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Mom gently touched the largest bruise. “They did that to you?”
“Yeah.” Eden straightened her shoulders. “But the vampire who did it is in his final grave, so, you know, fuck him.” She screwed up her nose. “Sorry for the language, but that’s how I feel.”
“Don’t apologize. The sonuvabitch deserved it.”
“He did,” Eden agreed.
Mom turned to me. “Thanks for bringing her.”
“She insisted.” I touched my lips to her cheek. Her scent was free of alcohol.
She must’ve heard me sniff, because she said, “I’m sober. I wanted to drink, but I haven’t—and I won’t. I’m going to AA meetings, too. Denise takes me.”
Eden eyed us, a tiny frown between her fine dark brows. “It must be so hard,” she said to my mom.
“It is.” Mom’s chest heaved beneath her thick wool sweater. “But come in—it’s too cold to stand out here.”
Inside, I helped Eden out of her coat, hanging it along with mine in the foyer.
Mom led the way into the kitchen. “Can I get you a cup of tea? Something to eat?”
“Tea, please,” said Eden. “If you have decaf.”
“Mint tea okay?”
“Perfect, thanks.”
“Coming right up.” Filling an electric kettle at the sink, Mom plugged it in, then took out two cups and a wood box of teabags in various flavors. “Two more months, right?” she said with a glance at Eden’s stomach.
“Yeah.” Eden smoothed a hand down her loose black tunic and grinned. “He’s up right now, as a matter of fact.”
My mom dug her teeth into her lower lip, a look of longing on her face, one I couldn’t interpret, but Eden apparently did, because she beckoned to her.
“Would you like to touch—?”
“Oh, yes. I would.” Mom hurried forward. “If you don’t mind…”
“You’re his grandma, aren’t you?” Eden said. “There. Do you feel it?” She took my mom’s hand, placing it on the upper left side of her abdomen. “That’s a foot, I think.”
“Yes.” Mom’s mouth trembled. “Oh, I wish Marco could be here for this.”
Putting a hand on my mother’s shoulder, Eden touched her forehead to Mom’s. Together, they looked down at Eden’s pregnant stomach.
“I wish things could’ve been different,” Eden said. “I’m so sorry about what happened. I can’t imagine how you feel.”
My mom drew a shaky inhale. “It’s so hard. He was my best friend.”
Eden drew her closer. “I know. I know.”
I swallowed over something sharp and rough-edged and glanced around the small kitchen. The killing rage that had consumed me when I’d realized that Esposito had helped kidnap Eden had subsided, but I was still furious with him, and my mom by association.
And yeah, I knew she hadn’t had anything to do with Eden’s kidnapping. But she’d carried the man emotionally for years, and before I’d started giving him money, she helped him out financially, too, even when she didn’t have the money to give. If she’d cut him off years ago like she should’ve, he might’ve left the area altogether. I reminded myself he’d tried to do the right thing when he’d got my mom pregnant, but…
The women separated, Mom giving Eden’s stomach a soft caress. “You’ll let me see him, won’t you?” she said with a sidelong glance with me.
“Of course.” Eden’s brow pinched in confusion. “You’re his grandma. I want him to know you.”
“As long as you stay sober,” I inserted.
