Chapter 4: I'd Have to Be Out of My Mind to Miss It

Wendy steadied herself. "What show?"

"Meeting the parents."

"Now?" She glanced down at her plain outfit. "Shouldn't I change first?"

"You'll need to."

Julian said nothing further and pulled straight into the underground parking garage beneath a shopping center.

He got out first, came around, opened her door, and offered a hand. "Come on."

It was near dinnertime, and the mall was nearly empty.

Wendy hesitated at the entrance. She hadn't set foot in a proper mall in years.

Julian, clearly out of his depth with women's fashion, simply said, "Anything you like, try it on."

"I like all of it," she admitted, embarrassed. "None of it feels like me anymore."

She hadn't worn anything nice in so long that the idea of it made her nervous like she'd end up looking foolish in it.

Amused, Julian pulled a pale blue dress off a rack and handed it over. "We're on a clock. Go try it."

She had little choice but to disappear into the fitting room with it.

Soft mall music drifted overhead. Julian's phone buzzed twice. He picked up, and a girl's voice came through, indignant. "Where are you?"

"On my way. Tell Mom to hold on a bit longer."

The girl huffed. "What's the big secret? Are you actually bringing me a sister-in-law? Because I swear, if she's some spoiled brat who's impossible to please, I'm not interested. I like"

"We'll talk later." He cut her off and hung up.

"Someone looking for you?" Wendy stepped out of the fitting room.

"I'm fine, go ahead and take care of it," she said, considerate.

He turned and stopped. Wendy stood there in the pale blue halter dress, simple in cut, but somehow it made her presence unmistakable rather than loud.

"Not bad," Julian said, his smile easy, satisfaction plain in his eyes. He reached for her left hand. "Almost there."

Before she could ask what he meant, he was already pulling her along. "Missing a ring."

"Ring?" She blinked. "I have one in my bag, I don't need"

He paused mid-step. "Wedding ring?"

Wendy stared at his back and murmured, "It's a wedding ring."

She'd tucked it into her bag that morning, meaning to return it to Nathan sometime today and completely forgotten in the chaos since.

He turned, still holding her hand with one of his, and held the other one out, palm up. "Hand it over."

She hesitated. "Can't bear to part with it?" he asked.

That got her moving. She dug the ring out and dropped it into his palm. "I'd have to be out of my mind to miss it."

He smiled and led her into a jewelry store, holding the old ring up. "Should I sell it?"

"Sell it," she said, unbothered.

He asked the clerk to bring out a selection for Wendy, and she picked something understated a simple, elegant diamond band, nothing flashy.

After the purchase, Julian asked for her account details. Moments later, a notification chimed on her phone a deposit.

"Proceeds from the old ring," he said.

The clerk beamed. "Your husband really takes care of you. You're a lucky woman."

Wendy flushed and reached for the new rings.

Julian held out his hand, eyebrow raised, waiting.

Nervously, she slid the ring onto his finger. He caught her hand and laced their fingers together as they left the store.

At the car, he opened her door, glancing sideways at her with a faint smile. She looked up and met his eyes and felt her heart lurch unexpectedly.

Somewhere across the lot, a camera caught the moment. Its owner grinned and dialed a number. "I've got two shots here that are about to blow up online."

The car pulled into an upscale residential complex. Riding up in the elevator, Wendy's eyes darted around uneasily.

"Do you live with family, Mr. Vance?" she asked as the doors opened.

He held the door for her, then fell into step beside her. "You don't like living with family?"

"No, I like it fine I lived with my mother too," she said quickly.

Though lived with might have been generous. Eleanor had adored her as a child, before something shifted and she started keeping her distance.

Julian gave her a curious look, and she added, "I just assumed someone with your position would have a place of his own."

"My sister and I were raised by our mother," he said simply. "We got used to sticking together. If it's not for you, we can find somewhere else."

"We're actually living together?" That threw her she'd planned on crashing at Jordan's tonight.

Before she could say more, they reached the door. Sophie Vance, watching the hallway camera from inside, threw it open before they could knock.

She took one look at the ring on Wendy's hand, at how polished and put-together she looked, and lit up instantly, pulling Wendy in by the arm. "Is this my sister-in-law? Brother, you actually did it!"

Wendy laughed, standing there a little stiffly under the enthusiasm.

Sophie's affection only grew at the shyness she had no patience for women who threw themselves at her brother without an ounce of self-respect, and everything about Wendy read the opposite. She clung to her arm, chattering away. "Don't worry, sister-in-law, my brother just looks intimidating. He's actually a total softie, way more disciplined than the guys out there chasing"

Julian flicked her on the forehead. "Enough. Get inside."

Sophie stuck her tongue out and bounded in ahead of them, calling out, "Mom! Brother brought home a gorgeous girl!"

From the kitchen: "Sophie, come help plate the food."

"Coming!"

Diane Vance emerged with a dish in hand, and her face broke into a warm smile the second she spotted Wendy. "You're here! Go wash up, dinner's ready."

Wendy set her bag down, washed her hands, and helped carry dishes to the table.

The four of them sat down together. Diane piled food onto Wendy's plate without pause. "Eat more, you're much too thin."

Wendy thanked her, flustered, an old unease creeping in.

It reminded her uncomfortably of her first days with the Hales Patricia Hale had been warm too, at first, before the difficulties started.

She wondered privately how long this particular warmth would last.

The meal went on pleasantly, Diane still heaping more onto Wendy's plate at every pause.

Wendy eyed the growing mountain in her bowl and shot Julian a pleading look.

He caught it, chuckling, and blocked his mother's chopsticks mid-reach. "Mom, eat your own food. She can serve herself."

"Right I can manage, Auntie," Wendy said.

Diane glanced at the rings on their hands and gasped. "Auntie? Absolutely not. Call me Mom."

Wendy flushed. Sophie chimed in immediately. "Yeah, sister-in-law, why call her Auntie? She's Mom now."

After the meal, Diane pulled Sophie off to wash dishes, leaving Julian and Wendy alone in the living room.

"Maybe I should head back now?" Wendy offered quietly.

Julian poured her a cup of tea, testing the temperature before handing it over. "Not a fan of the place?"

She took the cup, shaking her head. "It's not that. Your mother and sister are wonderful. I just think I should go."

Before he could respond, her phone rang.

Jordan.

Wendy, someone got pictures of you and Julian!

A trending topic notification followed right behind it.

Her hand shook as she tapped it open.

She stared at the headline for a long moment, then turned the screen silently toward Julian.