After touching up her makeup, she made the drive to Ella’s far too quickly. Traffic had been unusually light for a Saturday evening. She saw Mark’s car almost immediately and gave a small prayer of thanks that he’d actually shown up. Taking a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves, she left the safety of her car and made her way to the door of her sister’s home. Everything’s fine. He’s a busy man, and this is probably normal behavior for him. Be cool and don’t wrap yourself around his leg. She repeated the same thought a few more times before opening the door and walking in.
Ella spotted her immediately and walked forward, looking strained. “I know I told you to ditch Bill, but did you have to do it today? Mother is driving me freaking crazy!” she whisper-hissed, before plastering a fake smile on for anyone looking at them.
“I know,” Crystal murmured back. “She’s probably bothering you because I turned my phone off. I couldn’t deal with it today. I figure I’ll give her some time to get past the initial shock before calling her back.”
“It’s probably going to take a while.” Ella cringed before throwing an arm around her waist. “I’m proud of you for talking to Bill, though. It had to be done, and let’s face it, there was never going to be a good time for it.”
Changing the subject, Crystal asked, “So, if you’re hosting this party now, then surely you’ve been let in what’s going on?”
“Oh, come on.” Ella rolled her eyes. “Do you think I could make Suzy do anything that she didn’t want to?” Rubbing her hands together like a child, she rocked on her feet. “Plus, I love surprises! It wouldn’t be very exciting if I found out ahead of time.”
Ella’s mouth continued to move, but Crystal had completely lost track of the conversation as she spotted Mark and Denny across the room chatting with Jason Danvers. “Oh God,” she squeaked.
“What?” Ella asked, looking at her in confusion. When she didn’t answer, her sister turned to see what she was looking at and said, “Oh, yeah, he got here a few minutes ago. Is he still acting weird?” She had confided in Ella on the second day that Mark was in Boston. It was not that she wanted to, but more that Ella was too good at sensing when something was bothering her. Apparently, she hadn’t been able to hide her anxiety over Mark’s behavior very well.
“Kind of.” She nodded. “I don’t know . . . maybe it’s because of the visit from his parents. He’s said that they’re pretty bad, and I can certainly understand the need to pack your bags after an unpleasant encounter.”
Still studying Mark, Ella asked, “So tell me, if this were a week ago, what would you do now?” At her baffled look, Ella added, “Would you be standing over here or would you be over there with him?” At her wistful look, she sighed. “That’s what I thought. So go see your man. He’s been out of town, and you don’t even know that anything is wrong. Stop slumping and hiding in the doorway. Channel your inner Suzy and sashay right up to him.”
“Did you just say . . . ?” Crystal smirked.
“Get your ass moving!” Ella huffed, putting a hand on her shoulders and giving a shove that was surprisingly strong. Crystal bobbled around like a drunken chicken for a minute, before catching herself and giving her sister an evil look.
“Oops, sorry.” Ella winced before making a shooing motion.
By this point, almost everyone was looking at her. Mia was waving from within the circle of Seth Jackson’s arms, while a hugely pregnant Gwen was looking back and forth between her and Mark as if watching a reality television show. Even Lydia was there and mouthing the name Mr. Big. Something about that cracked her up and made her move across the floor to Mark’s side more easily. She was still smiling when she reached him. And then she saw it—he went noticeably stiff when she touched his arm, a split second before he relaxed. Dammit, what was going on? What had happened since the last time they’d been together? “Hey,” she said brightly. Jason gave her a warm smile, while Denny seemed to be trying to communicate something with his eyes.
“It’s good to see you again, Crystal,” Jason said. He opened his mouth to say something else when Claire motioned to him from across the room. “Excuse me, the wife calls.” He smiled ruefully as he walked away.
Right on his heels, Denny said, “I’m just going to go do—that thing.” Once again, Denny shot her the same strange look before leaving.
“Geez, was it something I said?” she joked as she looked up into Mark’s closed expression.
“Possibly it was more of what you left out,” he added cryptically.
“What?” She stared at him in puzzlement.
“Crystal . . .” he began, before she cut him off.
“You’re angry with me about something. Either that or you’re breaking up with me. Because I don’t remember a time when you’ve called me by my given name.” Feeling herself on the verge of tears, she asked quietly, “Please tell me what’s going on. I’ve been worried all week, and I don’t want to continue being in the dark.”
He had taken her hand and was leading her toward the double doors to the deck when a dinging sound had everyone looking toward the other side of the room. Mark bit off a curse and pulled them both to a halt.
“Thanks for coming this evening,” Gray Merimon began with Suzy tucked into his side. “We do have some good news, but we also realize that there are those who aren’t aware of the struggles that we’ve faced that have brought us to this point.” He looked down briefly, giving his wife a tender look before clearing his throat and continuing. “Suzy and I have been trying to have a child for quite a while now.”