When lunch was ready, the boys took a break from their cricket game and swarmed the tables Faith and June had placed near the barbecue, which were laden with salads, bread rolls, barbecued meat, tofu sausages, and a couple of sweeter options. Faith grabbed a roll and filled it with chicken and slaw. She looked around. Shane was heading back inside for something, so when she spotted Gabrielle near the back of the yard, she headed over to join her instead.
“Hi.” Gabrielle shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked up. “You come to keep me company?”
“I sure have.” Faith lowered herself to the ground and tucked her legs beneath her. “It’s so sweet that you guys came for Dylan’s birthday. Things have been hard on him lately, but he seems to be having a great time.”
“He does,” Gabrielle agreed. “What makes you say things have been hard on him?”
“Having Diana back, and me changing roles in his life. It’s a lot to take in, especially if he was hoping for his mum and dad to get back together.”
Gabrielle scoffed. “If Shane was stupid enough to take that she-devil back, I’d disown him. But yeah, I can see where you’re coming from. I have no doubt that by the time we leave, he’ll be trying to shove us out the door.”
“I thought you were only here for the weekend.”
Gabrielle gave her a quizzical look, and she flushed. Apparently, she was out of the loop on something. “We’re here until after Christmas. I’m surprised Shane didn’t tell you. We all took leave from work, and I hired someone to housesit and care for my animals.”
“Oh.” She should have known that. “He mentioned Christmas would be here, but I didn’t realize you were staying all the way through.”
Gabrielle smiled, the expression gentler than what Faith was beginning to consider her usual. “Don’t take it personally. He probably forgot. In some ways, his mind is like a steel trap, but in others, he’s completely useless.”
“I’m sure that’s it,” Faith murmured. She bit into her bread roll so she could mull things over without having to talk. At that moment, a glass clinked loudly, and someone tapped on a microphone. Who’d brought one of those?
What’s more, who’d given it to Diana?
Faith shifted uncomfortably, but Gabrielle just rolled her eyes. “Seems like the queen is going to make a pronouncement.”
“I’d like to call for a toast,” Diana said to the crowd gathered on the lawn. She’d reapplied her vivid red lipstick and changed into a form-fitting dress that she hadn’t been wearing earlier. She was right at home in front of everyone. “To Dylan: happy birthday.” A few people cheered. Faith sought Dylan out in time to see him blush and duck his head. Famous or not, mothers could always embarrass their children. “And to Shane. Dylan is lucky to have him for a father.”
Faith and Gabrielle exchanged a look. Faith didn’t know where this was going, but she feared it was nowhere good. She scanned the crowd and didn’t see Shane. Was he inside?
“I’m sure almost everyone here knows what a steady, kind man Shane is. In fact, he’s such a nice guy that he recently pretended to be involved with someone to save her from humiliation. Faith, are you here?”
Oh, no.
Faith shrunk in on herself. Diana knew. Somehow, she knew everything, and Faith was frozen with a lump of undigested food in her stomach that she wanted to hurl back up. Fortunately, her revelation wouldn’t be a surprise to most people from the bay, but what would Shane’s family think?
“There you are!” Diana exclaimed, giving her a little wave. Everyone present turned in Faith’s direction. “For anyone here who didn’t know—most of you, I’d assume—back in high school, Faith sent naked pictures to a boy who had a girlfriend, and it blew up in her face.” She pouted, as though she actually pitied Faith, whose teeth ground together. She wanted to rip the blonde bitch’s extensions out by the roots. She got to her feet and took a step forward, but then she noticed the murmurs. Her friends and neighbors were whispering. About her? She froze in place. Opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She searched frantically for someone to help, and at that moment, Shane appeared in the doorway and beelined toward Diana. Thank God.
“Drop the microphone!” he yelled.
Diana sped up her words. “Flash forward to this year. Darling Shane pretended to be her boyfriend to cover for her so she wouldn’t have to face up to her past. Isn’t he such a great guy?” She raised a glass. “To Shane.”
Shane reached her as she finished the toast and snatched the microphone from her hand, but the damage was done. Diana leveled her gaze on Faith and smirked. She’d won, and she knew it. Faith wanted to take the bitch down a notch. To tell her exactly what she thought of her. But Shane’s family were still watching, and the buzz around her was growing. She scanned the faces, noting their curiosity. Did they believe the story?
