Chapter 23
Elizabeth
I remained motionless when Caden pulled up outside a terraced house with a small but neat front garden. There were maybe ten houses in a row, and all of them were attached.
To my left, a blur of movement caught my eye. A slim woman who looked like she could have been a model when she was younger, ran from the house and waved. Her smile was warm and welcoming, and her eyes were the same deep brown as Caden's.
"I take it that's your mom."
He nodded. "Ready?"
"No. But let's go."
We both stepped out of the car. Caden grabbed his mother in a bear hug. And a man, who I assumed was his dad, appeared in the doorway. He was about the same height as Caden but wider and softer.
"Welcome home, Son," he said. "It's been too long. You need to get back here more. You know how your mother gets when she doesn't see her sons."
"Would you give over," his mother said with a laugh, giving his dad a playful slap.
"I'm Cait, and this is Artur," she said looking at me. "What's your name, love?"
"Elizabeth," I replied.
Cait glanced at my hand, then at Caden's. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed his hand.
"What the hell is this?" Her face flushed and she reached for Artur to steady herself.
"Mam, Dad, this is Elizabeth Beaufort. My wife."
"Wife? Did you say wife? Am I hearing things?" Cait blessed herself and disbelief lined her beautiful face. " Married? You're married?"
"We fell in love at first sight," I said in the way of an explanation. "We didn't want to wait."
"Is that so?" his mother said, her eyes still wide with shock.
"I don't believe this," his dad said. "You're having a laugh."
"I'm not," Caden replied.
"You have some explaining to do, Son."
"Sorry," Caden whispered in my ear. "I'll make it up to you later."
"I don't think you can," I whispered back.
His parents strode inside, and we followed them into a spotless house that smelled like vanilla and apple spice. The furniture was modern and the kitchen bright and narrow with sparkling white cabinets. Pictures filled with smiling faces lined the walls and showed a life filled with happiness and love.
Not sure what else to do, I sat at the kitchen table while Cait busied herself by boiling a kettle, and an uneasy silence filled the kitchen. I wished I had some calming oils in my purse, but I'd left every one of my oils at home thanks to Caden distracting me with his body when I was supposed to be packing.
In no time, a teapot was placed in the middle of the kitchen table, followed by cups, saucers, and a plate of cookies.
"Now," Cait said blowing out a breath and filling each cup with steaming black tea. "What's all this about you being married?"
"I know it's a bit of a shock," Caden said, sitting down beside me. "But as Lizzie said, it was love at first sight, and we didn't want to wait.
"And your parents were okay with this?" she asked looking at me. There was no anger or accusation in her eyes, just incredulous curiosity.
"My parents are divorced," I said, picking up a cookie. "They were shocked, but they could see how much we loved each other." A picture of the Virgin Mary gazed down at me from above the kitchen door. I wasn't Catholic or religious, but I wanted to go to a chapel and confess my sins.
"This is all very bizarre," his dad said. He sat down by Cait and wrapped his hand around her clenched fist. "You didn't think to call. Sure, you only talked to your mother yesterday to tell us you were coming home."
"I wanted to tell you in person," Caden said.
"A bit of warning would have been nice," his mother said. She sighed. "Well, I suppose there's nothing can be done now. There's no point flying into a rage or bursting into tears. Maybe we can have a bit of a party here. How long are you staying?"
"Flying back Monday evening," I said. "My mom and stepdad gave this to us as a gift so we could come see you."
"That was very sweet of them," Cait said. "I'll have to call and thank them, but two days is too short. You haven't been back in five years. That's not enough time to get everyone together. Your sisters will want to meet Elizabeth and get to know her. I'll call them now and tell them to be home for dinner. Do your brothers know?" She asked breaking a cookie in two.
"No one knows," Caden replied. "It all happened so fast. Not even Lizzie's family came to the ceremony."
"Well, that's not true," I supplied. "My sister Darcy was one of our witnesses. She made my dress."
"We can always plan another wedding here, and everyone can come," Cait said. "We'll figure out dates. You want to give everyone a day out. It's not every day one of my children gets married. I'd given up on the lot of you. I never thought I'd see the day, not after you and Louise... Are you going to—"
"Can we talk about something else?" he asked, shutting off whatever his mother was going to say.
"Not now, love," his dad said.
Cait shrugged and turned her attention to me. "Tell me about your people, Elizabeth."
Whatever crap Louise had pulled on him, it must have been bad and still caused ripples, but I ignored the underlying tension now in the kitchen and cleared my throat. "Nothing to tell really. My parents divorced when I was eight. I stayed with my dad. We run a country club on Sundown Sands. It's on the tip of the South Fork peninsula on Long Island. Not too far from East Hampton. My mom remarried. I have four stepsisters and one half sister."
"Nothing like a big family to keep you company." She took a sip of tea, then said, "I bet you wouldn't keep something like getting married from your mother."
"I kind of did. I'm sorry we didn't call you straight away. It was selfish and unthoughtful." I reached for Caden's hand and interlaced my fingers with his. "We really do love one another. I promise I'll take care of him."
His mother's eyes softened. "I can see that you will, and I can see how much you love him. How much you love each other. The eyes tell everything. We didn't think he'd ever fall in love again. That in itself is a miracle."
Caden and I glanced at each other, his eyes widened and filled with laughter, and I flashed him, what I hoped, was a warning.
His mother was right about one thing, though. Well, right about me anyway. I loved Caden. Admitting it sucked, and my heart cracked for the love it would never receive in return.
I would never tell him how I felt. Never. Opening myself up to that kind of rejection wasn't worth it.
For the next three years, I would get on with it and do what I had to do. But I ached to be part of his life. To have his parents as my in-laws. Their house was warm and welcoming, and as soon as his mother got over the initial shock of our marriage, I could tell we would be friends. She was a tell-it-like-it-was kind of woman. The kind who would kill for her family. And his father would never use emotional blackmail to have his children do something like marry a stranger to save the family business.
"As long as you don't arrive back here some day with a wee baby in your arms, we'll be grand. The minute you're pregnant, I want a phone call. There's only so much I can forgive."
"You already know that's not going to happen," Caden said, ending the conversation.