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I gave my best innocent look. “I was just distracted, wondering how your engagement party was coming along since you didn’t ask for help.”
“I both hate and love you for knowing exactly how to distract me. But rest assured that we will return to this topic, after we figure out who will replace my caterer, suddenly stricken with the flu.” Eva’s shoulders fell and I went into planning mode, making a list of the available caterers, chefs and cooks in the area.
“Maybe we can get Mara to do the dessert? She’s a wizard with flour and sugar, and she’s a friend, so I bet if you ask really nicely, she’d say yes.”
Eva tapped it into her digital to do list and looked up. “I’ll do that today. What about food?”
“I’ll make some calls to check availability.” This was exactly the kind of distraction I needed to forget about the awkward conversation with Stone the other day. With the whole damn town watching, no less.
“Thanks. While you’re at it, maybe we can set a date for someone’s baby shower,” she stage whispered and nodded towards Olive who was busy rubbing her growing belly.
Olive groaned. “Oh please, not the shower again. Liam wants to do a party with men and women to celebrate the baby’s arrival. It’s sweet, but it means more work than a regular baby shower.”
It was sweet, and I never would’ve imagined the former SEAL could be so soft, but Olive had a way about her that could turn stone to cotton. The wistful, happy look on her face caused a moment of envy that my girls were moving forward in their lives, enjoying milestone moments like falling in love, getting married and starting a family.
I want that. Those inner words caused me to gasp in surprise. No, not surprise, shock. Did I want that? I hadn’t taken any real steps in my adult life to have any of those things. In fact, some, like Eva would argue I went out of my way to avoid it.
“Spill it sister.” This time Eva’s gray gaze drilled a hole into me until I relented and shared my latest, scariest thought with them.
“I think it was just momentary insanity because of you two. Forget about it. Please.”
“No way,” Olive insisted. “This is great news, just having the thought means you might be getting close to ready to let go of the crap legacy your parents left you with.”
“Yeah, they could’ve had the decency to leave you a ton of money to go with your unhealthy coping mechanisms.” Eva winked to take the sting off her words, and because she knew how strongly I refused to touch my trust fund.
“I’m not really sure if I want all that. It was just a fleeting thought brought on by those goofy looks on both of your faces.” I motioned at them, and they turned to face each other before erupting in laughter.
Eva’s laughter quieted first, and her expression turned serious. “It might not mean you want to marry the first guy who asks you on a date, but maybe it means you’re ready to put yourself out there. For real.”
“What Eva is trying to say, very diplomatically for some reason, is that it might just mean that you’re ready to pull your pretty little head out of your very nice backside.”
“Thanks.”
“So, what brought this change on, really?” Leave it to Eva to not let me get away with any secrets.
I sighed and told them about my bumbling conversation with Stone. “It was awkward and awful, and then I asked if he wanted TFL to help him find a date.” That moment had played on a loop in my head for the past two days, and each time I cringed a little harder. “He was so angry, and told me he didn’t need my help. His words were just so angry, I had to pack up my stuff and leave before I started crying.”
“Aw, honey, I’m sorry,” Olive cooed and patted my hand across the table. More accurately, my fingertips since her belly made that pretty much impossible across the conference table.
“I’m sorry too,” Eva said with a big pregnant pause. “But I told you that was a bad idea.”
“You did, and it was worse than a bad idea. I think it just put more distance between us.” Just a few weeks ago I didn’t think anything would come between us. Ever.
Now I knew better.
And I had a plan to start fixing it. Soon.Stone“Ma, are you decent?” I stood just inside the front door and called out to her, knowing that I’d have to stab out my own eyes if I walked in on something no son should ever see his mother doing.
Silence fell, and then laughter came from the direction of the kitchen. “Not in longer than I can remember, but I’m alone and fully clothed if that’s what you’re asking.” Her honeyed chuckle put a smile on my face even as I shook my head and kicked off my shoes.
