Chapter Three
Alyson
“Wait, are you serious?” My sister Jillian’s voice reached an octave that made me wince and draw the phone away from my ear, “Forrest, like Max’s ‘one that got away boy-next-door’ Forrest?”
I snort. “Gee, thanks, that’s one way to put it,” I reply drily.
“How are you so calm about this? Cooking dinner for your fiancé’s ex? Either you’re the coolest girl on the planet somehow, or you’re crazy.”
I laugh. “Maybe a little bit of both,” I replied, taking a taste of the sauce bubbling on the stove before reaching into the spice cabinet.
“Seriously, Aly, he’s moving in next door to you, how is that not affecting you in the slightest?”
“Because I know I’m the one Max is coming home to at night,” I reply simply, “He’s given me no reason to doubt him, why should I now?”
“Because now his high-school sweetheart, who was hundreds of miles away, is now a stone’s throw away from you guys, maybe?”
“Jill, I trust him. If he didn’t want to be with me, he wouldn’t have asked me to marry him.”
“Not every marriage is forever, Aly,” my sister warns, “And a ring doesn’t mean he’ll stick around.”
“I know,” I soften my tone, sympathy creeping into my chest.
Jillian’s less than three years older than I am, and we’ve always been close. Throughout most of high school and into her sophomore year of college, she’d been dating this guy, Travis, and it had seemed like the two of them were going to last forever. He’d asked her to marry him, and we were all so sure she’d found her happy ending.
At least, that was, until she came home to her dorm room one night and found him in bed with her best-friend-slash-roommate.
Needless to say, that had put a damper on the wedding plans.
She hasn’t been able to bring herself to make another attempt at dating since, and it was hard to blame her after what she’d been through. But I also knew that my life was not my sister’s, and that Max wasn’t Travis.
If it were up to Max, the two of us could have run away to elope the same night he asked me, but I had been the one holding back. We’ve talked about dates, but when it comes to setting one in stone, for some reason, I balk, and to be honest, I don’t know why.
I know I want to be with Max forever, there’s no doubt in my mind about that. I can’t describe the feeling in the back of my head, but it’s almost like I’m…waiting for something, and I have no idea what exactly that might be.
I heard the oven timer starting to beep. “Hey, Jills, I think I’m gonna have to let you go, dinner’s almost ready and Forrest will be here any minute.”
“Right….well, good luck with that. Call me if you need anything, ok?”
A smile bloomed over my face and my heart warmed. Always the supportive big sister. “Thanks, I will. Talk to you later.”
With that, we hung up, and I retrieved my oven mitts to get the pan out of the oven. I heard the ringing of the doorbell. “Babe? Can you get that?” I called, hoping that Max was within hearing range.
“Got it, hon!” I hear him call back.
I focus on getting dinner finished while Max greets our guest. Sure, the idea of all of this feels weird, but like I told Jillian, I trust the man I’m marrying, or I wouldn’t be marrying him.
I can hear their voices, but I can’t make out what’s being said. After a moment, I hear them getting closer and they enter the room. “Hi, Alyson, that smells incredible,” Forrest says.
“Thanks,” I smile brightly.
“Can I help with anything?” he offers.
“No, I’ve got it, thanks, it’s pretty much ready if you guys want to grab whatever you want to drink and grab a seat at the table,” I reply.
“I’ll get your drink for you, since you’re doing all that,” Max says, “What would you like?”
We get everything to the table and get seated after I’ve served everyone their plates. “So, Forrest,” I remark, “You’re moving back from Chicago, right?”