She heard her name and flinched. She should take the microphone from Shane and tell her side of the story. But how could she handle it if her friends and neighbors thought the worst? What if Shane’s family decided she was just another woman who wasn’t good enough for him? She closed her eyes, her heart sinking, and wished the ground would swallow her up. She’d put her life back together so carefully over the past few years and built her confidence up until she could be proud of herself. And now this.
“Please ignore everything my ex-wife said,” Shane called across the gathering. “Faith is the same person you’ve always known her to be.” He extended a hand in my direction. “Will you join me, sweetheart?”
Faith took another step forward. She could do this. She could. But then, as she moved toward him, she heard June asking what Diana meant about the naked photos and cold sweat broke out on her palms. They’d never welcome her into the fold after this, and with Shane’s past and the way Diana had painted her, she couldn’t blame them. Still, she wouldn’t take this lying down. She strode to the front and took the microphone from Shane but shrugged off the arm he tried to place around her waist. If he comforted her right now, she’d break down. She needed to activate her internal badass.
“I did send naked photos to Mason Delphine when I was eighteen,” she said, staring into the space above the audience’s heads. “We dated in secret because he was embarrassed to be seen with me. Not that I knew that at the time. He told me it was because he wasn’t allowed to date. He lied, and then he lied again to Gigi when she found the naked photos after we’d broken up.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Shane murmured.
“I really do.” Whatever happened next, she wouldn’t let the lies about her stand. “So yeah, when I found out Mason was coming to Erica’s wedding, and Mom had set me up with a blind date, I pretended to be dating Shane instead. But nothing about it is pretend anymore, and that’s the truth.”
She thrust the microphone back into Shane’s hands and bolted. She couldn’t face his family after this. Whatever they believed, they wouldn’t accept her. He deserved to be with someone they approved of. She stumbled over the lawn toward the road.
“Faith,” Shane called.
Several people reached out for her, but she shied away. When she reached the driveway, she yanked her cute pumps off and left them behind. She could hear someone chasing behind her—Shane, maybe?—but she sprinted to her car, threw herself into the driver’s seat, and took off before he could catch her.
* * *
Shane bent over, breathing heavily. He’d been too slow. He reached into his pocket for his keys. He needed to go after her and make this right. He started toward his car, but someone grabbed his arm from behind. He swung around and came face to face with Caleb’s father. For a moment, Shane wanted to shout at him because if he hadn’t gotten back together with his ex-wife, Dylan might not have gotten those crazy ideas about a reunion between him and Diana, and then they might not be here.
“Let her go,” Frank said. “Give her some time. Dylan needs you now.”
Dylan.
Hell.
Diana had just said something completely inappropriate in front of both of their sons, all of Dylan’s friends, and a number of their parents. At a kid’s birthday party, for God’s sake. Frank was right. He needed to do damage control.
He glanced at Diana. She stood, hands on hips, looking pleased as punch. When she saw him, she winked. His head spun. He started back toward her, ready to pull her and Dylan aside to sort this out, but before he could get there, Gabby rose to her feet and cleared her throat. His sister’s eyes were hard, and if looks could kill, his ex would be a goner.
“You are out of line, Diana.” Gabby raised a glass of juice. “I’d like to propose a counter toast. To Diana, the woman who abandoned her babies and her husband to pursue a life of fame and fortune and now won’t let the people she left behind move on with their lives. Cheers, you raging bitch.” She tipped her glass back and drank.
Diana’s mouth dropped open and she made a sound of disbelief, her gaze darting from one person to another, as though trying to discern how much credit they were giving Gabby’s words, and who they’d side with. When a number of people followed Gabby’s lead and drank, she took a step back.
“I suggest you leave before you do anything else to embarrass yourself,” Shane told her.
“No.” She crossed her arms and threw her head back defiantly. “This is Dylan’s day, and as long as he wants me here, I’m staying.”
Dylan.
Shane searched for his son amongst the sea of faces, feeling like a failure for not thinking to check on him sooner. His son’s cheeks were pale and his hands fisted at his sides. As the audience’s collective attention settled on him, he rocketed to his feet.
“I want you to go,” he cried, tears shining in his eyes. He looked absolutely distraught, and it gutted Shane. This was supposed to be a happy day, but his mother just couldn’t let it happen. And Shane, in seeking his own happiness with Faith, had given her a reason to behave poorly. “I told you that in secret!” Dylan’s voice rose shrilly. “You’re a user, and I don’t care if you go back to Hollywood and stay there.”
