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Nana laughs. “Right. We all like to work, darling. Some more than others. And preferably more than once a day.”
I choke on my coffee. “I thought libidos decrease with age.”
“I’ve got memories to last me a lifetime.”
Mom groans. “By all means, feel free to take them to your grave.”
Nana howls with laughter.
Mom takes a seat beside me and tugs my left hand into hers. She assesses my ring from all angles. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
I nod. “Of course.”
You’re going to hell for lying to your own mother.
At least Declan and you can remain together in the afterlife.
“This seems so…” Mom struggles.
“Out of the blue?”
“Yes.”
“It’s…special. I really do love him.” It takes all my willpower to say the words with a straight face.
She tilts her head. My mother has always gotten the truth out of me, one way or another. I bite down on my lip to stop myself from saying something stupid.
Like the truth?
Oh, shut up.I force my guilty conscience to take a back seat.
“He’s your boss.”
“I know.”
“He’s much older than you.”
“Is that supposed to be a bad thing because I only see the positives,” Nana asks.
I don’t miss a beat. “We can’t help who we fall in love with.”
Mom sighs. “No. We can’t.”
A twinge of guilt tightens around my heart like a lasso. She is the poster child of falling in love with someone she shouldn’t have, and I was the unexpected result.
She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy for you.”
I nod my head because I’m afraid of what might come out of my mouth instead. If my mother knew the truth behind my engagement, I’m not sure she would be as supportive. She’s a worrier. I have no doubt she would be concerned about me tying myself to a man who barely likes me and a baby he doesn’t want. She would want more for me than to follow in her footsteps.
My anxious thoughts are intensified as Nana opens her mouth and asks, “So, when do we get to meet him?”
* * *
I open my front door to find Cal leaning against the frame.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he says.
“More like I’ve been dealing with the fallout of my actions.” I give Cal some room to enter my apartment. He instantly makes the space feel ten times smaller. While my apartment isn’t much, it’s all mine after years of hard work and people doubting me.
