“I am a lawyer.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “Is he good to you?”
“He's good to me, Mom. He's kind, patient, and he pays attention, and he remembers things about me that I've forgotten about myself.”
“Do his parents know about you two?”
“Not yet, but we’ll tell them tonight. We’re going to their house for dinner.”
“Tonight.” She shakes her head. “Baby, you know what's going to happen.”
“I know what might happen. I also know that Logan is not going to let his mother treat me the way she did ten years ago.”
“You sure about that?”
“I'm sure.”
She looks at me for a long time. Her jaw is tight, and her eyes are still shining. She is my mother and a lioness. Every instinct she has is telling her to grab me and lock me in the back room of this boutique and never let a Shaw near me again.
“If that woman hurts you again,” Mom says with a harsh expression on her face, “I'm driving to her house myself. And I won't be smiling.”
“Does that mean you're okay with this?”
“It means I love you and trust you even when I think you're making a mistake.” She opens her arms. “Come here.”
I stand up and walk into her hug. She holds me tight, her arms strong around my shoulders, her chin on the top of my head. She smells like lavender, and the perfume she's worn since I was a little girl.
“He better treat you right,” she says into my hair.
“He does.”
“And he better come see me. Soon. I have things to say to that boy.”
“He will. I promise.”
She pulls back and holds me at arm's length. “You look beautiful, baby. Whatever happens tonight, you walk into that house with your head up. You are Lorraine Bennett's daughter, and no woman on this earth gets to make you feel small.”
I nod. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too. Now go. You've got a long drive, and I've got a shop to open.”
She kisses my cheek and hugs me tightly again. This is what love is. Worrying that someone you love is making a mistake, but stepping aside because their happiness matters more than being right.
And to know that my mother is willing to bend that philosophy for me, because I asked her to? That brings tears to my eyes. She doesn't approve, but she's letting me go and trusting me to find my way.
I walk to my car and sit behind the wheel to call Logan.
“How'd it go?” he asks on the first ring.
“She's not happy, but she didn't tell me to leave you.”
Logan exhales loudly. “That's something.”
“She said you need to come see her soon. She has things to say to you.”
He chuckles. “I'd expect nothing less from Lorraine.”
“She also said if your mother hurts me again, she's going to show up at her house.”
