Page 146 of The One

“He certainly didn’t.”

I went quiet for several moments before I whispered, “I love him.”

“You always have.” She finally took a sip of her coffee and set the mug on the small table beside her. With her hands free, she moved forward a whole seat and clasped my fingers within hers. “Since you were a freshman in high school, and I knew you going to Europe wouldn’t change that.”

“I want to be with him.” My eyes were welling with tears. I couldn’t stop the emotion. “I have to be with him—for me. And I don’t know how you and Dad feel about that, especially Dad, but I can’t go another day without Rhett in my life.”

“My girl,” she said so softly. “Over the years, every time we spoke about him, I knew you still loved him. I heard it in your voice, honey.” She released my hand to brush some hair out of my face, holding my cheek and then my chin. “You’re thirty-three years old. You’ve only been in love once, and now, that love is back and …” Her head tilted, an adoring expression spreading over her face. “I understand.”

I didn’t want to ask this question.

It made me sick to my stomach thinking of what her response could be.

But I was extremely close to my parents. It was only the three of us. And I couldn’t go on without knowing how she felt.

“Do you support this, Mom?”

She swiped away several of my tears. “After some time passed, I think it became clear in all of our heads that Rhett wasn’t the reason Penelope died. Sure, he was the captain of the boat, and something happened under his watch, but he couldn’t have stopped her from jumping. He couldn’t have prevented it either. And as someone who now knows far too much aboutboating without ever being behind the wheel of one, I can say that there was no reason, given the situation, that he should have turned off those engines.”

She looked down for a moment. “It made it easier on our hearts to blame him.”

When she gazed back up, I saw the pain in her eyes. “The way your father treated that boy when he came to our house after the funeral … it was wrong. Your father knows that. I know that.”

Her touch turned so gentle. “Yes, honey, I support you.”

Every time I nodded, a tear fell. “I’m going to marry him, Mom.”

“Are you going to give me grandbabies? Dear God, please say yes.”

Me

I just left Mom and Dad’s house. Mom says hi.

I sent the text to Rhett, and as I was pulling out of my parents’ driveway, I wasn’t surprised at all when my dashboard showed an incoming call from him. I hit a button on my steering wheel to answer and said, “Hi,” once it connected.

“Lainey … we haven’t talked about your parents. Jesus, that’s a topic I wasn’t ready to tackle. I figured I’d approach it in a couple of weeks. You know, after you already moved in,” he joked.

I laughed. “I didn’t want to bring them up either.”

“I was afraid they wouldn’t support us being together. And then that would become a whole other situation.”

I turned off their street, accelerating as I replied, “The thought was in my mind too. I couldn’t obsess over it for a second more.”

“So, you ripped off the Band-Aid.”

I remembered when I’d said something similar to him at the track. “I did. But I only told Mom. I wanted to start with her. She’s the easier one to talk to.”

“How’d it go?”

“By telling her about you, I had to tell her everything about Pen and the day of the accident. It was a lot—saying those words to my mom, watching her process. But fifteen years have passed, and although things are still sensitive in some spots, other spots have healed.” I smiled as I thought of her response. “She wants me happy, Rhett, and she knows you’re my happiness.”

“You’re saying … she’s okay with us?”

“Yes.”

He exhaled. “Was she surprised to find out we’re back together?”

“I think, deep down, she was expecting it. Just like she’s expecting grandchildren.”