Edge of Love (13 page)

Diane hugged Sean and held him close
for a long moment. When she embraced me, she leaned close to my
ear. “Goodbye, Scarlet.”

“
Goodbye,
Diane.”

She pulled away and smiled at me. I
waited for her to grant me permission to refer to her as my mother,
but the offer never came. The awkwardness picked up in the room. I
know everyone felt it.

Andrew looked up the stairs. “I wonder
where your brother is. He needs to come say goodbye.”

“
That’s unnecessary,” Sean
said quickly. “He’s probably still asleep.”

Andrew shook his head. “That’s
nonsense.” He cupped his mouth with his hands and was about to yell
to the other side of the house when a car horn sounded from
outside.

Sean moved for the door. “That’s our
cue.” He grabbed the bags from the floor then walked outside. I
followed and opened the trunk for him while he stuffed our
belongings inside. When they were secure, Sean opened the backdoor
for me.

I waved before I got in and they waved
back. Sean followed me inside then shut the door.

“
Take us to the airport,”
he said quickly. “Move.”

I laughed. “We’re safe,
Sean.”

He sighed. “I’m so glad that weekend
is over. I’m so sorry that it was so shitty.”

I placed my hand on his thigh. “It’s
okay, babe.”

He grabbed my face and kissed me. “Now
let’s go home where we belong.”

“
I can’t wait to sleep in
my own bed tonight.”

“
And I can’t wait to have
sex like normal again.”

I looked at him. “We can’t have sex on
the plane.”

He grinned. “Is that a
challenge?”

“
I think we learned our
lesson.”

“
It usually takes me a few
times until I get it right.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not happening,
Sean.”

He rubbed his hands together. “This is
going to be fun. You’re always challenging me, pushing me to be
better. I love it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not trying
to challenge you. And you’re already amazing in that
department.”

He smiled. “You have a point
there.”

The cab took us to the airport and
dropped us off at the terminal. Our flight wasn’t for a few hours,
so we had breakfast at a local restaurant while we waited for the
boarding time. I opened my laptop and started to work on a
manuscript while Sean blatantly stared at me.

“
Are you bored?” I
asked.

“
A little.”

“
Play a game on your
phone.”

“
I would rather just watch
you.”

“
Well, it makes me
uncomfortable.”

“
But it doesn’t make you
uncomfortable when I watch you ride me like a bull?”

“
It’s not the same thing
and you know it.”

He smiled. “It’s definitely not. I
wish it were.”

I shook my head and ignored him. He
looked at the screen hanging near the wall. “We should get going
anyway. Our boarding time has arrived.”

I closed the laptop with a sigh then
returned it to my bag.

“
Did you call
Ryan?”

I sighed. “No, I forgot. I’ll call him
now.” I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. He answered on
the second ring.

“
Hey.”

“
Hey, our plane is leaving
soon. I just wanted to let you know.”

He laughed. “You don’t have to tell me
every little thing, Scar. And a text would suffice.”

“
I just want to talk to
you, okay?”

“
Well, you have a fiancé
for that now.”

“
Then how are you supposed
to know when to pick us up?”

“
Like we already agreed
on, Cortland is coming to get you, not me. He has a car.
Remember?”

“
You’re coming too,
right?”

He sighed. “This dependent
relationship is really creepy, you know that?”

“
Stop being an ass,
Ryan.”

“
Well, you’re being a
brat.”

“
Actually, I
wasn’t.”

“
I guess you aren’t.” He
was quiet for a moment. “I just don’t want to step on Sean’s toes,
Scar. He can take care of you now. You don’t need me
anymore.”

“
That isn’t true. I’ll
always need you, Ryan. And Sean doesn’t care in the least. If
anything, he’s relieved. If I turned to only him for every issue,
his head would explode.”

Sean nodded his head vigorously. “You
have no idea.”

Ryan laughed. “Alright. I’ll see you
soon.”

“
So you’re going to be
there?” I asked excitedly.

“
Yeah.”

“
I’m so happy. I missed
you.”

“
I missed you too. Even
though it’s only been two days.”

“
Three.”

“
It’s weird either
way.”

“
Bye, Ryan.”

“
Bye.”

I hung up the phone then returned it
to my purse.

Sean stared at me. “You two are so
weird.”

“
You already knew
that.”
“And yet it still surprises me.”

I rolled my eyes. “My brother is my
best friend.”

“
I thought I
was?”

“
You are.”

He shook his head. “I think you’re
just overcompensating.”

“
What?”

“
You’re afraid you are
going to repeat the same mistake you made when you didn’t talk to
him for a year. Your guilt makes you call him more than you already
would. You think it reassures him, but it only reassures
you.”

I stared at him for a moment. “Maybe.
But that isn’t why I call him. I really do just want to talk to
him.”

“
I don’t doubt that,” he
said. “But I also think you do it to prove you won’t leave him
again.”

“
And what’s wrong with
that?”

“
It’s just unnecessary. He
already forgave you, Scar. It’s okay to move on from it. And we’re
living in Seattle now. There’s nothing for him to worry about.
Plus, he has Janice.”

“
Does it bother you that
we live in Seattle?”

“
No.”

“
Really?”

He shook his head. “I’ll give you
whatever you need, Scar. And Seattle is very beautiful. It can be a
little cold, but it makes you happy. When it comes to you, there’s
no argument. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“
Even if we live in
Seattle for the rest of our lives? Raise our children?”

