The color drained from Vanessa’s face too.
I knew that face.
“It’s lovely to finally meet you,” she finally said.
Austin held out the flowers, beaming. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
The word sweetheart landed strangely in my ears. Not flirtatious. Almost maternal. Almost.
I forced my mouth to move. “Austin, honey, why don’t you bring Vanessa inside for a minute? It’s chilly out here.”
“I’m fine on the porch,” Vanessa said quickly. “Actually, sweetheart, would you mind grabbing me a glass of water? My throat is a little dry from the drive.”
“It’s lovely to finally meet you.”
“Sure. Mom, you want anything?”
“No,” I managed. “Thank you, baby.”
Austin disappeared through the screen door. The second the door clicked shut, Vanessa took one step closer.
Her voice dropped to something quieter than a whisper. “He asked me to give you five minutes. After that, he wants me to tell him myself.”
The camera dangled from my wrist, knocking against the wood.
“Vanessa,” I said, and my voice came out hoarse, “what are you doing here? What is this?”
“He asked me to give you five minutes.”
“This is the conversation you’ve been refusing to have, Margaret. I told him to just ask you. He said you’d lock the deadbolt before I made it up the walk. The corsage was his idea, not mine. He swore it was the only way you wouldn’t turn me around at the curb.”
