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“I’m really trying,” I told him honestly. But I didn’t know if the unwavering trust I’d once had in him would ever be the same again.
His sigh sounded pained when it hit my ears. “I’ll take that for now, I guess.” Releasing me, he stepped back and gave me a grim smile. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. Happy birthday.”
“Thanks, Daddy.” Turning, I waved my arm at my friends. “You know Braxton. And this is Lyla. She was my roommate at the dorm.”
Lyla stepped forward, shaking Daddy’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“So, you were the other security operative.” He gave her a quick, clinical appraisal from head to toe. “Somehow, I thought you would have more muscles.”
“You were expecting a Ronda Rousey look-alike,” she amended for him, not the least bit offended. “I get that all the time. But trust me, Mr. Armstrong, I’m more than capable of protecting myself and anyone else.”
Remembering what she’d done to Gwen, I didn’t doubt her even for a second.
Barrick put his arm around my waist, pulling Daddy’s attention to him, and he grinned. “Good to see you, Barrick,” he greeted, shaking my boyfriend’s hand.
“Sir.”
“Let’s sit down,” Momma suggested, pulling me into the chair right beside hers.
Barrick took the one on the other side of me, while Lyla sat closest to my dad, leaving Braxton between his cousins.
“I’m starving,” Daddy said, glancing around for the waiter. “The food on the plane left a lot to be desired.”
“I hate airplane food,” Lyla agreed. “I got food poisoning from it once, and I refuse to eat it now.”
While the two of them talked about the evils of plane food, I went over what I wanted to say to Momma again in my head. It was the feel of Barrick’s fingers skimming down my jaw that pulled me back to the present.
“It’s going to be okay, firecracker,” he murmured softly against my ear. “I’m right here. You can tell her.”
“You two are just too cute for words,” Momma said with a happy sigh. “I’m so glad you’re happy, Mia.”
Then her gaze went to Barrick, and her eyes got a dangerous glint in them. “Now I don’t have to destroy you, boy.”
I bit my lip, fighting a grin despite my anxiety over Eddie.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I waited until after we’d ordered food before I finally forced myself to say what needed to be said. Barrick had already told Braxton and Lyla to make themselves scarce for a little while so I could talk to my parents about something. When he gave them a look, the two mumbled something about making phone calls and needing the bathroom.
When Barrick started to stand too, I grabbed his hand. Our gazes locked, and I begged him with my eyes not to leave me. He gave me an encouraging smile and kissed my lips, staying by my side where I needed him the most.
“Momma.” My voice squeaked when I spoke, and I hurriedly cleared it before continuing. “Remember I told you I was at Jameson’s the other night?”
Her shoulders stiffened, and she gave me a tight smile. “Did you get drunk after all?”
“No. I met your father.”
Daddy was just taking a drink of his Coke when I said it, and it sprayed across the table between us in his surprise. “What did you say?” he wheezed, before coughing.
Momma just sat there, staring at me without a single flicker of surprise across her beautiful face.
“Momma?”
“Eddie Jameson…” She said his name, then shook her head. “I hadn’t heard his name since I was a little girl until Saturday night.”
“Then you do remember him?” I asked carefully.
“My mother would sometimes curse someone na
