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She stared at me and blinked.
“Right, Mom?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course. Six babies. Your momma is getting old, son.”
“No way. You’ll be forever thirty-nine. Isn’t that what you said that one year on your birthday?” I laughed, putting the bag into Hope’s car. Lady M hated growing older. She’d told the family to never speak of her age again when she turned forty. I wasn’t sure why, considering she got better with age like fine wine.
“Yes, and don’t you forget it.” She clucked her tongue.
“Can I ask you something about Hope?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t know if this is a woman thing, but she’s hot and cold with me.”
“Could be pregnancy hormones. Emotions can fluctuate wildly, like Florida summers.”
“I don’t think that’s what it is. She was like this before she was pregnant.”
“Hmm.” Lady M twisted her lips and stared up at the sky. “What do you know about her family? Is she close to her parents? Does she have any siblings?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t talked much about her personal life.”
“Not surprising since you didn’t date, just hooked up.”
I winced at her displeased tone. “I wanted to date her, but she held firm to her three-date limit. Earlier, she told me it made her uncomfortable when I was nice to her.”
“I knew a girl like that back in high school. I used to think she was slutty, sleeping with all the boys. She never had a boyfriend and didn’t have many friends. Then in my psychology class, we learned about different attachment disorders. This girl ended up being a textbook case.”
“Attachment disorder, huh?”
“Google it. Maybe it’ll give you some insight. I’m not saying Hope has an attachment disorder, just that her behavior sounded familiar.”
“Why would someone have attachment issues?”
“From what I remember, it usually stems from neglect in infancy and other abuse.” She furrowed her brow and pressed her lips together as if holding her tongue.
“Neglect? Abuse?” My stomach churned.
“Don’t go getting ahead of yourself. You don’t know what Hope’s childhood was like.”
“Yeah, but you said her behavior sounded familiar.”
She gripped my biceps. “Yes, and if she has a disorder, will it change how you feel about her or your intentions?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“But we could have a difficult road ahead if she does.”
Lady M bobbed her head. “You’ll need to be patient and understanding. Someone with attachment issues might have difficulty trusting people and feeling safe. They still need affection, though.”
“Like sex.”
“Yes, but they might keep their emotions out of it.”
“And have a three-date limit.” Fuck, this was sounding more and more like Hope.
