Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(59)

“I thought maybe we could make a day of it, go to lunch, too. There’s a delicious Thai place in Santa Barbara that I’d love to treat you to.”

“I’d like that,” Cora said.

“Great. How soon can you be ready?”

“Thirty minutes?”

“No rush. Just come over to my place when you’re done.”

“Sounds like fun.” Cora was so excited about having the opportunity to be alone with her biological mother for hours—Christmas shopping, no less—that she grabbed Aiyana and hugged her on impulse. “I love you,” she said. “You are so wonderful.”

Although Aiyana permitted the hug, Cora could tell she was taken aback. When Cora let go, Aiyana searched Cora’s face wearing a bemused expression. But then she smoothed the hair out of Cora’s eyes and smiled. “I’m so glad you came to us,” she said and kissed her cheek, just as she might’ve done had they been together when Cora was just a child.

Cora’s heart was pounding when Aiyana left. She couldn’t even make herself get ready. She sat on the couch, remembering every minute of that exchange. There was a moment when Aiyana was staring into her face that Cora had almost told her. She’d come so close...

She was still sitting on the couch in a bit of a daze when Eli walked through the door a few minutes later.

“Hey. What are you doing out here?” He used the bottom of his T-shirt to wipe the perspiration from his forehead as he spoke.

Cora summoned the energy to stand. “Nothing.”

His eyebrows came together as he dropped his shirt, which was now stretched and wrinkled as well as sweaty. “Was I gone too long? Have you been waiting for me?” He checked the clock on his phone, which he’d left on the counter. “I thought I’d wake you up when I got back. You usually sleep until nine or ten on weekends.”

“I wasn’t getting impatient. Your mother came by and woke me up.”

He crossed to the kitchen to get a glass of water. “What for?”

“To invite me to go shopping with her.”

“Does she want me to go, too?”

“No. Just me.” That was the beauty of it. Aiyana had sought her out. She wasn’t merely a tagalong because she was dating Eli.

“Really.” He eyed her speculatively. “Do you want to go?”

“I’d like to—if you wouldn’t mind me skipping out on whatever we might’ve done today.” They didn’t have any specific plans, but they’d started to spend all their weekends together, so she knew the expectation would be there.

“Of course I wouldn’t mind, not if you think it’d be fun.” He downed his water. “So it’s a girls’ day, huh?”

“That’s how she presented it.”

“With as much as you admire my mother, I bet you’ll enjoy that. I don’t get any attention when we go over there on Sundays,” he joked.

“You get plenty of attention—always.” He was almost all she could think about. If only he knew how drastically he’d impacted her in every way. “But you’re right, I’m excited to spend some time with her.”

He walked over, took her hands and straightened the rings she wore on three different fingers so that the jeweled parts no longer slanted to the left or right. “What is it about her?”

“Nothing,” she lied. “I just...like her.”

“I’m glad, because she likes you, too. Anyway, I’ll take some of the boys riding. I promised those who scored the highest on Mr. Travers’s chemistry test that I’d take them out one day.”

Cora flinched beneath the guilt she felt for continuing to keep such a secret. “Perfect time to fulfill that promise.”

Being careful not to get her sweaty, he leaned in for a kiss. “I’ll miss you.”

“I have a few minutes,” she said with a promising grin and pulled him into the bathroom so they could shower together. She needed something powerful to help her forget the confrontation she knew was coming—eventually.

*

The day seemed so boring without Cora. That he missed her even more than he thought he would told Eli how much he was coming to rely on her company, which made him a little nervous. Would that turn out to be a bad thing?

If she insisted on leaving Silver Springs at the end of the school year it would...

He held off contacting her until it was almost dinnertime, hoping she’d get back. But then he texted her.

How much longer are you going to be? You guys are taking forever.

We’re on our way home.

Have you eaten? Should I turn on the barbecue and grill a couple of burgers? He’d been waiting to eat with her.

No. I’m bringing you sushi. We had Thai for lunch but ended up staying so long we went to sushi for dinner. It was a great place. You’re going to love it.

Did you get all of your shopping done?

Most of it.

What’d you get me? he teased.

Nothing. I already had your present, she wrote back with a winking emoji.

Where is it? I’ll go take a look.

You’d better not snoop around! You’ll see it at Christmas.

He imagined how surprised she was going to be. I’ve got yours, too. Picked it up today.

I have no clue what it could be.