Chapter 52

52

DAPHNE

T he Allisburg High reunion was happening tonight, and I was getting dressed for the event with Rachel. My friend had nearly bailed on being her husband's date, but in the end, Jake's mom had shown up to look after Lizzy for the night and Rachel had finally agreed to go—for an hour.

Personally, I was hopeful that she would stick it out for a little bit longer, but Jake had just been happy that she would be on his arm at all. He had even taken his clothes to the guest bedroom to get ready there when it was almost time to leave, giving Rachel and me complete privacy in their bedroom. His mom was in the living room with the baby.

"How are you feeling about tonight?" I asked as I zipped up the back of her shimmering, golden dress. She looked like Glam Barbie in it, her shiny blonde hair cascading in carefully constructed waves over one shoulder. I grinned at her in the reflection of the floor-length mirror we were standing in front of. "God, you're gorgeous. Jake is going to give Lizzy a little brother when he sees you."

"Oh, stop." She ran those wide blue eyes over herself in the mirror, then flicked them back up to mine. I saw the nerves shining in her eyes, so brightly that it made them look almost glassy. "Are you sure this isn't a mistake? Lizzy has never been away from me from me for so long."

"It's only an hour or two," I said soothingly, running my hands up to her shoulders and giving them a comforting squeeze. "Lizzy will be just fine. Mrs. Garrison will call if she needs you and the school is only a few minutes away. You could be here in a flash if there's a problem."

She inhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling slowly. She closed her eyes and nodded. "You're right. I know you're right. It just feels like I'm going to have a panic attack when I even think about leaving her for the night, but she's with her Grammy. She's going to be fine. Her grandpa is coming over later too."

"Exactly. She's in the best possible hands. They've raised three kids already, and Jake and his brothers are all fine. Lizzy will be too. In fact, I think they're going to spoil her rotten. A little girl after all those boys? They're going to be doting on her all night."

Finally, a slow smile spread on her lips and she nodded again. "I think they've been looking forward to this, actually. Getting to spend some quality time with her without us panicking every time she makes a sound."

"Oh, I know they've been looking forward to it." I winked at her in the mirror. "Mrs. Garrison told my mom all about it. They're in the book club together, and according to my mom, Mrs. Garrison couldn't stop talking about it at their meeting yesterday."

Rachel giggled, but I finally saw some of the nervousness leaving her eyes and excitement sparking to life in them instead. "Honestly, it'll be nice to have a little bit of time alone with Jake. I think he's been feeling pretty neglected."

I shrugged. "He wanted to put a baby in you. This comes with the territory."

"Fair enough." She laughed before she spun around to face me. "Let's keep making me beautiful."

"Okay, let's finish your makeup so we can get you out there to your husband for your first post-baby date."

"What about you?" she asked, taking a pointed look at my dress. The back still needed to be done up and I hadn't touched my hair yet. "Want me to get those buttons for you?"

I shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. I'm going with Eric. It's not like I have to look good."

She arched an eyebrow and propped a hand on her hip as she shook her head. "You're going with Eric, but Sterling is going to be there. What's happening with that now anyway? Jake told me that he's going back to New York. What the heck? Does he have rocks in his head?"

I'd been mum about my situation with him so far today, and I didn't plan on making this evening about Sterling and me. Last night had been amazing, and having coffee and breakfast with him this morning had been just as good, but he was still leaving the day after tomorrow and I had no idea where he and I stood anymore. It hurt to think about it at all.

"Tonight is supposed to be a fun party, not a pity party," I reminded her. "Sterling is going to be there and I'm excited to see him, but at the same time, he'll be gone soon. So let's save the teary, deep, meaningful conversation for then."

Worry crept into her eyes, but I smacked her shoulder playfully and pointed at the dresser. "Go on. Put the final touches on your makeup. I know you're dying to see your husband."

Reluctantly turning to do what I'd said, she cast a few more glances at me but I pretended not to notice. I took the spot she'd just vacated in front of the mirror and quickly brushed my hair. Then I pulled it into a quick, loose braid and touched up my own very light makeup.

With that done, Rachel finally buttoned me up. Then we headed out. I hung back as we walked into the living room, enjoying being a witness to the moment Jake turned around and saw her.

