Page 57 of His Daughter

"Thank you. We like it."

We. I looked at him. He didn't look at me.

Lorraine turned her full attention to Declan. She took his hand in both of hers. She touched his arm when she spoke. She laughed at the first thing he said — a comment about the weather that wasn't funny.

"Thea, he's gorgeous." She said this directly to me, as if Declan weren't standing three feet away. "Where have you been hiding him?"

From the nursery, Lena let out a cry. Lorraine's head turned.

"Whose baby is that?"

"My daughter," Declan said. He put his arm around my shoulder. "And Thea has been gracious enough to help me with her. She's a natural."

"Can I see her?" Lorraine was already moving toward the hallway. "Oh, I just love babies."

That was a massive lie.

We followed her to the nursery. Dominique stood when we entered. Lena was in the crib, fussing, her face scrunched. Lorraine reached in and picked her up. She held her carefully, close to her chest, and made the right sounds.

"Oh, she's beautiful." Lorraine smiled down at Lena. "She looks just like her daddy." She glanced at me. "Oh, Thea. You must be so happy to be close to a child." She adjusted Lena on her shoulder. "It's such a shame about you, you know? I always thought you'd be such a good mother."

The room went still.

A shame about you. Like I was a house with water damage. Like my body was a disappointing report card she'd received.

I reached for Lena. "I'll take her."

I lifted the baby from my mother's arms. My hands were steady. My jaw was not. I settled Lena against my chest and turned to the crib, adjusting her blanket, tucking it around her, and the motion brought me the three seconds I needed to push the words down.

I handed Lena back to Dominique. "We should go."

The restaurant was Declan's choice. A French place on the Upper East Side. Lorraine sat down and glowed. This was her stage — a handsome man beside her, an upscale room around her, and her daughter's billionaire boyfriend across the table.

She took Ray's hand on the tablecloth, squeezed it, and leaned into him. "Isn't this beautiful, baby?" She kissed his cheek. Then his mouth. Ray smiled and rubbed her shoulder.

I picked up the menu. Declan's knee pressed against mine under the table. I pressed back.

"So, Declan." Lorraine set down her menu. Her eyes were bright. "How did you two meet?"

"She came to my office to ask for money." He smiled at me. "I took one look at her and decided to give her whatever she wanted."

My mother gushed. "Oh, that's romantic."

"He's exaggerating," I said.

He picked up his wine glass and took a sip without breaking eye contact with me. "I’m not. I spent the entire meeting trying to get her to look at me."

Lorraine laughed. She turned to Ray. "Did you hear that? He had to work for it." She squeezed Ray's arm. "Ray was the same way. Remember, baby? I played hard to get."

"You did," Ray confirmed. He was smiling.

"And how long have you two been together?" Lorraine asked.

"Not long enough," Declan answered.

I looked at him. He looked at me. The candlelight caught his eyes. He was saying things that sounded like lines and felt like truths, and I didn't know which one to believe.

"Well." Lorraine lifted her glass. "Ray just got promoted at work. Did I mention that? He's now the regional director of — "