93. The chapter with the proposal

Rose

I closed my eyes, feeling the world spin and my head throb as I rode beside my mother in the car. We were going to spend Christmas on a farm in rural Delaware with Alex's family, and we left Rochester on Wednesday morning, after having gone home last Friday night.

" Are you okay?You've gone pale," my mom asked.

" I was reading some messages and I got a headache," I explained with my eyes still closed, "Don't worry.”

" Do you want me to stop somewhere? " She suggested.

"No need, I'll just keep my eyes closed" I denied.

We were silent again for a few minutes until I decided to talk to my mom, feeling the uneasiness start to leave me.

" Were we both really included in the invitation? I know we're getting on well with Alex, but it's her family's house and it's they first Christmas together.”

" Your father really wants us to be there, plus Alex has assured me that she has a cousin who is very eager to meet me." A small smile appeared on my mother's lips.

" Wow, am I going to get two stepmothers from the same family? " I teased her.

My mother laughed at that sentence before giving me a look out of the corner of her eye.

" Who knows, if she's as pretty as Alex,' she winked at me, making me laugh.

" The two of them are getting on well, aren't you?”

" More than you'd think," she admitted.

" What does that mean?”

" The next few days will be important for your dad, so let's do our best to support him, okay?”

I watched her, looking for a hidden meaning to that sentence, giving up before shrugging at the notification ring of my cell phone. A smile appeared on my face as I saw another message from Christian. It had been four days since I had seen my friends, and I missed all of them, exchanging messages from time to time, but Christian, we talked every day for hours, and I never ceased to be surprised by how much I missed his presence.

I missed his scent, his touch, his laugh, and the way his blue eyes sparkled every time we got into one of our countless arguments in which I almost always won.

I'm almost beaten for breaking up with you, can you believe it? You conquered the biker club

Who threatened you now?

Ever since Christian came home everyone had been reacting in their own way to our supposed break up, his mother trying to console him in every way while his father called him a fool for letting someone like me get away. And he didn't seem to be the only one who thought so.

Marlon doesn't miss a chance to tell me I'm an asshole every time I see him.

" 'I don't even have to ask to know who you're talking to,” my mother teased, drawing my attention.

" I don't know what you're talking about,” I tried to say, feeling my face heat up from being caught.

" There's only one person who puts that smile on your face," she winked at me.

I didn't answer, knowing my mom was right, I had already noticed that myself.

" He's just a good friend," I tried to say, but the look my mom gave me showed me that I wouldn't have that option, so with a resigned sigh I started the explanation I was already tired of giving in the last few days.”It's complicated, okay?”

" I understand. We can talk about it while we eat the best blueberry waffle in Connecticut," she suggested, taking an exit from the main road.

" Are you serious? " I rolled my eyes.

" 'I don't know, but the sign says it is, so let's try it,' my mom winked at me, making me smile.

It only took a few minutes before we were settled at a table in a reserved corner of the cafeteria, waiting for the waitress to bring our waffles.

" So, what's so complicated about your relationship with Davis? " She asked at last.

" I like him, I admit that. But I don't feel ready for a relationship and ever since they found out, everyone has been pushing the issue, and I'm starting to freak out " I opened up to my mom.

" What about Christian? Has he brought it up? " she asked me.

" No, but everyone else keeps talking about how I'm going to regret it and making jokes about me being afraid of relationships. And I am afraid, but not of the relationship itself.”

" What then?”

" I don't feel ready for a relationship, I'm afraid of making this decision for the wrong reasons, regretting it and ruining everything we have, including our friendship " I explained my side of the story.

" Rose, I know you better than anyone and I know you have a bad habit of running away when you are pressured. So instead of thinking about what they expect you to do, focus on what you want and talk to Christian about it," my mom advised.

That seemed like sensible advice, but my biggest difficulty at the moment was figuring out what I wanted. Do I want a boyfriend? Do I want exclusivity? Or do I just want to enjoy my time by your side without any labels?

" You can use these two weeks to think about it." She winked at me, making me give a lopsided smile in response.

Our waffles finally arrived at our table and I must admit they were perfect. I spent a few minutes concentrating on my plate until I decided to get my own answers about the whole situation involving my dad.

