He pulls back far too soon and rests his nose against mine. “Mindy, you look gorgeous, but?—”
This time he’s cut off by a throat clearing behind me. I whirl around, forgetting that I’m topless until I see my future mother-in-law standing in the arched doorway. Letting out a little squeak, I grab a dish towel and attempt to cover my ample breasts with it.
“Rose! Oh, my goodness!” My laugh sounds fake as hell. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“So sorry to interrupt,” she says, her cheeks flushing as she lifts my bra and shirt in her hands. That kind of ticks me off, to be honest. She obviously saw the trail of clothes and probably heard my moans, and she chose to come into the kitchen anyway. “Here you go, dear.” She strolls across the taupe-and-navy tiled floor and holds out my garments.
I take them with one hand and slink into the pantry to redress since it appears my seduction attempts have been thwarted. For now. I’m getting some sex tonight if I have to tie Roger to the bed and sit on him. Hmm. That actually doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.
I’m definitely more adventurous in the bedroom than Roger. I’m lucky if I get missionary twice a week, but it’s fine. Sex isn’t everything, right? At least he’s a good man, and would never in a million years cheat on his bride.
My fiancé works hard at the bank while also trying to help his widowed mother around her house. He’s generally so worn out by the time he gets home most evenings, he doesn’t have much energy for me.
That will all change in four days. We will be married and headed to our honeymoon in Aruba, where we’ll have all the time in the world to reconnect and fuck like bunnies. He’s going to go friggin’ nuts when he sees all the sexy lingerie I plan to wear.
Straightening my top, I exit the pantry and paste on a smile. “Rose, so sorry about that. You made such a handsome son that sometimes I just can’t help myself.”
She gives me a simpering little smile before turning to Roger and pinching his cheek. “My sonny boy certainly is handsome.”
Sonny boylaughs and swats her hand away. “Cut it out, Mom.” He reaches for the spoon and scoops up some sauce, offering her a taste. “Does this need anything?”
“Hmmm,” she hums, smacking her lips before rummaging through the spice cabinet. “More oregano, I think.” She proceeds to dump half the bottle into the saucepan and then tastes it again before declaring it perfect.
It looks like Rose will be joining us for dinner—a fact I wished I’d known before doing a damn striptease through the house—so I take down three plates, grab silverware, and head to the dining room.
Twenty minutes later, the three of us are sitting around the table, and I’m trying to choke down the oregano-laden meal.
“So, Rose. How have you been doing?” I ask, taking a sip of my sweet tea. I like my future mother-in-law. She’s petite, with a short blonde hairdo that’s slowly turning gray, and she kindly welcomed me into her family from the first time we met.
Rose tilts her head and sets her fork on her plate, but before she can speak, Roger breaks in.
“That’s actually what we wanted to talk to you about, babe.” He pats his mom’s hand. “Mom has been really down these past couple ofmonths.” That’s understandable. We just passed the four-year mark of his father’s death.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?” My mind starts whirling with ideas. I can take Rose along on Friday when Caroline, Erica, and I go to get our nails done for the wedding. She’s good with flowers, so I’d already planned to take her with me to finalize things with the florist tomorrow, but perhaps she’d like to have brunch afterward as well.
“That’s so sweet of you, Mindy. My darling son did have an idea.” She blinks adoringly at Roger.
He takes my hand, kissing my knuckles. “Babe, this really isn’t a good time for us to leave Mom alone while we run off to Aruba.”
My mouth drops open as my stomach plummets. “You want to put off the wedding?” Holy shit, it would be a nightmare to reschedule everything and fight with vendors about transferring deposits to a later date.
“Of course not,” my fiancé says, his smile gentle as he gives my hand a squeeze.
Relief rolls down my spine for a brief second until I remember his comment:Babe, this really isn’t a good time for us to leave Mom alone while we run off to Aruba.
“But you don’t want to go on the honeymoon.” My words come out as cold as my insides feel.
He tilts his head to the side, looking so much like his mother. “I called the travel agent today to see if we could postpone it, but since it’s so close to our travel date, they refused to let us move it.”
He’d called the travel agent without even discussing it with me first?The cold inside me turns suddenly into a raging inferno, and it takes everything in me to maintain a civil tongue.
“I don’t think I’m understanding here.”
Roger grasps his mother’s hand so that he’s holding onto both of us. “Mom’s going with us. Won’t that be nice?” He smiles at me.
Nice? Fucking NICE? Not exactly the word I would use.
Not wanting to make a scene in front of his mother—because yes, there is going to be a scene—I look directly into myfiancé’s eyes, trying to convey that this is most definitely notnice.Shit, it’s not evenokay.
