Given how dismissive they’d been of him, she hadn’t wanted the same fate for her daughter, not after watching Andrew struggle and chase after their approval for years.
“I know that we’re to blame for that,” Henry said in a low voice. “If we hadn’t been so hard on Andrew… I know we weren’t fair to him. We should’ve given him a proper chance, especially after that disastrous last visit. We said some things we shouldn’t have said. I know your mom already talked to you about this, but I wanted a chance to apologize too.”
“I know you were just trying to look out for me, Dad. The truth is that even though I didn’t have the most normal childhood, I know you did your best to make it stable. The rest was out of your hands.”
Henry squeezed her hands. “It was out of your mom’s hands too. She did her best to shield you from the spotlight, but I thinkshe was a little distracted by all of the attention and fame. I hate that it took her stepping away to finally get it, but at least she did.”
Emma leaned into his side and placed her head in the crook of his neck. “You did a great thing, Dad. I don’t know if anyone’s told you.”
Henry shrugged and stroked her hair. “I did what any husband would’ve done.”
Emma shook her head and glanced up at him. “No, you did what a good husband would’ve done, but not many men would’ve stepped up like that. Especially with how strained things were between the two of you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
She had missed out on so much,toomuch, but she was never making that mistake again.
Henry dropped a kiss on top of her head and exhaled. “The important thing is that we’re back together. It doesn’t matter how long it took us to get here or what we had to go through. As long as we have each other.”
Emma felt a swell of emotion rise within her—love, gratitude, wonder, and hope, underneath it all, always pulsing beneath the surface.
Hope for the future laid out before them, the kind she’d dared to only dream about.
Before she reached out to take it, she knew she had one more thing to do.
Her happiness meant nothing if she couldn’t help Jules overcome what obstacles lay in her path, and she was determined to make sure all of the Sullivans got their happy endings.
No matter how long it took.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“You sure you don’t want Kyle to join us?” Emma led them to a row of empty bean bags in the back of the Brew, propped up against the walls. A lot of the townspeople were already scattered throughout the Brew, the low din of conversation filling the space. The smell of ginger and cloves hung in the air, along with an underlying tinge of sugar. Soft orchestral music played in the background, a calming rendition of “Happy New Year,” bringing a smile to Emma’s lips.
It vanished when Jules lowered herself onto the bean bag and took out her phone.
After scrolling for a few seconds, Jules’s expression fell further, and she shoved the phone back into her pocket and sank lower. Frowning, Emma paused to drape the blanket over her daughter’s lap. Then, she went to the bar and retrieved two mugs brimming with hot cocoa, marshmallows, and cinnamon sticks.
Jack stood on the opposite side of the bar, conversing with a bald bartender. When he glanced over at her, the two of them locked eyes, and, as it usually did, the world melted away. Emma had no idea how long she stood there, gaping like some lovesick teenager, but it was Jules’s hand that brought her back to reality with a jolt.
Blushing, Emma snatched a bowl of popcorn on her way past and followed Jules back to their bags. As soon as they sat down, Jules’s phone chirped, and she nearly spilled the drink all over the front of her sweater. Emma set them down on the tray on the floor and linked her fingers together. A heartbeat later, a shadow settled over Jules’s face, and she dashed away a tear.
“Sweetheart, I know you said you’re not ready to talk about it, but is there anything I can do to help?”
It physically hurt Emma to see her daughter in so much pain, like she was being repeatedly punched in the gut.
She didn’t like the feeling.
She didn’t like it one bit.
Jules glanced up and blinked back the tears. “No, I’m fine. Let’s talk about something else. How’s the case going? Have you made any leeway?”
Emma exhaled. “I’m hoping that the holidays soften everyone up a bit. But I was talking to another lawyer friend of mine, and she thinks we have a good chance of getting the case dismissed.”
Jules’s lips lifted into a half-smile. “Good. I hope it works out.”
“I was thinking that you could live in the apartment if you wanted,” Emma added, her eyes moving steadily over Jules’s face. “I know you like living on campus, but I should have everything cleared out in a month or so.”
Jules blinked. “I don’t know. I think it would be weird living there without you and Dad.”
Emma reached across to pat her hand. “It’ll be there if you change your mind anyway.”
