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“I won’t say a word.” Mum pats my shoulder as if she can read my mind. She must be able to because Lord knows I haven’t said a single thing in response to question it. Though my glazed eyes are giving it all away. “You can tell her yourself.”
The tail end of her words is followed by the sound of pitter patters down the stairs. It’s such a delicate and faint noise that you wouldn't have been able to hear it unless you were listening for it.
I suppose I hadn’t realized that I’d been gripped on on the staircase all morning—waiting.
“Good morning!” Delaney sing-songs before I even get a chance to turn around. The sound of her voice fills me with a strange sensation. Warmth? Relief?
“Good morning, darling!” Mum breaks free from the kitchen, pulling her in for a warm embrace. There’s something special about seeing the way Mum’s already so inclined by her. Seeing them together causes a pang in my stomach, an aching of some sort.
Mum has always been the most important woman in my life. She raised me, took care of me, put up with me, and knows me like very few people do. I’ve always known that my mum’s stamp of approval would be the most important variable when it came to my past relationships. And I suppose that’s why I never brought anyone to meet her. It’s as if I already knew what her answer would be. Yet, with Delaney, I didn’t even need to think twice.
“Would you like some tea, Delaney?” Mum offers. “I’d be happy to pour you a cup.”
“Oo, that would belovely.” Delaney smiles proudly, and I have to fight myself not to mirror it on my own lips. It’s ridiculously cute hearing her adopt a new way of speaking.
God, I shouldn’t be thinking like that.
“Let me grab that for you, then.” Mum releases her, forcing all of Delaney to come into view.
Good heavens.
There she is, a light, bright, and early in the morning, only as she stands before me, she’s not done up to the nines like usual. This time, she’s simplistic. A side I’m even more enticed by. She’s wearing a matching tank top and shorts set, and by the way, the material glistens against her soft skin with each and every movement, I’m inclined to say it’s silk. Though, I didn’t care what it was—all I know is that I like it.
A lot.
Her dark hair is loosely thrown into a high ponytail, drawing the features of her delicate face upwards. The light glistens off the high points of her cheeks. She must’ve put on some makeup. Surely, she had to. No one wakes up and looks like…that. It’s not physically possible. I’m so confused right now. I’m convinced she has the power to make me question my right hand from my left at any given moment.
Mum abruptly nudges me, a calculated action given that her eyes dagger into my own as she mutters, “Stop staring and say good morning,” before disappearing back into the kitchen.
Oblivious to Mum’s not-so-subtle messages, Delaney plants herself into a dining chair that surrounds the table, reaching to admire the daisies Mum carefully laid out in a vase before she grants me her signature smile. It’s a smile I’ve come to anticipate every single day. “Morning, Warren.”
I take a breath in. I hadn’t realized I’d stopped since she came into view. “Morning.” The word comes out short and choppy—as if I hardly said it at all. It takes all of my strength to keep my eyes off of her as I walk back over to the table and pull up a chair across from her.
It must be nine in the morning, and despite Mum keeping us both up late last night as she opted to share an entire montage of my childhood, Delaney’s fresher than ever.
“Sleep well?” I wonder, a simple question that Mum flashes me an encouraging nod as a result of, while she balances Delaney’s cup of tea in her grasp, carefully resting it on a plate in front of her.
“Amazing.” Delaney beams before mouthing a thanks to my Mum. “The mattress was way more comfortable than the one I have at my place. I guess I just need to break mine in.” She attempts to extend her body across the table to reach for something. “Mind passing me the sugar?”
I hardly hear her request that was evidently directed towards me. I’m too busy thinking about all the ways I’d like to break that mattress in for her—a part of me relieved that no one else has.
Wait.
Has she been with someone since she’s been here?
The thought of it makes me tense up. Crawley’s a small town. I would’ve known if she had. Wouldn’t I?
“Warren!” Mum snaps me out of it, tilting her head in frustration.
“Hm?” I blink rapidly, attempting to break free from my thoughts. They’re thoughts I’d never let escalate that far—especially not in front of my mum.
“Hand Delaney the sugar.” She gestures to the dish resting beside me on the table. “Now, please.”
I faintly nod, gulping down the embarrassment of being scolded by my mum in my thirties.
I hardly have to extend my arm to grasp exactly what Delaney was looking for when Mum nervously laughs to mitigate the tension. “Sorry, Delaney,” she apologizes on my behalf. “He’s not much of a morning person. Never has been.”
Delaney nervously smiles, meeting my eyes before she brings the cup to her lips and takes a slow and controlled sip. “I suppose I’ve come to learn that about him, too,” she admits, a truth that makes me frown.
