AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I roll my eyes. “He does own the house, right? This isn’t like the time that guy broke in and the owners found you both naked on a bearskin rug in front of the fireplace?”
“He didn’t break in. He had a key.”
“He stole the key from their hiding place.”
“Well, they should’ve changed the hiding spot after they fired him.”
I sigh. She’s legit sticking up for a man she later found in her bed with some street-corner florist. “Anyway, let me know when you’re flying in and we’ll plan dinner or something.”
“Perfect.”
“What’s his name?” I take another bite of my sandwich.
“Greg Throttle.”
I choke on tuna fish. A small girl in her Catholic school uniform gives me a look of disgust as she walks by, holding her mom’s hand. Just wait, little girl. The world isn’t filled with rainbows and sunshine.
“Mom,” I say. “Where did you meet him, and do you know who Greg Throttle is?”
She sighs into the phone as though she’s remembering, and I wait for her version of their perfectly orchestrated meet-cute. Every one of my mom’s boyfriends has come with some cutesy story about how they met. “He kept coming into the bakery every morning for a coffee and my frittata. He’d tuck himself into the corner by the window and read the paper for a half hour before heading out. I was in the middle of this book I couldn’t put down, sneaking pages between customers. He saw me reading and asked about the book. I told him it was for my book club and he asked if he could join.”
I roll my eyes for the fifth time in this conversation. If she was here to see it, she’d tell me they’re going to get stuck facing the back of my head at some point. But honestly, how does she not see the warning signs? “And you do know Greg Throttle is a huge developer in New York? Why is he in Florida, asking about book clubs?”
It totally doesn’t hold weight. Someone is acting like him and my mom is buying it.
“He said he’s here to look at a few properties on the ocean. You know how so much was wiped out by the hurricane. Our smaller hotels and motels are struggling.”
I suppose that could be true, but the book club? A mogul like Greg Throttle does not have time for a book club.
“Well, I’ll be happy to see you,” I say. I can get a read on the guy when I meet him.
“Me too.” Her tone holds that airy quality it does when she’s in love. Which only means she’ll fall that much harder when his true colors are shown. I have no idea how she can continue to pick herself up time and time again. “I’ll figure out the details and let you know.”
“Sounds good.” I hear her mixer start. “Mom?”
The mixer shuts off. “Yeah, sweetie?”
“Just, you know… be careful.”
She laughs. “One day, Bella.”
“What?”
“One day a man is going to come into your life. Then you’ll believe.”
I take another bite of my tuna sandwich. She thinks because I’m skeptical about men, I don’t believe in love or even want a relationship. That’s not true, but I have a lot on my plate right now. Including a business to build, which she should understand. A love life is last on the list—although I could use a man in my bedroom, that’s for sure.
“And he’ll want to join a book club with a middle-aged woman who’s not an heiress?” I ask.
“Nice, Bella.” The mixer starts again.
“I’m sorry.”
My dad died young. I can’t fault my mom for wanting to find whatever they had with someone else. It’s not that I doubt someone like Greg Throttle could fall for my mom, she just doesn’t have the best track record.
“I have to make a wedding cake for this weekend, so I’ll touch base with you next week.”
“Okay, bye.”
She hangs up with no goodbye, and I mentally kick myself for being so cynical with her. But come on, there have been so many men throughout my life that she thought might be the second love of her life.
Now my lunch is ruined because the guilt of being bitchy to my mom hangs over me like a storm cloud, blocking me from enjoying the sun. I finish my tuna sandwich, toss the wrapper into the trash, and head back to my office, crossing my fingers that I don’t have another run-in with Carmelo Mancini.
