Page 78 of Ravaged For You

My mother just hums in reply. She’s being very guarded. Her eyes flicker around LA’s streets. She was never meant to visit a place like this. I bet, in her own mind, all she can see is sin.

I sigh. “Astrid should already be inside. Let’s go and find our table, shall we?”

* * *

Axel’s mom is already sitting at a table. She stands up and waves us over from across the restaurant as we enter.

The place Axel decided on for lunch is fancy. No doubt he’s trying to impress all of us.

Like Name the nightclub and the hotel he’s staying at, I’ve driven past this place many times before, but I never thought I would ever be willing to drop enough money to eat here. I think I’ve read an article about this restaurant when it opened. Some up-and-coming wonder chef is the owner. It’s a hit with the fancy culinary world.

Yep, pretty far removed from your normal drive-thru McDonalds where you’ll usually find me.

“Maddie, so wonderful to see you again.” Astrid gives me a big hug. There’s a painful stab in my heart when I realize my own mother didn’t even give me one outside. I hug her back and then introduce her to Mom. Like her son, Astrid is charming and completely ignores my mother’s obvious distaste for her and Axel.

My mom, surrounded by similar women like her back home, has never seen people like Astrid and Axel. People who are loud and gregarious and fun-loving. But Astrid takes it all in her stride and tries her hardest to make everyone comfortable.

“It’s very lovely to meet you, Mary. Thank you for flying out here on such short notice.,” she says, gesturing at the table. “Please sit. I haven’t ordered anything yet.”

I make eye contact with Astrid, attempting to psychically express to her my gratitude for the gentle way she handles Mom.

“Couldn’t Chloe make it?” Axel asks. “I thought you might be able to talk her out here as well.”

“She says she can’t get out of work,” Astrid replies.

“She does know she doesn’t need to work anymore, right? She does know that I am an international rockstar who can pay for her life ten times over, and am willing to do so?”

“You know what your sister is like,” Astrid explains. “She won’t take a single cent from you. Never has, never will.”

“She’s infuriating. Is she still practicing?”

“Every day.”

“Still too afraid to do anything live?”

“How about you give her a call and find out?”

“I’ll like to meet Chloe one day,” I add eagerly. “Would be nice to meet Axel’s sister.”

My fake boyfriend looks at me with a blank expression, and I worry I’ve gone too far.

“I bet Axel hasn’t told you much about her,” Astrid says. And it’s true. “She’s a musician as well. She uploads her videos to YouTube.”

“Interesting.”

“You’re a musician?” Mom asks, her gaze settling on Axel warily.

“I am. A rockstar.”

No, no, no, no. We’ve gone nuclear.

“My daughter wouldn’t date a musician. I thought I warned her off men like that. Men like you.”

The cat’s out of the bag now.

“Well, I am dating Axel.”

Mom’s laser-like focus switches to me. “That is very out of character for you, Maddie. It’s sad to see that it seems like my teachings went straight through your pretty little empty head. I should’ve known; it’s always been like that with you ever since you were a baby. You like to ignore common sense.”