Page 9 of Dearly Unbeloved (Spicy in Seattle #3)

“Well, I have plenty to say!” my mom interjects, because of course she does. “How could you do this to us, Rose? We tolerated Jazz’s wedding thing because she’s always been a bit, well, you know…”

Liam looks like he’s about to boil over, but Jazz places a hand on his chest and shakes her head.

“But now this? You’ve taken away our last chance to see one of our children have an actual wedding!”

None of us has a chance to respond before she stands up, clutches her hand to her forehead, and leaves the room. My dad follows her, and the familiar sinking feeling of disappointing my parents rears its head. It’s been a while.

It shouldn’t matter—it doesn’t matter. This isn’t real.

There’s no need for the sudden, screaming urge to apologize and promise to do better that overtakes me.

But old habits never really die. They lie dormant, ready to wrap their claws around you and suck you back into whatever dark cloud you were so happy to finally escape.

“Did they forget about me? I could have a wedding,” Xan grumbles.

“To who? I’m pretty sure the last time you went on a date, you were in college, and we all know you’re in love with Kami,” Jazz replies with a snort, easing a little of the tension around the table.

Kami has been Xander’s best friend for as long as they’ve both been alive, and he is, without a doubt, in love with her.

She has the sweetest four-year-old daughter, Lexi, and a god-awful husband .

Sierra nudges me lightly with her shoulder.

“Hey. Are you okay?” she asks quietly, and I’m not sure which is worse: my parents acting exactly like they always do, or her acting differently.

She actually looks concerned, though it’s probably more because of how my parents have been with Jazz tonight.

“I’m fine,” I snap, and the concern melts off her face. Beside her, Eliza and Danisha exchange a look. Fuck. Newlyweds don’t snap at each other like that. “I’m sorry, I’m just stressed. I should go talk to them,” I add on.

“You want me to come with?” Sierra asks, but Xan answers before I can.

“We’ve got it. No need for anyone else to have to deal with any more Cannon bullshit today,” he says, pushing away from the table.

Jazz gives Liam a kiss before standing up, and I’m not sure what possesses me to copy her, but I lean in and kiss Sierra’s cheek without thinking about it. It’s softer than I expected. She widens her eyes, but quickly schools her expression into neutrality.

“I’m here if you need me,” she says, playing along without flinching. Shit, she’s better at this than me.

We find my parents sitting in Maggie and Cal’s living room, both silent. My mom is clearly upset, and my dad is clearly pissed, but it’s not like they’ve ever gone out of their way to comfort each other. Why start now?

“What more could you possibly have to throw at us?” My mom sniffles, and I’m not entirely convinced her dramatics aren’t forced.

Xan drops onto the couch opposite them. “Don’t you think you’re being a little unreasonable, Mom? It’s understandable to be upset that you didn’t see Rose get married, but it’s not like she planned to exclude you specifically.”

“Exactly,” I say as Jazz and I sit beside him. “Honestly, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, and you know me, I don’t like a fuss, so it worked out perfectly. It’s not that we didn’t want you there.”

She’s actually pouting, and it would be hilarious if it wasn’t directed at me. “You know, sometimes it feels like I can’t do anything right. Am I just the worst mom in the world or something?”

Past Rose would have jumped in immediately to reassure her. She’s probably expecting it, considering she loves to throw out the same thing anytime we don’t all immediately bend over backwards to accommodate her feelings over our own. After so many times, it no longer hits quite so hard.

Xan sighs. “No one is calling you a bad mom.”

She sniffles, wiping away a nonexistent tear. Jesus. I hope I didn’t inherit her acting skills, or I’ll never be able to pull off this sham of a marriage.

“It’s like the three of you are a team, and we’re not important in your lives. After everything we’ve done for you.”

“The three of us are supposed to be a team,” Jazz says, and I can tell her patience is wearing thin.

“That’s the whole point of siblings. You should find it comforting that no matter what happens, we’re all here for each other.

Do you have any idea how lucky we are to have that?

Liam never had that, and Maggie doesn’t talk to her siblings anymore.

The three of us will always have each other, even when we don’t have you. ”

I look up at her, surprised, and notice Xan doing the same. We’ve never been close, and, though things have been better over the past year, I didn’t realize she felt so strongly about us.

