Today's Reading
Sure, Helena used to think she wanted to be part of a big family. In fact, it was what she wished for as a kid every time she threw a penny into a fountain. But she didn't feel like she was part of this family. Once Nora and Steve were married, there would be the trio of tight-knit siblings who all had their acts together—and Helena. The thought of trying to find her place in this group made her revisit her long-abandoned habit of biting her fingernails.
And if she dug way down deep to places she'd rather avoid, her biggest fear was that she'd lose her mom to them. What if Helena couldn't keep up? What if her mom liked The Perfects' traditions and family life better? What if, after all the dust settled, Helena was the odd one out of the happy little family who moved on without her?
She drew in a deep breath and shoved the fear back into the deep, dark place where she kept it locked away. One thing was for sure. She wasn't going to be on her own at this wedding because she was not going solo.
"Come with me and see for yourself what they're like. I'll do all your grading for the first quarter next year." There was a hint of unashamed pleading in her voice.
"You're serious about this, aren't you?" His eyes narrowed as he studied her. "What aren't you telling me?"
Emotional support was her main goal, and she didn't think it was too much to ask of one of her nearest and dearest friends. "The odds seem a little stacked in the badminton game when there are four on their side and only one on mine."
"Four? I thought there were only—" Landon's voice stopped abruptly and a knowing grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Ah, I see. This has less to do with the siblings and more to do with one soon-to-be Mr. Perfect."
Helena made a grand gesture of rolling her eyes so he'd know how ridiculous he was being. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Really? A certain fiancé of the oldest Perfect doesn't ring any bells?"
"No. I wasn't thinking about Polly Perfect's fiancé at all."
Landon rolled his eyes at her immature nickname but thankfully didn't call her out on it.
Helena studied her manicure just to show him that the chipped nail polish on her gnawed fingernails was more important to her than some guy who happened to be engaged to her soon-to-be-stepsister—even if he did have the most beautiful chestnut eyes she'd ever seen and a smile that made her a little woozy.
The room got eerily silent for a high school U.S. History classroom, and she could feel Landon's accusing gaze burning into her.
Exasperated, she dropped her hand down to her side. She hated that he knew her better than she knew herself. "Fine. I'm crushing on my future stepsister's fiancé. If you want to know the truth, he's far too good for her. But that's not my problem. What is my problem is having to watch them make goo-goo eyes at each other while I sit all alone on my side of the table." "As previously mentioned, you're family now. There are no sides of tables."
"A couple of 'I do's' might marry our parents, but it isn't going to make us a family." She took a sip of her coffee, hoping the magic brew would soothe her. The truth was, Nora was getting to spend forever with the man she loved and build a new life in Texas with his kids while Helena sat by herself in an entirely different time zone, wondering where she fit into this equation.
Landon took her empty hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You, Helena Crosby, are an amazing person. Any family would be lucky to have you in it."
His words did far more for her soul than her lukewarm, bargain-brand coffee ever could. She glanced up at him from under her lids. "Why don't you tell them that?"
Landon started to smirk, probably assuming she was being sarcastic, but she'd never been more serious.
"Please. Come with me to the wedding. Be my date. Tell The Perfects just how great I am. I need you."
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
Helena shot him an impish grin. "I might have already booked your ticket. I'll email you the confirmation." He let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll go."
Helena jumped to her feet and threw her free arm around him, careful not to slosh what was left of her coffee out of her mug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You don't know how much this means to me."
"On one condition."
She pulled away from him, not entirely sure she liked where this was going. "Which is?"
"That you give your new family a chance, and you let go of this thing you have for someone else's fiancé."
...
