Jett snorted a laugh. “And that’s saying something.”
Kash nodded. “I think we should combine ideas—if we’re all there and Maisie shows up, we should be able to manage Mom.”
“And Dad,” I added. “If he’s got our back, she really won’t fight it. We’ve just gotta make sure she doesn’t feel ganged up on.”
Luke smirked. “Leave that to me. I’ll get her buttered up real good.”
“So when should we do it?” Kash asked.
I considered for a beat. “I’ll talk to Maisie tonight. If she’s ready now, do you think we could pull something together last minute?”
Laney gave me a sidelong smile and said, “We’re Bennets, aren’t we?”
With a gentle laugh around the table, I felt the peace of their acceptance, not realizing I’d been carrying that burden around with me since the second I met Maisie. Because if they didn’t approve, the things I loved in the world would divide. And I only wanted them to expand.
“Thank you,” I said, swallowing down unexpected emotion. “Thank you for trusting me.”
Laney took my hand, looking up at me with that smile still on her face. “Marcus, no matter what happens, no matter what’s said, in the end, you will always have our trust.”
And with a final look around the table, we began to plan the ultimate ambush—how to tell my mother I was in love with a Bower.
21
Bring the Bottle
MAISIE
“Think she bought it?” Jess asked as the cab took off, leaving my mother at work behind us.
“I hope so. We made a big enough show on our way out.”
A laugh cracked out of her. “Going up there together to talk to your mother was a stroke of genius. I think she might have believed we were going to dinner, but I can never tell with her face like that.”
“I’m sure she’ll watch the security footage anyway, just to be sure.”
She sighed, her smile fading. “How do you live like this?”
“Well, I’m not usually dating the son of her sworn enemy. I don’t generally have to sneak around.”
Jess gave me a look.
But I chuckled. “I don’t know, Jess. It’s always been like this, although I’ve never kept secrets from her. I’ve never done anything that required subterfuge.”
“You sure picked a doozy for your opening act of defiance.”
“And she accuses me of being unambitious.” I scoffed.
“He must be something, Maisie. I’ve never known you to take such a stand.”
“He’s worth it. I’m worth it. It’s all so stupid, Jess. I’m just ready for it to be over.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Very little at this point. Only the well-being of the Bennets. But I can’t say worrying about Harvest Center doesn’t upset me. Because she’ll end it, you know she will.”
Jess nodded soberly. “Well, if she disowns you, then she initiates the end of it. Am I wrong in guessing you’ll never stop feeling guilty if it’s you who pulls the plug?”
With a pang in my chest, I said, “I don’t think I would. I’d do something else, something on my own. But I’d always regret letting Harvest go. Does that make me a baby?”
“No. It makes you human, which is more than I can say for your mother.”
All I could do was sigh.
“Do you think you’d feel like this if it wasn’t for Marcus?”
I didn’t even have to consider it, I’d spent so much time wondering the same thing. “I don’t think I’d have gone this far, no. But I’m not doing it for Marcus. I’m doing it because of Marcus. Before him, all doors were closed but the one at the end of the hall, and at the doorknob is my mother, waiting to usher me across the threshold and into Bower. And now … now, all the doors are open, and that gives me courage. He gives me courage.”
Her face softened. “Sounds an awful lot like you might love him.”
My heart sprang into my throat at the word, one I’d been thinking too often lately. “I feel an awful lot like I might too.”
“You deserve this happiness,” Jess said, covering my hand with hers. “Don’t think for a minute you don’t.”
“I just wish it hadn’t come with a price.”
“Me too.”
“And if it comes to that, I’ll make sure everyone who needs the center finds another shelter to feed and support them. Everyone we’ve trained has the skills to be placed with jobs, and I’ll volunteer on my own time to make sure no one’s left behind.”
The thought both broke and healed me. “And I’ll help too, however I can.”
“And who knows? Maybe someday we’ll start our own center together. Take everything we’ve learned and strike out on our own.”
“She’ll fire you if she finds out you’re working with me,” I warned.
“Well, fuck her then,” she answered, and we laughed at our shameless disrespect.
Though I reminded myself that one had to be respected before they could be disrespected.
The topic turned to happier things as we rode into the Village, and by the time we pulled up in front of Marcus’s house, I was giddy with anticipation at seeing him. I slipped on my big glasses and tied a scarf around my head to cover my hair. My jacket hung on my arm—it was far too warm today for a wool coat—and with a glance toward Longbourne, I said goodbye to Jess and dashed out of the cab for Marcus’s door.
I found myself inside in a flash, thankful again for my key. Standing on that stoop as I used to, waiting for him to answer, had been like standing under the sand streaming through an hourglass—I felt every second.
But then the door would close, stopping time. And it wouldn’t start again until I left.
“Hello?” I called, tugging off the scarf to stuff it in my bag.
His footfalls rumbled on the steps too fast for a walk, and I smiled to myself as I hastily hung my coat, already leaning toward the stairs to greet him.
He rounded the corner, and the instant our eyes met, the stiff, tense air about him melted away. That rare smile I loved so much touched the lips I’d wanted to kiss every minute since I’d seen him last.
Before I even knew it, I’d gotten what I wished for, swept into the safety of his arms. His kiss was a baptism, the washing away of everything sad and ugly, every worry and every regret. And when that kiss broke and he smiled down at me, I was as fresh and clean as new-fallen snow.
His forehead pressed to mine, his nose brushing the bridge of mine. “God, I missed you,” he whispered.
“The blip doesn’t feel like much of a blip, does it?”
“No, but I’m looking forward to the day when it does.”
Marcus kissed me swiftly and set me all the way down—I hadn’t quite realized he’d had nearly all my weight in his arms until I took it back on myself.
“Want a drink?” he asked, heading for the kitchen with my hand in his.
“Please. Rough day?”
“Not exactly.”