Page 14 of Unveiled

Adalyn was proud of what she’d accomplished all by herself, regardless of the fact that her mother constantly made her wishes known that she should hand the reins over to someone else. It baffled her sometimes, her mother’s attitude toward the workforce. She herself had been a nurse—but that had only been a means to an end.

Evelyn should really have never reproduced. She wasn’t maternal in the least, and Adalyn sometimes wondered how she’d managed to turn out as normal as she had. Not that she was catch of the year—far from it. But she at least wanted more… attainable things out of life.

She wanted to be happy and healthy. If she made a little money along the way, great. Her bridal salon would never bring in millions of dollars, but it made her happy to help women find the dress of their dreams, and that was enough for her.

Evelyn still scorned the situation and offered her opinions freely. Adalyn, for the most part, gritted her teeth and bore it. She wanted Jaclyn to know her only close relative, and she couldn’t bring herself to turn her mother away. If Evelyn had her way, Adalyn would be married off already to give the impression of a happy little family, regardless of her feelings on the matter.

To her mother, everything was for show. She had to have the best clothes, drive the nicest cars, and she had to project the image of the perfect family—even if what lay beneath the surface was more than murky.

Adalyn never questioned it, but she knew her father—and stepfathers—probably hadn’t been faithful to Evelyn. She was a difficult person to get along with, critical and overbearing, and Adalyn could understand from their perspectives why the marriages hadn’t lasted.

But Evelyn seemed to get whatever she wanted for whatever amount of time they were married, and Adalyn assumed she didn’t ask too many questions. As long as she was given the lifestyle she desired, it didn’t matter what—or who—they did in their free time, so long as it was done discreetly.

Adalyn wanted more for herself. Being a single mother had never been on the agenda. It was far from a perfect situation, but seeing her little girl every day, holding that bundle of perfection in her arms, made her worries disappear. She was confident everything would work out the way it was meant to. She just needed to be patient.

“Business is doing well. In fact, we secured a pretty high-end client a few weeks ago.” Knowing that it would raise Evelyn’s esteem, she let it hang in the air for a moment until her mother’s head swiveled toward her. “You’ve heard of Caryn Andersen?”

Her mother’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Adalyn nodded, a smile cracking her face. It would give her mother something to gossip about over seventeen-dollar salads with her friends at the country club next week.

“Well, that’s very impressive.” Her mother paused, and unease settled in Adalyn’s gut. Somehow, she predicted the words before they even left her lips. “You know, you should really consider getting married.”

Adalyn opened her mouth to respond, but Evelyn cut her off. “Being a single mother is hard work. I did it for years.”

Adalyn bit the inside of her lip and just barely managed to refrain from voicing that Evelyn had endured motherhood with more help than most people had, even between marriages. And by most people, she meant everyone. She’d had a nanny until she was out of middle school, and after that she’d spent so much time between ballet and junior league charity events that she’d never had a moment to herself.

It wasn’t like Evelyn had really been overwhelmed by the whole parenting thing. It was the same reason she refused to be called anything as crass as “grandma.” The best part of having a grandchild, in her eyes, was being able to brag to all of her friends about how cute Jaclyn was, how precocious, how smart.

Her mother’s fakeness irked Adalyn to no end, but she’d learned over the past twenty-six years to just ignore it. Sometimes it was just easier to let her mother say her piece and move on. She would head out soon, leaving them in peace for another week or two before she descended again like a virus one couldn’t quite fight off. All Adalyn had to do was get through the next few minutes without killing her.

She turned to her mother. “I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “It never should have happened in the first place, but I think you’re looking at this the wrong way. Wouldn’t it be so much easier? You could spend your days with Jaclyn, hire a few more people to help out in the salon.”

Adalyn shook her head. “I can afford to hire someone else if I wanted to. I like being involved. I enjoy what I do.”

Evelyn’s lips turned down for a moment as if gathering ammunition for her parting shot. “Well, if nothing else, think of Jaclyn. It would be good for her to have a father figure in her life.” She studied Jaclyn for a moment. “She didn’t get a single drop of your genes.”

Adalyn gritted her teeth. “She’s perfect.”

“Of course, of course,” Evelyn soothed. “It’s just a shame she doesn’t look anything like you.”

It was true, of course. Jaclyn was her father’s daughter through and through. The only thing she’d inherited from Adalyn was her steely gray eyes. She had Jaxon’s flaxen locks, so pale they were almost white. She had an innate ability to sense distress or change of emotions, and Adalyn felt a stab in her heart.

Adalyn drew a deep breath. “If anyone ever asks, I just tell them she looks like her father.”

Most everyone knew he was a military man, but few knew the whole story. As far as anyone knew, they’d married after a brief affair—understatement of the year—and he was serving overseas. Adalyn wouldn’t trade Jaclyn for the world, but she couldn’t help but wish the circumstances had been different.

“Do you remember Roy’s partner, Albert?” Evelyn suddenly spoke up.

Adalyn’s eyebrows drew together. “I think so. I know the name.”

“Well, he has a son about your age.”

Oh, God. Now Adalyn knew where this was going. Before she could even open her mouth to protest, Evelyn kept going.

“He asked about you, was hoping to take you on a date.”