It has been three months since you moved in with us, and you are a delight in every way. Even if you were not Bradley’s best friend, we would still open our home to you and be glad for your presence. You are welcome to stay here as long as you would like, but I have one motherly condition:
You need to conclude the situation with my daughter.
Erica has always had a crush on you. Since the day your family moved in across the street when you were nine and she was eight, she has looked at you the way Lucy looks at Ricky whenever he plays in his band. You probably do not understand that reference, but that does not make it any less true.
Her little crush has only intensified since you moved in with us. You two may think you are discreet, but I assure you I have noticed every flirt and every smile. It reminds me of the way Erica’s father and I used to act when we first started going steady. It didn’t fool his mother then, and it does not fool me now. A mother knows what goes on inside her house.
And so I must implore you, young man. Dispel my daughter of her doe-eyed crush. Either tell her you are not interested in her, or take her out on a proper date.
For the record, I do hope you choose the latter. You have grown into a handsome young man, and I know you have a kind heart. No man is good enough for my daughter, but I suppose you come close. You have my blessing if you wish to take her out. You have my husband’s blessing as well, although he may want to sit you down and have a very long talk about ensuring you never break her heart. But he loves you like a son. So do I. You are a part of our family now, Hunter, and you always will be.
With much love, Eloise Porter
P.S.: Brad might be difficult, but he will get over himself.
Tears shimmered in my eyes and dripped onto the paper, creating little translucent circles on the cursive handwriting. Erica was rubbing my back comfortingly—she didn’t know what the letter contained, but she saw the effect it had on me.
“What does it say?” she asked, curious and afraid.
I handed her the letter to keep my tears from falling on it. She scanned the page quickly, eyes shimmering before she could flip it over to read the second page.
I called Brad. He was grinning when he answered the video call.
“Did you read it?”
“I read it.”
Brad chuckled. “Shit, man. I knew that letter would give you all the feels, but I didn’t think you would cry. I cried, but I’m softer than you.”
I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. “You read it?”
“I opened it without thinking,” he said, wincing in apology. “As soon as I saw your name, I couldn’t stop myself. I compulsively had to know what my mom had written. And I’m glad I did, because it was everything I had hoped to see. Mom was right: you’re part of the family, now and always. And she was right when she said I would get over myself.”
Erica had finished reading the letter and was clinging to me while silently crying. But they were tears of happiness. Tears of joy. Tears of certainty.
Just like mine.
“I told you so,” she sniffled. “Itold youthey would have approved.”
“You were right,” I said. “I was afraid of letting myself believe it, but you were right.”
Five years I had spent thinking about Erica. Pining for her, daydreaming about her, and yes—lusting after her. And the whole time, my emotions were covered in a thin layer of guilt about the entire thing. Guilt toward Brad, guilt toward their parents. Guilt atmyself,because deep down I knew my feelings for Erica were wrong.
And in the blink of an eye, all that guilt was gone. It wouldn’t weigh me down anymore, and it sure as hell wouldn’t cast a pall over the future relationship—and marriage—to Erica Porter.
It made me feelfree.
“I knew I had to send you the letter as soon as possible,” Brad said. “And based on all the tears I see, I made the right call. I’ll leave you two alone. Take care of your fiancée, Hunter.”
Erica grinned. “Fiancé. I like the way that sounds.”
Epilogue
Erica
Our road trip turned into anengagementtrip. We finished the original schedule in Seattle, then decided to take our time heading back east. Hunter had filmed enough videos to last the next two months, and I could do most of my work withYours Forever Gemstoneson my laptop while hotspotting with my phone. We were newly engaged, and we were in no hurry.
I was able to work the extended trip into my business plans, too. After enjoying the scenery in Montana, we hit jewelry stores in Milwaukee and Chicago to give my gemstone pitch. After that we shot straight across to Pittsburgh, then Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Finally we drove down to Washington D.C. and Richmond, before calling it quits in the Raleigh-Durham area.