She met her sister-in-law’s concerned and sympathetic gaze and gave her a small smile, saddened that their moment of almost friendship had been so thoroughly ruined by Smith.
She needed a moment to compose herself. She couldn’t break down here. Not in front of her family. This was meant to be a happy occasion. She wasn’t going to ruin it for everyone.
“Uh, excuse me,” she stuttered, brushing her hair back from her face while offering Fern another travesty of a smile. “I need to um powder my… Go to the bathroom.”
She fled without giving the other woman a chance to respond.
Smith was leaning against the opposite wall of the tiny bathroom hallway, staring into his drink. His head jerked up when she opened the door and his eyes shot up to meet hers.
