Page 78 of Shine For Me

To some people, that lifestyle is the definition of luxury. I always assumed my mom would be one of those people. It wasn’t until a few years after the divorce, once she was settled up here, that I realized there was a lot about Bethany Cain than I had never understood.

As the vans park at the side of the gravel drive, a screen door bangs open and my mother appears. She’s dressed in leggings and a long sweater, her blond hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. Even dressed down, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s smiling big, waving at us.

Fox squeezes my hand before we climb out of the van but I barely notice him. I should wait for the others to step out on the gravel, make introductions. But the second my feet hit the ground I let go of Fox and run to my mother. She lets out a littleoofof surprise when I basically throw myself at her, but it doesn’t take her long to react. Her arms are around me, squeezing me tight, the scent of her soft perfume washing over me. “My Juniper-girl,” she murmurs. “I missed you, baby.” Another tight squeeze. “Let me see your face,” she says, starting to pull back. But I hug her tighter, refusing to let go. I can feel her surprise—I’m not usually the most affectionate person in the world—but she doesn’t say anything. She merely hugs me back, for as long as I want.

There are noises behind us, voices, feet on the gravel. I realize that I’m in danger of making this awkward, leaving my guests to stand there without even an introduction. So I force myself to let go of my mom, trying to fix a smile to my face before anyone can see me.

Mom isn’t having it. The second I release her she cups my cheeks in her hands, her clear grey eyes scanning my face. Whatever she sees has her forehead scrunching in concern. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, Momma,” I say, probably too brightly. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”

I can tell she wants to press me more, but my mother is nothing if not a good host. So she slips her arm through mine and faces the small crowd on her driveway.

I introduce Fox’s family—Alex looks a bit sheepish when I get to her and Everly hugs my mom nearly as tightly as I did. I leave Fox for last and my words falter a little when I get to him. I haven’t told my mom about Fox yet. I told myself I wanted to do it in person, but the reality is that I chickened out. My mother has never approved of me keeping up the appearance of my relationship with Adam, so she’ll be happy to hear that part is done.

But Fox is an actor. And that won’t make her happy at all.

“This is my, um, my friend. Fox,” I say, my cheeks feeling hot. “We’ve worked together a lot.”

My mom rolls her eyes. “I have seen your movies, Juniper,” she says, nudging me aside. She clasps his arms and goes up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, which surprises me. “My daughter talks about you often,” she says. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

Fox shoots me an unreadable look before smiling down at her. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Thank you so much for having us. This place is amazing.”

“You’re more than welcome. In fact, I should be thanking you for giving my Juniper a reason to come up and visit me.” Even though there’s nothing pointed in her tone, I can’t help but feel a sting. “I’m afraid there won’t be room for all of us in the house, so we’ll eat lunch on the patio.”

She gestures for everyone to follow her around the side of the house, but Alex catches me before I can join the others.

“I’m sorry,” she says immediately. “I was out of line.”

I open my mouth to tell her it’s no big deal, but something stops me. Maybe it’s the proximity to my mother, one of the strongest women I know. Or maybe it’s just being here, in this place that represents her courage and determination. I feel a lot more like the brave girl Fox assures me I can be. So I straighten my shoulders and hold her gaze.

“I worry about Fox,” Alex says. “It was hard to watch him go out and start this career in such a crazy industry all on his own.” She gives a half shrug. “I guess I’m just used to the three of us doing the big, life-changing stuff together. And the whole Hollywood thing is so far outside my realm of understanding.”

“I can appreciate that,” I tell her. I know better than anyone how demanding and damaging the industry can be.

“I was never that into the reality show,” she explains, which I already knew. After the first season, Alex stopped being featured so much on Ransom the Runway. According to Fox, she found the whole thing uncomfortable. There was also the fact that the show outed her relationship with Wyatt for the entire world before they’d figured out a way to tell their family.

“You don’t trust the entertainment industry. I get it—I don’t trust it either.” I don’t drop her gaze. “But you should understand that Fox and I have been standing together in the middle of that Hollywood machine for the past two years. To you it might have seemed like he was going off on his own, but to me…”

I swallow, not really knowing how to explain this, the way Fox has felt like a port in the storm from the very first movie we made together. “He’s been steady for me, the same way he was for you and Everly. And I’d like to think that I’ve helped him navigate all the craziness.”

She studies my face, looking thoughtful. “I guess I can see that. You guys are a team.”

I find myself grinning, in spite of the awkwardness I still feel around this woman. A team. I like the sound of that very much.

“I care about him, Alex. A lot. I don’t have any intention of hurting him.”

She nods. “Okay, then.” Her expression turns sheepish. “It’s really beautiful here. It was so nice of your mom to invite us.”

I wave a dismissive hand. “She loves having guests. Hosting people is her favorite thing.” I laugh. “I don’t know where I got my awkwardness around people, but it definitely wasn’t from her.”

Alex looks bewildered. “Awkwardness?”

“Uh, yeah. Isn’t that obvious?” I wave a hand around myself. “Total weirdo in most social settings.”

She looks like she wants to argue, but Fox appears at the side of the house. His eyes narrow on Alex when he sees us standing together. “What’s going on?”

“We were just on our way back,” I tell him, hoping he can hear the calm in my voice. I turn away from Alex, feeling much better than I did when the vans pulled in, and move forward to join Fox. “Did she make way too much food?” I ask.