" So, since you've already interrogated me, now it's my turn " I watched my mom sitting in front of me, cutting a piece of waffle.

" What do you want to know? " She raised her eyes to look at me.

" Why are we going on this trip? And I want the truth, don't give me this story that we were invited and all. Alex is not the first to invite us to this kind of interaction and you always preferred to keep your distance. What's different now?”

My mother held her gaze on mine for a few seconds before sighing.

" 'You're not going to let it go, are you? All right, your father made me promise not to say anything, so please, when we arrive and he comes to talk to you, act surprised.”

My mom started, grabbing her purse before looking around, making sure no one was paying attention to us.

" Oh my God, why all the secrecy? " I blinked, stunned by her suspicious attitude.

" Your father asked me to keep this, and take it to him today,' she began, rummaging through the inside of her bag.

I widened my eyes when I saw a small velvet box in her hand. I took it, opening it only to find a beautiful engagement ring with a sizable emerald surrounded by small diamonds.

" Ahhh my God! Are you serious? " I closed the little box, extending it back to my mother, who was quick to put it away.

" He wanted to talk to you in person before anything, but by the time you came home he had already traveled with Alex. But yes, things are pretty serious between the two of them and I've never seen him so happy,' she assured me.

I stayed silent, just absorbing that information. For the first time in my life I saw my father even consider this idea. For the first time I would officially have a stepmother.

" What do you make of that? It's a little hard to tell if you're freaking out or not," my mom commented before taking a piece of waffle to her mouth without looking away from my face.

" 'I am freaking out! But in a good way," I smiled, "I can't believe he's going to do this.”

" "I told you, act surprised when he tells you," she winked at me.

I smiled confidingly at my mom, taking the opportunity to eat again in silence. A notification arrived on my phone, I opened my Instagram looking at the new photo Christian had been tagged in. He was sitting on a couch with Amber, who was lying down with her feet resting on his legs. The resemblance between the two was incredible. The eyes with the same shape and shade of blue, the thick black hair, not to mention the sarcasm-laden expression that never seemed to leave their faces.

" And once again the smile appears," my mother hummed.

" It was just a picture of him with his sister. I was just noticing how alike the two of them are," I quipped, showing the photo to my mom.

Addison took the phone from my hand, raising both eyebrows when she saw the picture.

" 'Is that his sister? " She asked without looking away from the screen.

" Yes, her name is Amber. I think she's a year or two younger than you." I frowned at her reaction.

" And you didn't think to introduce me? " My mother finally looked up, stopping to admire the picture.

It took me a few seconds to connect the dots, staring at her in shock.

" Introduce you? You were interested in Chris's sister?

" Why the surprise? The woman is beautiful! " She returned admiring the photo again " Really, I think I'm in love!”

" In love? Mom, you only know her first name! " I returned with amusement.

" How can I not fall in love? Look at those blue eyes! You need to get her number for me.”

" Mom, she lives in Minneapolis.”

I decided to put an end to the madness before she got serious.

" It's not an impossible distance,” she returned without flinching. “It's not like she lives on another continent.”

That answer made me laugh, although it did start to worry me a little.

" Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm pretty sure she's straight, and so is her biker boyfriend," I quipped.

She looked at the photo one more time before handing it back to me with one last resigned sigh.

" Are you ready to go? " my mother asked with a nonchalant pout.

" Don't make that face, I'm sure Alex's cousin is just as pretty as Amber " I signaled to the waitress " I'll get some donuts and chocolates to go, I'm killing for some sweets.”

" You've been eating a lot of sweets these days, don't you think? " Addison looked at me suspiciously " And as for Alex's cousin, I'm sure she's pretty, but I doubt she belongs to any biker club!”

I ignored her comment about the sweets, deciding to tease her some more.

" Oh my God, you want a biker girlfriend!”

" Why is it that only you can have a boyfriend with a Harley and leather jackets? " she teased me while I made the request for the trip.

" First of all, he's not my boyfriend, secondly, I have to admit that this is pretty cool.”

It wasn't long before the waitress brought my bagels and we continued our trip in a pleasant mood.