As always, he instantly looked absolutely smitten. His cheeks flushed, his jaw practically hitting the floor before he cleared his throat and strode up to her. Mrs. Garrison giggled and snapped a few shots of them on her phone as he pulled Rachel into his arms and murmured something against her ear.

It was such a joyous, beautiful moment that it brought tears to my eyes. Jake and Rachel were my couple goals, I swore. Even after so many years, the way he looked at her was the exact way I wanted to be looked at someday.

Preferably by Sterling, but that's just not going to happen.

With a soft sigh, I gathered my dress, waved goodbye, and headed outside just as Eric parked at the curb to pick me up. I really wasn't in the mood to get into it with my brother tonight, and yet, as soon as I climbed into the truck and looked at him, I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Why do you have a problem with me dating Sterling?" I asked without any prelude. I'd been surprised when he'd texted earlier to ask if I'd still come with him tonight, but he had to have known this was going to come up. "He's been one of your best friends since forever. I know all guys are weird about their sisters hooking up with their friends, but out of all the men in the world, surely he should be one of the guys you trust most?"

Eric snorted. "It's exactly because he was one of my best friends that I don't trust him with you."

I noticed his subtle use of the past tense there, but I didn't bring it up. Somewhere deep inside, I genuinely believed they would be friends again one day. There was just too much history between them to write each other off completely.

"Okay," I said slowly, dragging out the word as I desperately tried to figure out what he meant. "Why, though? You know that he's a good guy. You wouldn't have been friends with him for so long if he wasn't, so why don't you trust him with me when you'd normally trust him with your life?"

"I have trusted him with my life," Eric muttered. "It's not my life we're talking about, though. It's your heart, and when it comes to women, he's not a good guy, Daph. He never has been. He's a charmer. A playboy. He goes with whatever feels right in the moment and he never takes it seriously."

"I don't believe that's true anymore," I said after taking his concerns into consideration. "I get that he might've been like that before, but so were you. All of you were, yet look at Jake and Rachel now. Look how happy they are. Think about how long it's been since you've just randomly fallen from one woman to the next. You can't tell me that you believe you and Jake have changed so much, but Sterling hasn't."

"I don't know what to think about him," he finally admitted. "It's been a long time since he and I have talked about this kind of thing, and honestly, I did think he'd grown up, but then I saw him with you and it occurred to me that he's probably still single for a reason."

"You're single too," I said. "Both of us know that you don't have to be. You're simply refusing to settle for just anyone. Maybe Sterling feels the same way."

Eric shrugged. "Or maybe he's still the same slutty dick he's always been."

I scoffed. "How was he a slutty dick when he was with Fiona? He was committed to her from day one. He never strayed."

"Not that we know about." Eric snorted and glanced at me. "Unless something happened between you?—"

"Don't be a jerk," I said, my voice a low warning. "Nothing happened between us back then and you know it. That only started a couple weeks after he got back, and he's been great. Really great, Eric. He's made me feel secure in his feelings for me and I have real feelings for him too."

"That's what I'm talking about, though," he snapped. "You have real feelings for him and he's fucking leaving."

"Yes, he is, but I knew that was going to happen. He never made me any promises that he hasn't kept. He didn't fool me into thinking he was going to stay. Whatever happens between us, it's between us and you really need to get over it. It's got nothing to do with you."

My brother grunted, white-knuckling the steering wheel as he pulled into the parking lot outside of the high school. People from Eric's class swarmed around us, shouts of laughter ringing in the air. They hugged and chatted while making their way to the doors.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked as he opened his door. "Remember, I'm just here to make sure things run smoothly, so don't worry about me tonight, okay? Just try to relax and have fun."

And if you see Sterling, please don't get in a fight with him , I added silently as Eric hopped out of the truck and came around to open my door.

I accepted his hand and linked my elbow with his, then scanned the crowd gathered outside, searching for one person above all others. I didn't see Sterling yet, but I knew he would be here eventually. While I hoped he and my brother would make up, I also hoped I would get the chance to at least speak to him tonight.

Eric glanced at me as we walked through the wide doors and joined the throng of people moving slowly toward the gym. "I'm ready for this, Daph. I really just hope you are too."