The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (70 page)

I moan, unable to mask my frustration.
“
That
’
s what Hammy always used to say to Addie. Look at them now.
”

He shakes his head at me, as if to negate my argument.
“
I trust Beck and I know that he
’
s doing what his heart has led him to do. But I
’
m not him and
we
’
re
not
them
and God doesn
’
t write the exact same story twice.
”

“
You
’
re right,
”
I concede.
“
That
’
s not a fair comparison. I
’
m sorry.
”

“
Ave, sweetheart, there
’
s only one thing we need to agree on right now
—
I believe in us and I believe everything else will work itself out if we just agree on this one thing.
”

“
What
’
s that?
”

“
I don
’
t want to stand in the way of your greatness, not ever; and I don
’
t want you to stand in the way of my goals
—
but I think we should always stand
beside
each other. Agreed?
”

I nod my head enthusiastically, speechless and relieved and completely blown away that this guy is mine!
How did I get to be so lucky?

“
And for the record, wherever you go, I want to go with you, too.
”

All of a sudden, going on a run is the
last
thing I want to do. Somehow, without any definitive answers, Sonny addressed all of my questions and I
’
m no longer worried. I trust him. I trust him with my whole heart, and I believe him when he says we
’
ll figure it out. And while I know we should probably go back downstairs to see what the rest of my family is doing, I can
’
t leave this room without kissing him
—
if I do, it
’
ll be all I think about until my desire is satisfied.

As my gaze drifts down to his mouth, I know he knows what I
’
m thinking by the smirk that pulls at his lips. When my eyes shoot up to meet his, I see my longing mirrored in his stare. We both lean in at the same time, which makes me giggle with delight. I can feel his reciprocating smile against mine and I can
’
t help but think
—
I hope we stay this happy forever.

“
No, it isn
’
t.
”

“
Yes, it is.
”

“
No,
it isn
’
t.
”

“
Yes,
it is.
”

“
No, it isn
’
t.
”

“
Enough!
”
my mother cries as she enters the room. Kenzie and I are at the sink, washing the dishes from dinner, and arguing
—
which is all we seem to do these days. It
’
s not my fault, as she
’
s always the one to start it.
“
Kenzie, go to your room.
”

“
What?
”
she gasps.
“
Why do
I
have to go? He
’
s the one who
—”

Mom holds up a hand to silence her.
“
First of all, you will go because I said so. Second, are you really complaining about being relieved from dish duty? And third, I
’
m sick and tired of hearing you two bicker. You
’
ve been at it since Beckham walked in the door. I don
’
t want to hear it. Now go.
”

Kenzie huffs out a breath before flicking her water soaked fingers at me.
“
Hey! Mom, did you see that?
”

“
You
’
re
so
immature. Telling on me like that,
”
scoffs Kenzie with an eye roll.

“
I
’
m
immature?
”

“
Kenzie
—
out. Now.
”

My mom joins me at the sink as we listen to Kenzie stomp her way up the stairs to her bedroom.
“
She
’
s impossible.
”

“
Not impossible. She
’
s just young and worried about her older brother; she doesn
’
t know how to express her concern any other way.
”

I stifle a scoff, confused about whose side she
’
s on.
“
She could just
talk
to me instead of turning everything into an argument.
”

“
Right.
”
She hums a laugh as she hands me a dish to dry.
“
But that would require you actually opening up to her, which I know you haven
’
t.
”

She
’
s right, which I only admit begrudgingly. Kenz just makes me feel bad about my decision to break up with Addie. She doesn
’
t understand.
Then again, she
’
s not the only one.
Besides, trying to explain, yet again, is not the most appealing idea I
’
ve ever had. It
’
s been a month, which makes it practically old news, and I thought I was done explaining myself.
“
It
’
s just kind of nice
not
talking about it, you know? Besides, it
’
s hard to describe the situation to someone who is
so
against it that you
’
d think I was breaking up with
her
.
”

“
Or
maybe you aren
’
t listening so well, either. The truth of the matter is, you are doing what
’
s best for you and she doesn
’
t
get
that
—
but she doesn
’
t want any less than the best for you, either. You just need to sit down and patiently talk it out.
”

I don
’
t want her to be right. I want Kenzie to just get over it. This is my life and I don
’
t have to answer to her about the decisions I make. I can
’
t deny, though, that I miss my sister. I miss the Kenz that jumps on my back and demands a piggy-back ride every chance she gets; or the Kenz that talks my ear off about things that I don
’
t care about. Even though I might not care about what drama is going on between her and her
bestie
, I do care about her.

“
How are you doing, anyway?
”

“
Huh?
”
I mutter as I untangle myself from my thoughts.

“
How are you doing? With the breakup?
”

“
I kissed her yesterday.
”
The words fly out of my mouth as if they
’
ve been
dying
to be set free. When my mother
’
s hands stop what they
’
re doing, I know she
’
s staring at me without even having to look at her. I also know that in her stare, there is an expectation for more information.
“
We were arguing. She thought I was on a date.
”

“
Were you?
”

“
What? Mom! No,
”
I exclaim, turning to meet her gaze.

“
Sweetie, it
’
s just a question. Besides, it
’
s not as if dating other people is a
bad
thing.
”

I shake my head at her.
Does anyone in this house understand why I broke up with the woman I love more than anyone else in the entire world?
I think of my dad and I feel my shoulders relax.
At least one person gets me.
“
Look, mom, it
’
s not like that, okay?
”

“
Well, things can change. I don
’
t know. You haven
’
t really been very open about it, you know.
”

She
’
s right.
Again
. While I
’
d like to choose to be annoyed, I know that if I don
’
t start talking now, there will always be tomorrow. Or the next day. I have to remind myself that my mom and my sister only bug me because they love me.

I drape the dish towel in my hands over my shoulder and fold my arms across my chest as I turn to face her, leaning up against the side of the sink.
“
Things haven
’
t changed, mom. I
’
m still in love with Addie. She
’
s the only one that I want. Being broken up is hard
—
and when I was trying to explain to her that I wasn
’
t on a date, regardless of what it looked like, she was just too hurt to
hear
me. That scared me. It scared me to see that our time apart has already taken away some of the security behind our relationship.
”

“
So you kissed her.
”