“Love should feel good, honey. What you had with Daire was probably exciting, but it was exhausting and demoralizing, am I right?” At my nod she continued. “No man who says he loves you should ever make you feel less than.”
My eyes burned and I had to swallow hard before I could speak. “He never said he loved me.”
“And there you have it.” Vee looked at me with sympathy in her eyes.
Izzy spoke up, surprising us all with the fervor behind her smooth words. “You are nothing short of amazing, Amelia Waldo. I have looked up to you my whole life. You deserve a man who will give you everything and love you for every little quirk you have.”
The stinging kicked up a notch and I merely nodded at her, not trusting my voice.
Vee pounced, sitting behind me and rubbing my back. Esme and Izzy shared a look and then sat on the floor in front of me, holding my hands.
“We’re Waldo girls. We don’t let any fuckboys take us down,” Vee said confidently.
We all burst into giggles and the burning sensation faded away, leaving me with a soft hug I felt deep inside my chest. My sisters were such a pain in my ass, but they were there for me no matter what. And I loved them with all my heart.
“Come on, now. I gotta get back to work.” I sighed, pushing them off me gently.
“Fine. But next time, we want the sexy times details.” Esme pinned me with a serious look. “And you better tell Mom and Dad about your relationship status.”
I just smiled. There was no way in hell I was sharing sexy time information with them, but they had a good point about Mom and Dad. “Sorry, but Vee’s little ears can’t handle the sex details.”
Vee put her hands on her tiny hips. “I’m twenty, you ding-dong. Plenty old for sex talk. We can even swap stories.”
I jammed my fingers in my ears, horrified. “La-la-la. I’m not listening. You’re my baby sister forever. No sex allowed.”
She stuck her tongue out at me, proving her immaturity. I’d have to watch that girl. She was trouble with a capital T.
“Now get out. I have work to do.”
I really didn’t, but I did want to text Titus. I wanted to see him tonight. Maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to finally tell him exactly how I felt.
16
Titus
“Tell me why we’re here again?” I held Amelia’s hand in a death grip, gazing out the window, wishing I could be anywhere but here.
Here being Amelia’s parents’ house after I got cleaned up after work.
“We have to officially tell them we’re dating. I know they’ve heard it through the gossip going around town, but they deserve to hear it from us.” Amelia turned my face toward her. “Why are you being so weird about this? You’ve been over here a bazillion times.”
I shifted in her seat and if it wasn’t for my current nerves, I’d bitch about how small her sedan was, an argument we’d had over the years more times than I could count.
“Being here as your friend is one thing, but telling your dad to his face that I’m boinking his little girl?” I screwed my face up and Amelia laughed.
“Um, you may not want to deliver the news like that. Just a suggestion.”
I gave her a look. “In all seriousness, I don’t think he’s going to take kindly to you and me dating. He’s arrested my brother more times than I can count.”
She scratched her chin. “Hmm. How many times has he arrested you?”
My leg started bouncing up and down, rocking the whole car with my nerves. “You know what I mean.”
Amelia laid a hand on my knee and I instantly stilled. “I do know what you mean, but give my dad some credit. He knows you aren’t your brother. Hell, he’s got five daughters. He’s well aware that we’re all different.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t convinced.
“Look, why don’t we video chat your parents first and tell them the good news. Your mom always loved me and hinted around at the two of us dating. Their happiness will be a good springboard for telling my parents.”
I squeezed Amelia’s hand and fished my phone out of my back pocket. “Great idea. You’re the brains of this partnership, you know.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then we’re screwed.”
I chuckled and dialed my parents, my mom answering right away, the camera showing an angle of her nostrils that wasn’t exactly flattering.
“Hey, Mom. Hold the camera out in front on you, not in your lap.”
The screen moved and we finally saw her face, her blond hair showing no signs of gray yet. She was a pretty woman, possessing the genes behind my perennial sunny personality. She smiled even wider when she saw Amelia pressed against me.
“Oh, Amelia. So nice to see you, dear. How goes it?”
“We’re good, Mrs. Jackson. Florida sure seems to agree with you.”
“Oh, call me Wendy. We’re all adults now.”
Mom’s face dipped on the screen and then the phone jostled before settling. Dad had joined her on the couch.
“My boy! How are you?” His rich baritone rang through the phone speaker.
“Hey, Dad, we wanted to call you with some good news.”
“Oh?” Mom practically cooed into the phone. Mothers always knew.
I put my arm around Amelia. “Amelia and I are officially dating.”
Pandemonium erupted on the other end as the screen flashed to a shot of the white popcorn ceiling. We could hear Mom laughing and possibly crying while Dad laughed at his wife’s antics.
Amelia and I grinned at each other until their faces came back on the screen and Mom wiped happy tears from her cheeks.
“I have waited years for this day. Congratulations, you two.”
Dad nodded along. “We wish you the best. Why don’t we have you two come out and see us for the holidays. Nothing like Christmas at the beach in Florida. Have you
