Unforgiven(5)

“Yeah, I picked her up on the way over.” I wink at Reagan. They love busting my balls over our “secret relationship.”
“Matty.” Landon shakes my hand and smacks me on the shoulder. “How’s it goin’?”
“Good. Hanging in there. How ‘bout you?”
“Same here, man. Glad you guys could make it.” He chuckles and steps away from me to say hello to Lindsay, who has taken a seat at the long family-style table next to her mom and her stepfather, Louis. Lindsay smiles at her mom and stepfather. I love to see them together making up for lost time.
My heart bursts with pride when I think about how forgiving Lindsay is to her mother for leaving Landon and her at such a young age with a horribly abusive alcoholic father. The stories Landon would tell me of the beatings he’d take to protect Lindsay damn near make me nauseous.
I reflect on my own childhood and how lucky I was to grow up with two supportive parents who were there for me and met my every need. My dad coached my little league baseball team and my mom was the epitome of the perfect housewife. My brother and I were very blessed. My parents and brother still live in the area and we’re all very close. I can’t imagine not being near them.
A server walks over to me with a tray of filled champagne glasses and I take two; one for Lindsay and one for myself. I hand one to Lindsay before leaning over to kiss, Josie, Lindsay’s mom, on the cheek and shake Louis’ hand.
“Matt, great to see you,” Louis says, squeezing my hand. I nod and slide into the seat next to Lindsay. Josie is whispering something in Lindsay’s ear and they both laugh. Louis rolls his eyes and takes a drink of red wine. It’s unbelievable how much Lindsay looks like her mother. Reagan sits down next to me and Landon sits across the table from her. The rest of the guests find seats at the end of the long table and the room is suddenly full of conversation and laughter.
Lindsay slides her hand into mine under the table as Reagan stands up to greet everyone. “So dinner will be served in just a minute, but before we eat, I wanted to thank you for coming to dinner with us. We all get so caught up in our busy lives, careers, and activities that we sometimes forget to slow down and just enjoy a few hours with our closest friends and family.” She smiles and looks across the table at Landon. “So dinner will be served family style. There will be an assortment of pastas, salads, wine, and champagne.” She picks up her wine glass from the table and raises it in the air. “To amazing friends and family,” she toasts before sitting back down.
I squeeze Lindsay’s hand, which rests in my lap. “Eat fast so we can go home,” she whispers and pinches my thigh.
Reagan leans across me and whispers quietly to Lindsay, “Why don’t you use tonight’s dinner to make an announcement?” Her eyes shift back and forth from me to Lindsay. I chuckle and sip some more champagne.
Landon pulls some garlic bread from a basket and leans into the middle of the table. “Yeah, Lindsay. Why don’t you just tell everyone what we all know already?”
“What does everybody think they know?” Lindsay asks snidely. Narrowing her eyes, she presses her champagne glass to her lips, tips her head back, and finishes the bubbly before smacking her lips.
“Oh, come on, Lindsay. I’ve probably known before you even knew you were officially a couple. Call it cop’s instinct.” Landon laughs. Lindsay picks a piece of her dinner roll and chucks it across the table at Landon, who laughs harder as the bread bounces off his chest.
She glances at me and I just shrug. “You’re the one calling the shots. Remember, babe?”
“Whatever. Fine. I’ll do it.” She looks at Reagan, who leans back in her chair smugly and sips on her wine.
“You sure?” I ask Lindsay. I want her to be comfortable in telling everyone and not feel pressured.
“Yeah. I mean, Reagan’s right. Everyone’s here, so we may just as well get it over with.” She smiles and leans in to me, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. Landon chucks a piece of dinner roll back at Lindsay when she kisses me.
“Stop it, you guys,” Josie says, picking up the piece of roll from Lindsay’s lap. “You’d think you were little kids,” she tsks.
“All right, everyone.” Lindsay stands up and pushes back her chair slightly. She wobbles a bit on her heels and rests her hand on my shoulder to steady herself. “Apparently, tonight is as good as any night to let you all in on a little secret.” She wipes the palms of her hands down the sides of her black dress.
“So, for a little over a year now, Matt and I have been seeing each other.” There are a few chuckles, but mostly everyone sits silently listening to Lindsay. “We’ve kept it quiet for a while simply because it’s what worked for us.” She shrugs. “It started off casual and just turned into more, and we didn’t really make a big deal out of it.” She looks down at me and smiles the most beautiful, genuine smile I’ve ever seen. Her blue eyes sparkle in the lights from the crystal chandelier and her long, blonde hair hangs in waves. She looks almost angelic in the dimly lit room. “So, cat’s out of the bag.” She laughs and raises her glass. I stand up and raise my glass next to hers. “To Matt and me,” she says with a smile on her beautiful face. I lean in and press a long kiss to her lips while everyone hoots and hollers around us.