Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(71)

Later in the afternoon, we all sat down at Lorraine’s small dining room table. She was at the head, and Jonah and I were on either side of her. I kept thinking that I was spending Christmas with two people I hadn’t even known a year ago.

I was hoping to spend this day with my father, but Lorraine was trying hard to make things nice, and I wondered how thrilled she must be at unexpectedly having Jonah here. He had to be the best Christmas present she’d ever gotten. She looked happy as she spoke throughout the meal, her pink nails flashing in the air as she gestured, asking Jonah questions about his life since she’d last seen him. She’d missed his high school graduation and sending him off to college. She’d missed so much.

Jonah gave her all the expected answers but didn’t elaborate much, and somehow he managed to finish half the food on the table by himself. No matter the situation, his appetite never seemed to be affected.

“You could have given her a little more,” I said to him as Jonah and I were clearing the table while Lorraine started on the dishes in the kitchen.

“What? You think I should give her the play-by-play for each day of my life she missed? That’s seven years, Candy. It could take a while.”

I gave him a pointed look, hoping Lorraine hadn’t heard him.

“Come on. You of all people should understand. You don’t exactly forgive and forget.” He put down the dish he was holding. “She could have written me a letter or sent an e-mail. If she didn’t want to see my father, she could have visited me at my dorm in college. She had options if she wanted to talk to me or see me, and she never tried any of them.”

Although he had a point, I felt the need to defend her. “She was scared and ashamed. She’d made a mistake.”

He picked up the dish again. “Yeah, well, I guess I can understand that, but understanding is easier than forgiving.”

He was right. It was hypocritical of me to tell him to forgive his mother. For so long, I couldn’t forgive Jonah, even though I understood his situation. That was in the past now. He’d earned my forgiveness, and he’d done more than enough to redeem himself. I wondered what Lorraine would have to do to earn Jonah’s forgiveness.

Maybe it was as simple as not leaving him again.

We were finished cleaning up by the time the doorbell rang. Even though I’d just seen him yesterday, Theo was a sight for sore eyes, and he had Heather with him.

I had to admit they were cute standing next to each other. She was pretty and petite, and Theo was around five eight, the same height as me. They fit perfectly together.

“We’re getting married,” Theo announced when they stepped inside the house. “We wanted you to be the first to know.”

My eyes bulged, and so did Jonah’s.

“We want to do it in the same church where Heather’s mother got married. Her father is a preacher, and he’s going to do the ceremony.”

Jonah’s face was wrinkled in confusion. “Her father’s not a preacher.”

“Very funny,” I said, finally understanding. “That’s the plot from A Walk to Remember. How do you even know that? I thought you hated Nicholas Sparks.”

Theo grinned at Jonah, who still had no idea what we were talking about. “We’re not getting married. We’re actually going to rent a cabin on the coast and run away together. Heather is going to take care of me while my rich, uncaring family searches high and low.”

I snorted. “That’s Dying Young.” Jonah still looked lost. “The movie with Julia Roberts and Campbell Scott,” I explained.

“You see way too many cancer movies,” Theo said.

“There are lots out there. It’s a useful plot device, although slightly overused.”

“So everything you’ve said since you walked in here is bullshit?” Jonah asked him.

Theo shrugged. “Bullshit or comedic genius.”

“Bullshit,” Jonah grumbled, and I understood. Theo’s brand of humor took some getting used to.

“I may go to California with Theo and his family. That’s no bullshit,” Heather said, sounding excited.

I looked at Theo, who smiled and shrugged, and I couldn’t help but wonder what Heather was thinking. My first instinct when I met Theo was to stay far away from him because I didn’t want to care about someone I might lose. At the time, I was still too raw from the loss of my mother. I could see why Heather liked Theo, but she was moving full speed ahead toward heartbreak.

Lorraine came out from the kitchen to meet Theo and Heather while Jonah went to get some drinks. Once everyone came back, Heather took me aside. “I can’t believe Jonah’s back with his mother after all this time. And she’s with your dad? How crazy is that? If they got married, Jonah would be your stepbrother.”

I didn’t crack a smile. I hadn’t considered that, but I didn’t like the sound of it.

“Now we know how Jonah got the scar,” she said. “What a terrible story.”

I eyed her sharply. “He didn’t leave anything out when he talked to you, did he?” I hated how sarcastic I sounded because I liked Heather. But I didn’t know her well enough to trust her the way Jonah did.

She gave me a knowing look. “Relax, okay? I’m on your side.”

Relaxing wasn’t really in my repertoire at the moment, but I smiled tightly at her anyway.