If Only Forever. Sophie Love

Patricia said flatly.

      Emily had thrown a few curveballs her mom’s way over the last year, from upping and leaving her home in New York, breaking up with Ben after seven years together, running off to Sunset Harbor, opening a B&B, and falling so madly in love with Daniel that she’d agreed to help raise his child. Her mom had, unsurprisingly, disapproved of every single one of Emily’s choices. The chances of her accepting the engagement were slim to none.

      “Daniel asked me to marry him,” Emily finally managed to say. “And I agreed.”

      There was a pause, one that Emily had predicted. Her mom used silence like a weapon, always providing Emily with enough time to worry about the thoughts that were crossing her mind.

      “And you’ve been dating this man for how long?” Patricia finally said.

      “Coming up to a year now,” Emily replied.

      “One year. When you have fifty or so to spend together.”

      Emily let out a huge sigh. “I thought you’d be happy I was finally settling down. You always loved rubbing it in my face how long you’d been married by my age.” Emily could hear the tone of her voice and cringed. Why did her mom always bring out the belligerent child in her? Why did she care so much about getting her approval when Patricia herself seemed to care so little about her daughter?

      “I suppose he needs a mother for that child of his,” Patricia said.

      Emily spoke between her teeth. “Her name is Chantelle. And that’s not why he asked. He asked because he loves me. And I said yes because I love him. We want to spend forever together so you should just get used to it.”

      “We’ll see,” Patricia replied in a monotone way.

      “I wish you could just be happy for me,” Emily said, her voice beginning to waver. “You’re going to be the mother of the bride, after all. People will expect to see you proud and cordial.”

      “Who says I’m coming?” Patricia snapped back.

      The words stung Emily like a slap. “What do you mean? Of course you’re coming, Mom, it’s my wedding!”

      “There’s no of course about it,” Patricia replied. “I’ll RSVP to my wedding invitation when I receive it.”

      “Mom…” Emily stammered.

      She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Would her mom really not come just to spite her? What would people think? Probably that Emily was an orphan, without her dad there, without her mom. And no sister. In many ways, she was an orphan. It was just her against the world.

      “Fine,” Emily said, suddenly hot-cheeked. “Do what you want. You always have.” Then she ended the call without saying goodbye.

      Emily didn’t want to cry. In fact, she refused to. Not for her mom, it wasn’t worth it. But for her dad, that was another matter altogether. She missed him desperately, and now that she was convinced he was still alive, she wanted to see him badly. But there was no way of reaching him. The woman he’d been cheating on her mom with had passed away several years ago, and anyway, she’d been as stumped as the rest of them about Roy’s disappearance. All Emily knew was that while not having her mom at the wedding would be painful, not having her dad there would be devastating. In that moment, Emily doubled her resolve to track him down. Someone somewhere must know something.

      Emily went back inside the inn. She was tired from the long day and climbed the stairs to bed. But when she reached her bedroom she saw that Daniel wasn’t there. Her momentary panic was quelled when Daniel entered the room, cell phone in hand.

      “Where have you been?” Emily asked.

      “I just called my mom,” Daniel replied. “To tell her about the wedding.”

      Emily almost laughed with surprise. That they’d both call their moms simultaneously like that was more than a coincidence; it was clearly a sign of their connection to one another.

      “How did it go?” Emily asked, though she could tell by Daniel’s expression that the answer wasn’t going to be good.

      “How do you think?” Daniel said, raising an eyebrow. “She played the Chantelle card again, saying she’ll only come to the wedding if we promise to let her spend regular time with Chantelle. I wish she could see what a destructive force she can be and understand why I don’t want her meddling with my kid. Not while she’s still drinking too much. Chantelle needs to be around sober adults after what she went through with her own mom.” He slumped onto the edge of the bed. “She just can’t see my point. She doesn’t get it. ‘Everyone drinks,’ that’s what she always says. ‘I’m no worse than anyone else.’ Maybe she isn’t, but it’s not what Chantelle needs. If she cared about her granddaughter as much as she claims she does, she’d kick the habit for her sake.”

      Emily climbed onto the bed behind him and rubbed the tension from his shoulders. Daniel relaxed beneath her soft touch. She pressed a kiss onto his neck.

      “I just called my mom too,” she said.

      Daniel turned to face her, surprised. “You did? How did that go?”

      “Terribly,” Emily said, and suddenly she couldn’t help but laugh. There was something darkly comedic about the whole thing.

      Seeing Emily dissolve into laughter made Daniel crack. Soon, they were both laughing hysterically, sharing their commiserations with one another, connected in that moment and rising above it together.

      “I was thinking,” Daniel said once his laughter had finally subsided. “Do you remember when Gus came to stay?”

      “Yes of course,” Emily replied. The elderly gentleman had been her first real guest at the inn. Thanks to his custom she’d been saved from the brink of bankruptcy. He was also one of the most delightful people she’d ever had the privilege to meet. “How could I ever forget Gus? But what about him?”

      Daniel played with the sleeve of her top idly. “Remember how he went to that party out in Aubrey? The town hall?”

      Emily nodded, frowning and wondering why Daniel was bringing it up.

      “Have you ever been?” Daniel asked.

      Emily grew even more curious. “To Aubrey? Or the town hall?” Then she laughed. “Actually, I’ve never been to either.”

      Daniel stalled, suddenly falling quiet. Emily waited patiently.

      “The town hall does weddings,” he said, finally getting to the point. “I wondered if we should, you know, make an appointment or whatever it’s called? With the wedding planner? That is if you want to get married in Maine rather than New York.”

      To say she felt shocked was an understatement! Hearing Daniel suggest something to do with organizing the wedding without her having to pressure him into it was a huge relief to Emily.

      “Yes, I want to get married in Maine,” Emily stammered. “It feels more like a home to me than New York ever did. And I have more friends here. I don’t want to make everyone travel all the way there for the sake of tradition.”

      “Cool,” Daniel replied, looking away shyly.

      “When were you thinking of going?” Emily asked.

      “We could head over next weekend,” Daniel suggested, still shy. “Take Chantelle. She’d love it.”

      Next weekend? Emily wanted to cry. So soon?

      She felt her excitement grow. What had happened to her reluctant fiancé? What had caused such a sudden change of heart? Maybe Jayne’s warning was completely unfounded after all. Daniel wanted a wedding just as much as she did. She’d been an idiot to doubt him.

      But no sooner had Emily considered it than her thoughts flipped on their head. She wondered whether their horrible calls with their moms might have had something to do with Daniel’s sudden interest. Had he been spurred on by Patricia’s skepticism, wanting to prove himself as honorable and his intentions as honest? Or worse, was he just suggesting