“It would be nice to feel included in your lives more,” Mom says.

“We can do that, right?” Jazz asks me and Xan, and we both murmur our agreement. It’s not like I have much going on in my life that’s worth sharing. I’ll be sure to let them know about the divorce, I guess.

“And for the record, when I get married, I want a big wedding,” Xan says, I assume to reassure my mom, but she scoffs.

“When are you supposed to meet someone? All you do is work, and when you’re not working, the only person you spend time with is already married!

” She sits back, looking like a kid on Christmas Day who’s had their presents snatched away.

“I suppose we should just give up. It would be nice for one of you to have a real wedding or give us grandchildren, but I guess we’re asking for too much. ”

It’s the final straw for Jazz. She sucks in a breath, but says nothing as she stands up and leaves the room.

“Mom,” Xan chides, pinching his brow as whatever progress we made crumbles into dust.

“What? I’m not allowed to share my feelings now?”

I shake my head. How the hell is she so clueless? “You have to stop pushing Jazz about kids. Do you have any idea how hard this is on her? She’s desperate to be a mom. ”

“And I’m desperate to be a grandmother. It’s hard for me too!”

She can’t seriously be that dense.

“Leave it, Lilia,” my dad says, though I’m fairly sure it’s just because he’s fed up with the conversation and doesn’t want to listen to her complaining anymore.

I rub my face, pressing my palms into my eyes. Fuck my mascara—let it smudge.

A soft knock catches our attention. Maggie is standing in the doorway, a furious-looking Cal right behind her.

“Alexander, Lilia, we called a car to take you back to Marysville. It’s outside,” Maggie says, and my parents exchange a surprised look.

My dad jumps up. “Oh, sorry, we didn’t realize everyone was leaving.” My mom trails him to the door.

“They’re not,” Maggie responds firmly. “But you made Jazz cry—again—so you’re no longer welcome in our home.”

My parents stop in their tracks. “Maggie! How da?—”

“No,” Cal interrupts, and my mom snaps her lips closed. “It was Jazz’s choice to invite you, which is why I’ve kept my mouth shut tonight while you’ve acted so poorly toward your children, all of whom I care about very deeply, but you will not speak to my wife like that.”

It’s easy to forget what Cal does for a living day to day since he’s so gentle and easygoing. Very little rattles him and, when it does, I can see why his record of winning court cases is so good.

My parents disappear out the front door without so much as a glance back toward me or Xan.

Maggie closes the door behind them and leans against it with a groan.

“What a fucking night. But that,” she says, pointing at Cal, “was really hot.” She steps forward into his arms and he chuckles, kissing the top of her head.

I’ve dated here and there, both casual and long-term, but I’ve never been with anyone where affection has felt as natural as it seems to be for Maggie and Cal, or Jazz and Liam.

Maggie peers at us over Cal’s shoulders. “We made the guest rooms up earlier in case you wanted to stay. Eliza and Danisha are making cocktails.”

“If I ever say no to one of their cocktails, something is seriously wrong,” Xan says, and he seems lighter already now that our parents are gone. “I’ll stay. Are you and Sierra staying?”

“Oh. Uh…” I’ve gotten so used to my parents having an issue with everything we do that I actually forgot what started all this for a moment.

Sierra. My wife. Shit. If we stay, we’ll have to share a room.

But if Xan is staying, it would be weird if we didn’t.

I should probably ask her before agreeing, but I don’t do well on the spot.

“Yeah, sure, that sounds good. Is Jazz okay?”

“She will be. She’s upstairs with Liam in their room if you want to check on her.”

I glance at Xan, and he looks as uncertain as I feel.

We’re not those kinds of siblings. We don’t talk to each other about our feelings, and the one time I tried to help take the heat off Jazz, all I did was escalate things so badly that she’s upstairs crying.

I’m probably the last person she wants to see.

“She’s in good hands with Liam,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Yeah, we’ll leave them to it,” Xan adds, sounding almost relieved. He can’t be any more comfortable with the idea of trying to talk about our parents than I am.

It’s not like they’ll ever change, and it’s not like it’ll ever not hurt. There’s no point in rehashing it all.