Page 48 of Gilt

“He can be a little controlling,” I sympathize with her.

“I hope you fight him on that.”

“Oh, I do,” I promise her.

Jameson stoops down to kiss his mother’s cheek. “Before you two conspire against me further, I should get her home.”

“Do you have to go?” Evelyn asks. “I could whip us up a little dinner.”

Jameson locks eyes with me, and I can see his desperation to leave. I don’t understand it, but I can sense it.

“I need to cook for my dad,” I explain to her. “But some other time.”

“I’m holding you to that.” Before I realize it’s happening, she’s hugging me. This is way outside of my comfort zone, but I accept it because she’s grieving and because she’s my boyfriend’s mother, and because, holy crap, Jameson is my boyfriend.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I’ve bypassed trust and gone straight to infatuation. My hand stays tightly knitted with Jameson’s as he pulls into my driveway an hour later. Somehow he managed to steer and shift gears with the other as if he couldn’t bare to relinquish his hold on me. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the events of this afternoon. Apparently, Jameson has made the decision about our relationship for me.

“I’m sorry that you had to spend the day stuck in the car.”

But I shake my head at his apology. “It was nice to meet your mom.”

“Said no girl ever.”

“No, really,” I say defensively. Meeting Evelyn West shines a light on the shadowy reputation of her family. After all the years of hearing about the evil Nathaniel West, I’m beginning to question which party was actually wrong.

“What was your dad like?” I ask Jameson. He flinches at the mention of his father, and I immediately regret bringing it up.

“This is taking a turn for the worse if you’re asking about my dad. Is it too late to take you to a movie?”

“I’m used to much more exciting dates,” I tease him.

“Then you admit this is a date.” There’s a note of triumph in his voice, and the feeling is contagious. Even though I’m the loser, it makes me feel like the winner.

“I’m told I’m your girlfriend. What’s with the label, West?”

“If it was up to me, I’d actually plaster it on your forehead, but I’ll settle for getting to tell people you’re mine.” He lifts my hand to his mouth and brushes a kiss.

How am I supposed to fight that? Sighing, I tug my hand free from him and put on my serious face. No matter what’s happening between us, there are things I need to understand. “The only things I know about your dad is what my dad has told me.”

“I imagine that’s not good,” Jameson says. “Dad was complicated.”

Do they make father’s day cards for complicated dads? I imagine them sitting in the slots next to the empty spot for absentee fathers. Here’s to another year of never knowing how or if I’ll meet your approval. Happy Father’s Day.

“He had this tremendous vision,” Jameson’s voice takes on a wistful tone that I understand. My voice sounds the same when I talk about Becca—half wistful, half regretful. “He could see things other people couldn’t, but he was blind to what was right in front of him.”

“Which was?” I prompt in a soft voice.

“A wife who was way too forgiving and two kids who just wanted his attention.” Anger streaks through his words.

Empathy forms a lump in my throat. It aches there while I blink back tears. I’m used to my own disappointment when it comes to my genetic donors, but they’re both still alive. There’s a chance I’ll be able to fix my relationship with my parents. Jameson is going to have to live the rest of his life wondering what his dad really thought of him.

“Emma,” he turns his silver eyes on me “Do you think I did it?”

“No.” I reject the idea firmly. My lips form the shape of the word, but no sound comes out. It’s a truth that I feel deep within me. I don’t need to speak it or claim it. I know he’s innocent because I’ve come to know his heart.

He clenches his eyes shut momentarily, and when they open again, they’re flaming with a need that takes my breath away. Jameson reaches up and plucks the tie from my hair, allowing my blonde locks to ripple down to my shoulders. His fingers rake through it, gripping tightly as he smashes his lips against mine. There’s a hunger in the kiss that I haven’t completely felt since the night we met. It’s been hiding in the background the whole time, but now we’ve unleashed it.