“And toEthan Blackthorn.” The way Mom says his name is pure reverence.
Terrifying.
The last thing I need is her idolizing my fake husband.
“Well, look—” My lips won’t work.
I still have nothing. The truth isn’t an option, but to try and claim we’re crazy in love also seems wildly inappropriate.
“Darling!” Arms open wide, she struts around the counter and comes in for a bear hug. The widest smile splits her face.
Honestly, I don’t think she’s ever looked this happy to see me since I was five.
I don’t have a second to react before she’s squeezing me so tight I can’t breathe.
Go ahead and laugh.
Until now, I never had a plan for dealing with Mom.
Obviously, she was going to find out I’m getting married sooner or later—it’s not the kind of thing you can keep from her forever. Especially when there’s a billionaire with princely looks and the personality of a poison toad involved.
So, logically, having her find out without having to sit her down and tell her should be a good thing.
It might be, if every muscle in my body would stop locking up as she sways me happily side to side.
“How did you find out?” I whisper.
“It’s everywhere, honey,” she gushes, finally pulling away and dismissing my shock at the news. “I can’t remember where I read it. At least three different articles online this morning. Some big charity thing? You couldn’t tell me about that either?”
Lovely.
That’s code for reading one of her cringe gossip sites.
She pretends she doesn’t follow them, but she does religiously.
Julia Sage doesn’t do sweets, so she consumes crazy amounts of salacious rumors instead.
The moment someone breaks up with their partner or old friends fall out or everybody’s favorite heartthrob becomes a wretched cheater, she knows.
Portland is a smaller city, but not so tiny it doesn’t have a spinning gossip mill. And when the Blackthorns are involved, the rags from Boston to New York strike first.
Oof.
It just never occurred to me thatIwould be the talk of the town after I’ve trotted out in public with Ethan Blackthorn.
That’s what happens after a whole evening together, announcing our engagement to glowy-eyed rich people.
And now the whole world knows it.
The only one who doesn’t at this point is Mr. Sneed, my boss, and that’s only because he wouldn’t know town gossip if it hit him in the head with a hardcover special edition ofWar and Peace.
I rub my eyes, suddenly exhausted.
My entire life just flipped at the speed of a car wreck.
“So?” Mom prompts, perched on the edge of the counter. “Tell meeverything. Start at the beginning.”
“Mom, you can’t sit there. We’re still open.”
