“She wants to get a divorce, Gracelyn. A divorce.” Her mother said the word as though she were spitting out poison. “What will they say at church?”
Ah, that was why Cecilia followed Emmaline there. Only one member of the family had ever gotten divorced before—Cecilia’s older sister left her husband for the exact same reason Emmaline was at Gracie’s house now. Her mother had all but disowned their aunt, ostracized her from family functions because apparently she had brought shame to the family name.
Gracie drew in a deep, calming breath. She had to be strong for her sister. Fighting Cecilia’s out-dated views was not what she needed right now. She needed love and support, the two things their mother seemed unable to provide.
“Is there anything I can do?” Gracie asked.
“Can you wave a magic wand and take me back five years so I don’t marry that stupid son of a…well, Helena isn’t a b-word, but you know what I mean.” Even in her state of complete distress Emmaline couldn’t swear or even speak ill of her mother-in-law. “I can’t believe he would do this to me.”
The girls sat in silence.
“I can’t believe it, either,” Gracie whispered.
“You’re as bad as each other,” Cecilia crowed, her ice-blue eyes narrowed. “This is not worth ruining the Greene name for.”
“You know I only married him because you were determined that our families should join up.” Emmaline let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “I didn’t love him, but I respected him. I respected what we committed to in getting married, and I never once even contemplated cheating on him. I guess it serves me right.”
“It’s not your fault, Ems. Don’t even try to blame yourself because he couldn’t be as good a person as you are.”
“Think about what’s important here.” Cecilia shook her head. “You know I’m never going to live this down if you file for divorce.”
“This isn’t about you.” Gracie couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Cecilia Greene’s face froze, her mouth hanging open, her eyes unblinking. It may have been the first time Gracie had ever seen her mother speechless.
The frustration from pushing Des away came tumbling out. In the clear light of day she saw how flawed her mother’s ideals were, how much she hurt her daughters with her refusal to let them live their own lives.
“Can’t you, for once, put your daughter before yourself?” Gracie slipped her hand into Emmaline’s. Her sister didn’t deserve this judgement when she wasn’t the one who’d broken her vows. “Your reputation is not worth destroying the happiness of your child.”
A smile wobbled on Emmaline’s lips. “Thanks, Gracie.”
“Our family name is important.” The fight left her mother’s body, her bony shoulders hunched forward and she seemed to shrink in front of Gracie’s eyes. “Your father gave us his name and I want to protect it. It’s all I have left of him.”
Gracie swallowed. Her whole life Cecilia Greene had been a force, an imposing woman that stood proudly by her husband’s side and led their family with an iron will and determination to rival any military leader. She’d been terrifying at times, hard and inflexible.
But her love for her husband could never be doubted. He’d been the only one who could soften those hard blue eyes, who could break through that tough outer shell. Grief had turned Gracie’s mother into a tougher, harder, more rigid version of herself.
“You have us,” Gracie said. “We miss him too, you know.”
Cecilia swallowed, anguish flashing across her face as fast as lightening before the mask returned. She folded her delicate hands neatly in her lap, lips pursed.
“I’m not trying to hurt you, Mother.” Emmaline said, her voice shaking. “But I can’t go back to Conrad after this.”
“If you love them it hurts more when they leave.” The words came out so softly that Gracie wondered if she’d imagined them.
Cecilia stood and hesitated before turning on her heels and leaving the room without a backwards glance.
“I think she needed to hear that,” Gracie said, nodding as if to convince herself. She’d never stood up so openly to her mother before, and she had certainly never seen her mother react like that.
“I think so, too. You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.” Emmaline frowned. “Is it okay if I stay here?”
“Of course.”
Emmaline sighed, rubbing her temples. “Smug bastard had the audacity to say that if I slept with him more then he wouldn’t have been forced to go elsewhere.”
“He did not.”
“Yep.” Her sister nodded. “I’m sorry, but I can’t get excited for a beer belly and unwieldy pubic hair.”
Gracie snorted and then cringed. She was tempted to call TMI on Emmaline, but the girl deserved her chance to vent now that their mother had left. She slung an arm around her sister’s shoulders and squeezed.
“You never know, Ems, this might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“You think?” Emmaline raised a delicate, golden brow.
Hope shimmered in the depths of her eyes, and a tentative smiled tugged at her lips. If Gracie didn’t know any better she’d say that Emmaline was relieved to be rid of Conrad, despite the humiliation of finding him in the arms of another woman. Perhaps now she had the opportunity to write the life she wanted, one free of Cecilia Greene’s restraints.
“Yeah, I’m almost certain of it.” Gracie smiled. “Now you can find someone to love. Someone who has nice, neat pubic hair.”
“And abs.” Emmaline chuckled, wiping the leftover tears from her eyes. “I want abs, too.”
…
Saturday mornings at First were usually busy, thanks to their creative brunch menu, but the first balmy hint of summer heat had drawn even more people out of hibernation. Customers filled every inch of the restaurant. They occupied the wooden tables in the courtyard outside and lined the edges when there were no tables left.
Pride swelled in Des’s chest. Twelve months ago his restaurant was struggling to break even, but his perseverance and hard work paid off. When something felt right you had to go for it.
Hypocrite.
He frowned at the parallel his mind drew to his failed-before-it-started relationship with Gracie. Since the night they’d slept together, his stomach churned constantly. He couldn’t erase the image of her standing in his lounge room, guilt painted all over her face.
But she’d apologized for the way she treated him, not for the reason behind it. And that reasoning was precisely his concern. Sure, she’d had sex with him without knowing whether it would lead to anything. That he could handle, but the fact that she threw the towel in because her family would think him a poor choice… Well, that cut to the bone.
Still, he hadn’t been able to think about anyone else. All other women paled in comparison to her; therefore he was up shit creek without a paddle.
“You’ve got to get laid.” Paul slapped him on the back with gusto. “I can’t stand to see you moping like this. Chicks aren’t worth it.”
“Getting laid is not the solution to all life’s problems.”
“You should think about it. Might help you burn off some of that anger.”
Des shook his head. Sometimes his brother was clueless. “Don’t you ever want to find one special person to be with instead of sleeping your way through my customers?”
“If chasing after one girl turns people into this”—Paul gestured up and down to Des—“then no, I don’t want to do that. Life is for the living, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“You’re deluded.”
“And you’re crazy. You’re refusing to make up with Gracie but you won’t move on to someone else. What’s the point of that?”