Not My Type: Rhiannon Ch. 08

Lilly and I exchanged glances.

"Think she likes him?" I joked.

Lilly worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "Definitely," she agreed. "Only I'm a little concerned she'll just end up sabotaging the entire thing and have her heart broken. Again."

I wiggled back into the jeans and t-shirt I'd been wearing earlier.

"How so? Nate's such a nice guy. He couldn't be more different from Harry-the-Ex if he tried. They're perfect for each other."

Lilly's sigh echoed around my walk-in closet.

"That's true," she said. "But Adele's always had a soft spot for bad boys. She seems to always find men who treat her badly. I don't know if she'd know how to deal with one who didn't. You know how suspicious she gets. Plus, she swore she'd never get married again."

I cocked an eyebrow, confused. "So? Who said anything about marrying the guy? It's about time that girl had a little bit of fun."

Lilly looked down and fidgeted with the hem of her blouse, a sure sign she was fretful. "I don't think everyone has the same casual attitude towards dating that you do, Rhi."

"Did," I corrected.

"Did," Lilly repeated. "But I doubt that Nate shares that casual attitude. He's a Presbyterian Minister. I'm guessing he doesn't date for fun."

"Oh..." My heart dropped for poor Adele. "I hadn't thought of that."

Lilly's expression turned sad. "I don't think she has either."

I checked my hair in the mirror and patted down the wayward strands. "So we on one hand we have a woman who's sworn never to commit again. On the other, a man who couldn't morally do anything without commitment. I guess we better go run interference, huh?"

Lilly laughed then, and the musical sound of it made me smile too.

"Just one more thing, Rhi." She put a small hand on my arm and looked up at me with her beautiful, Tanner-blue eyes. "I'm really happy for you and Joe and I'm really sorry that I reacted so badly at first."

"It's okay," I said as I leaned down to hug her. "It's a big change for all of us, and big changes are scary."

"I'm sorry too about Mom and Dad," she said while she gave me a gentle squeeze. "They shouldn't be treating you this way. I know they realize how wrong they've been. Dad's just being stubborn and it's hard for him to admit when he's wrong. Please don't be too judgemental of them; they're just old-fashioned. They'll come around, they always do. It's 'family first' for them."

Lilly was right, of course. Joe's parents had overreacted and I couldn't exactly fault them for it either, since I had too. I don't know why Joe didn't tell them he'd proposed to me. Maybe because I still hadn't given him an answer by that point. A part of me was hoping that once Joe and I were married, they'd find a way to accept me, and if they didn't we were all going to have to find a way to deal with that.

"For Joe's sake, I can forgive them," I promised. "Now shall we go and see what Nate and Adele are up to? I think I'm just about ready for a lecture from the good Reverend."

Lilly's eyes widened. "You don't think he's going to talk you out of it, do you?"

I shook my head. "He couldn't, even if he tried."

To be continued...

Thank you all for being so patient with this chapter. I hope it's been worth the wait. Thank you to R (as always) for the edits.