“
As long as I’m with you,
I don’t care, Scar. And I like seeing Ryan and Cortland every day.
I even like their girlfriends.”

“
I think Ryan is going to
propose soon.”

He leaned forward. “He said
that?”

“
Sorta. Janice was in the
room.”

He smiled. “That’s great. I’m happy
for him. This works out perfectly. Janice is your best friend. Who
could be a better match?”

“
I know. And Janice treats
him well. She respects him and loves him. Plus, she doesn’t seem to
care about his immaculate number of sexual partners.”

“
You don’t care about
mine.”

“
Well, I didn’t have a
choice but to accept it. I was already in love with
you.”

“
Does he have more than I
do?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

He smiled. “That dog.”

“
Yes, you’re both
pigs.”

“
And you both made us into
honest men.”

“
Actually, Penelope was
responsible for that.”

Sean averted his gaze. “So, you’re
still angry about that?”

I sighed. “No, Sean. Sometimes I
remember what happened and it makes me upset. But I’m not angry at
you. I hate her for what she did to you, but at the same time, I’m
glad it happened. I got you, after all.”

He grabbed my hand and leaned across
the table. “Scarlet, even if I could go back in time and be with
Penelope in an alternate reality where she didn’t cheat on me, I
would still rather be with you. You are the one, Scar. I know
that’s hard to believe because you knew how in love with Penelope I
was, but it’s true. I love you way more than I ever loved her. My
love for you is different, unconditional.”

I smiled. “Really?”

He nodded. “Just like your love is.
Even after what I did to you, you still came to New York and helped
me get back on my feet. I didn’t deserve it, Scar. I still don’t.
But I know you would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“
I would.”

“
I know.”

I sighed. “I just wished your mother
liked me as much as she liked Penelope.”

“
She does like you,
Scar.”

“
Then why doesn’t she want
you to marry me?”

“
It’s not
that—”

“
I heard her,
Sean.”

He was quiet for a moment. “You
did?”

I nodded. “I’m just a
rebound.”

“
Well, you know that isn’t
true.”

“
Actually, it is.” I
smiled at him, letting him know I wasn’t angry about our one night
stand.

He nodded. “Yes, I suppose. But I
wouldn’t have committed to you unless I wanted to be with you.
Don’t ever worry about that. Now you’re stuck with me.”

“
That doesn’t sound so
bad.”

He smiled. “We’ve been living together
for over a month now. I’m surprised I haven’t scared you
off.”

“
Yes, your obsession with
folding your socks is a little odd.”

He laughed. “Well, you have to have
the bed made at all times even when we’re sleeping in
it.”

I shook my head. “That’s not
true.”

“
Yes it is! The only
exception is when we’re making love. You mind is somewhere
else.”

I smiled. “That’s true.”

Sean rose from his chair then helped
me to a stand. “We should get going.”

“
Okay.”

He grabbed my purse from the ground
and held it. It was a designer purse that was classic black. It was
definitely a woman’s bag.

“
Babe, I can carry my
purse.”

“
It has a laptop in
it.”

“
So?”

“
It’s too heavy for
you.”

“
Well, you look gay
holding a purse.”

He shrugged. “If they knew what I did
to you every night they wouldn’t think twice about it.” He pulled
me toward the gate. “It’s fine. Come on.”

We handed the flight stewardess our
tickets then boarded the plane. When we took our seats, Sean held
my hand and caressed my engagement ring with his fingertip.
Sometimes he looked at it more than I did. When the plane took off,
the passengers quieted down. People put earphones over their ears
to watch the movie playing on the screen. Others opened books and
began to read. I knew what Sean was thinking before he looked at
me. I was thinking the same thing too.

He stared at me then rubbed his nose
against mine. “Round two?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“
Come on,” he said. “We’ll
make it a tradition.”

“
I learned my lesson last
time.”

“
Don’t let my parents’
neighbors get to you. They’re the most boring people I’ve ever
met.”

I smiled. “We can wait until we get
home.”

“
That won’t be for
hours.”

“
It will be
fine.”

“
And then we’ll probably
go to Ryan’s and stay there all night.”

“
Well, I miss
him.”

He shook his head. “We leave my family
just to be stuck with yours.”

“
Well, at least my family
is nice, easy-going, and fun.”

“
And what do you think my
dad is?”

“
He’s the only exception.”
I wrapped my arm through his then leaned my head on his shoulder,
closing my eyes. I wasn’t tired, but I loved lying with him. We
didn’t say anything for a long time and I eventually fell
asleep.

The jerk of the plane woke me
up.

Sean kissed my forehead. “We’re
here.”

I sat up and yawned.
“Good.”

Sean ran his fingers through my hair
and made me feel drowsy again. “Aren’t you excited?”

“
Yes.”

Sean rose from the seat then grabbed
my purse. “Let’s go.”

I followed him out of the plane until
we reached the inside of the airport. Then we went to the luggage
claim and gathered our bags. I insisted on carrying my own purse
because there was so much luggage. Reluctantly, he
agreed.

We stood outside and waited for
Cortland’s white car to pull up. The weather in Seattle was chilly
like it always was. The sky was overcast with clouds and it looked
like it might rain. I crossed my arms over my chest as we
waited.