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“Mom,” Lyssa protested. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
“We both know there is,” Susan said softly. “What I really came to say, honey, is that I’m so proud of you. You’ve grown into exactly the kind of woman I always knew you would be. You’re going to be a wonderful mother. And Cal is going to be a wonderful father. Whatever you decide about your relationship and your future, your father and I support you one hundred percent.”
Lyssa threw her arms around her mother for a long, tight, heartfelt hug. “Thank you for sharing your story, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.”
Her heart felt full to the brim, and she absolutely had to share. “Would you like to see the sonogram?”
Her mother gasped, hands to her chest, eyes shiny with tears and love and hope. “More than anything.”
Lyssa pulled out her phone. “I was planning to show it to everybody after we told you all about the baby. But then…” Pushing away the painful memories of how wrong everything had gone at the housewarming-party-that-wasn’t, she handed the phone to her mother, who held it reverently in her palm, touching a finger to the tiny form.
Tears streamed down Susan’s face. “Oh my. He or she is already so beautiful.” She sniffed, dabbing at her eyes. “I can’t wait to hold the baby in my arms.”
“Me too.” Lyssa grabbed a box of tissues off the counter.
After wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, Susan asked, “How have you been feeling? Give me all the details.”
“You won’t believe it, but I don’t feel sick at all. My mind is so sharp, and I feel energized instead of tired.”
Susan’s smile was as wide as her love. “You’re exactly like me. I never felt any morning sickness. Although I did occasionally have what your dad called ‘foggy baby brain’ and I forgot things.”
They chatted awhile longer, comparing notes, and right before her mother left, she said, “Everything is going to work out, honey. I know it will.”
As she kissed her mom good-bye and closed the door, Lyssa wished she could be as sure. Especially since Cal hadn’t texted or called or even emailed to say good night. She hadn’t heard a single ping. She even checked her phone just in case she’d missed the sound. Nothing.
He loved her. She knew he did. She felt it in his touch, in his kiss, heard it in his voice, in his words. So what the heck was going on? Okay, she knew it had to do with his past. But she thought they’d talked that through.
Men. They were so damned complicated. Cal more than most.
And she was suddenly so exhausted, she collapsed in her bed without even washing her face.
She was awakened by the ding of an incoming text, and her heart leaped as she thought it might be Cal. She grabbed her phone.
But it was Kelsey.
She swallowed her disappointment. He was still acting like a lone wolf. What on earth would it take for him to realize it didn’t have to be that way anymore? They were meant to be together, no matter how difficult her brothers might try to make it.
She read Kelsey’s short message.
We’re coming to take you out for brunch. After what happened yesterday, we need some woman power and bonding. You have fifteen minutes to get ready.
Good Lord, it was morning. She hadn’t woken even once.
After jumping out of bed and taking the world’s quickest shower, then throwing on a stretchy wrap dress, Lyssa heard the honk of Ari’s minivan out front. It did her heart so much good to see the whole assembly of Maverick ladies, including Chi, as she squished into the backseat.
Next to her, Kelsey said, “We invited your mom too, but she said she’d talked to you yesterday, and she thought you needed the younger generation’s perspective.”
“Not that your mom doesn’t always have great advice,” Harper said.
Harper didn’t know how right she was. Lyssa had a whole new vision of her mother after yesterday’s revelation. She’d been in almost exactly Lyssa’s position. Except for the brothers.
“She sure lit into Daniel yesterday,” Tasha told her.
“She lit into all of them,” Charlie confirmed.
“And every single one of them deserved it,” Ari agreed as she drove down the steep hill. “We’ve got a reservation at that fancy tearoom on Union Square. We’re going to eat tiny sandwiches and cakes until we pop.” And she beamed.
Rosie leaned forward to see around Kelsey. “Gideon apologizes for not stepping in sooner, but we were all so stunned by how quickly it went down and spiraled out of control.”
“I appreciate what he did,” Lyssa said. “Are the boys okay?”
Rosie nodded. “We had to explain to them that fighting wasn’t the way to resolve an argument. But they’re fine.”
Ari found space in the underground parking, and ten minutes later, they were seated around the table with pots of tea already steaming.
