Now that the smell of bacon had infused the kitchen, it made Finn’s stomach growl harder, and more frequently. But his hunger was no longer the most pressing issue.
This new development just meant no matter what transpired between them in the bedroom, their…sexcapades…would never, not in a million years, turn into something more. And not just because she was his best friend’s little sister and therefore off-limits. But because apparently it would never work. They were clearly on two different paths.
According to Mark. But what the hell did he know? Cal’s separation anxiety was so transparent. And he just didn’t see it.
No. This just didn’t make sense. Finn knew Veronica wanted a family of her own. He knew, because she’d told him. She’d dreamed of the family she’d never had, just as he did. Raising two teenagers couldn’t have changed her outlook so significantly.
Could it?
“I don’t believe that,” he told Mark, and shook his head. “She’ll change her mind. You’ll see.”
“You sure?” Mark questioned.
Finn was positive. Even if she had changed her mind, Finn would have to change it back.
Not for him. But for Veronica. He wouldn’t let her give up on her childhood dream. Or the joy of holding her own child in her arms. Siblings were great—the best. But having a baby of your own…that had to be the greatest feeling in the world.
…
“It’s so beautiful here. Even nicer in the fall.” Ali twirled around with her arms out and took a deep breath.
Veronica had never seen her sister so happy. She wasn’t a scared little girl anymore. She was well on her way to becoming a young woman—already was a young woman. And Veronica took credit for that. It was easy raising a girl. She knew exactly how her sister felt, what demons plagued her, even what advice to give. She had taught Ali everything she wished she’d known when she was a teenager. And her strategy had worked out well.
Cal, on the other hand… He was a mystery.
They had parked in front of the university’s residence building where Ali was going to live. The gray brick was covered with ivy. People rushed around. First-years radiated excitement, with bright smiles on their faces. But there were a lot of sad-looking parents.
Mark and Cal unloaded the trunk, piling Ali’s suitcases and boxes on the curb. Ali didn’t help. She merely stood, taking in her surroundings, watching over everything.
“Maybe I should rethink my decision.” Cal’s voice caught Veronica’s attention. She watched as he contorted his body, keeping his eyes pinned to a random blond girl’s behind. “Seems like university might be fun, after all.”
The girl smiled over her shoulder and Cal straightened, flashing a goofy grin. Was it really that simple? Even an eighteen-year-old girl knew how to seduce a guy with a simple smile. Maybe Veronica should be taking lessons from her.
Mark clapped him on the shoulder. “Too late. You’re a working man now.”
Cal was quick to wiggle away from his embrace, and Mark frowned. He was trying. Even Veronica could see Mark was really trying to fix whatever had been broken between him and Cal. Too bad he had no idea what it was.
When all of Ali’s things were out of the car, Mark parked in the lot, then joined them. They carried Ali’s things to room 409, weaving between running teenagers and yelling parents. Everything was painted white. The floors, the walls, the ceiling. Remembering wryly back to the first time she had visited Mark in his dorm so many years ago, Veronica surveyed the teenagers and wondered which of them would be the first to puke.
“Al, do you think you could take a bag?” Cal whined from the back of the group.
Ali gripped her map and admission papers. “I’m busy.”
Cal cursed under his breath and grunted as he readjusted the two backpacks he held in one hand.
When they got to her room, her roommate, Lily Chamberlain, had already claimed the right side. The two girls chatted and giggled together for the first time. It looked like a good match had been made. Lily’s parents, a middle-aged couple from the Hamilton area, smiled sweetly at them while Cal sat on the bed fiddling with his cell phone and ignoring everyone.
The room held two beds and two desks. The far wall was all window. Two tall dressers sat on either side of the door, and they each had a bulletin board above their bed. The walls in the rooms were also stark white. It had zero personality, like all university residence halls. Ali and Lily would have to make the room their own.
Veronica helped make the bed with the pink-and-white duvet they had purchased together at the beginning of the summer. It matched Ali’s favorite fuzzy pink throw pillow. When her room was somewhat settled, and Lily and her parents had left them alone, the four of them stood in a circle. Despite the many days they had spent together over the summer, over the last eight years, it just hadn’t been enough.
As Veronica watched her little family, her throat tightened and her chest grew heavy. This was the last time the family would be whole for a few months. That thought nearly triggered the waterworks she had been holding at bay all afternoon.
“I guess we should get going,” Mark said. “We have a long drive.”
They didn’t. London was only two hours away. But it was going to seem like a thousand miles.
Mark kissed the top of Ali’s head and whispered in her ear. A tiny smile curved the corner of her lip.