Diana looked so crestfallen that Shane would have felt sorry for her under different circumstances. She hadn’t expected his family—including their son—to rally around Faith. “You don’t mean that,” she said.
“Yes, I do. Get out. Just go!” Kicking the cricket wickets, he muttered a few curse words he shouldn’t have known and stormed into the house. Shane hurried after him, heading straight to his bedroom, where he had no doubt Dylan intended to hole up for the foreseeable future. He arrived in the hall as the door slammed and approached cautiously, pausing to knock outside.
“I don’t want to talk,” Dylan snapped.
“It’s Dad,” he said softly. “Can I come in?”
There was a moment of silence, but then the door opened. Dylan’s eyes were bright with the tears he hadn’t wanted to shed in front of anyone, and his face was flushed with anger. He let Shane inside and sat on the floor, drawing his knees up to his chest.
Shane sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you okay, bud?” he asked. “That was pretty rough out there.”
“I meant everything I said,” he replied. “I don’t care if it was mean.”
Shane shook his head. “I didn’t mean you. I meant your mum. She shouldn’t have done what she did. Especially not if you shared things with her in confidence and trusted her not to mention them.”
Dylan hung his head, his fringe flopping forward and hiding his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told her anything about you and Faith. I just wanted to make her happy. Do you think Faith will be okay?”
He wished he could brush away Dylan’s concern, but he really didn’t know. Faith might have put on a brave front, but she may not want anything to do with them after this. She’d managed to move on from the awful things that had happened when she was younger, and he’d dumped it all back on her doorstep with a hefty helping of more. He knew how much it had meant to her to make a good first impression on his family, and Diana had hit her where it hurt.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “It might not seem like it on the outside, but she’s sensitive.” He sighed, wishing he didn’t have to say this when Dylan was obviously already struggling with what he’d done. “I know you didn’t mean any harm, and I understand why you told your mum what you did, but you need to be careful the next time you’re asked to share private information about someone, because people can get hurt.”
“I know.” He sounded so ashamed that Shane wanted to gather him into a hug, but Dylan was at that awkward age where he wasn’t big on hugging and might not welcome it. Shane ran a hand through his own hair. Why did parenting have to be so damn hard?
“Can we go find Faith?” Dylan asked. “I need to tell her I’m sorry.”
Despite everything, a sliver of pride lodged in his heart. His boy wanted to make things right. Maybe he wasn’t screwing up the solo parenting gig as badly as he feared.
“I’m sure she’d like to hear that, but maybe not right now. She’s upset and needs time to calm down first.”
Dylan wiped his eyes on the heel of his hands. “But you’re going to go get her, right?”
Shane nodded. “I’m going to try. But first, we need to talk to your grandparents. Do you think you’re up for that?”
Dylan scrambled to his feet. “Yeah, okay.”
They found June, Dennis, and Gabby talking quietly in the kitchen.
“Diana left,” Gabby said when she saw them coming. “I saw her off the property myself.”
Relief made him weak in the knees. At least that was one mess he didn’t have to deal with. “Thanks, Gabs. And thank you for what you did out there. I appreciate it.”
She scoffed. “I just said what I’ve been dying to for a fucking long time.” She glanced at Dylan. “Excuse my French, Dyl.”
“Would you care to explain what that was about?” Dennis asked. “We got the gist of it, but we’d like the full story.”
“CliffsNotes version? Faith’s parents were in town for her cousin’s wedding recently, and they tried to set her up with some guy she didn’t know because her ex was going to be there, and they didn’t want her to feel vulnerable. She didn’t like being set up, so we pretended to be an item to make everyone back off. I recently learned that the ex was someone she’d dated in secret during high school, and then he dumped her for another girl but kept intimate photos of her on his phone, and when his new girlfriend found them, he claimed Faith had sent them because she was desperate to be noticed. The girlfriend shared them with some of the girls in their year, and they bullied her for it.”
June covered her mouth with a hand. “How awful. That poor girl.”
“How did Diana find out?” Gabby asked. “What kind of bitch uses another woman’s pain for her own gain? Sorry, Dyl, I know it’s your mum we’re talking about.”
“I don’t care,” he spat. “I’m the one who told her that Dad was only pretending to be with Faith for the wedding. I didn’t know she’d do something like this.”
“We know you didn’t.” June wrapped an arm around him and drew him to her side.
“Well, son,” Dennis said, having taken all of this on board more smoothly than anyone would have expected. “You’d better hurry after your girl, or you might be too late.”
Shane nodded and did just that.