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“Did you talk to the professor and go over the exam, so you understand where you went wrong?”
“Yeah. I made a few careless mistakes.”
She glances at me. “Doesn’t exactly sound like a problem then.”
“No, I guess not,” I murmur in agreement, muscles incrementally loosening.
“You don’t have to be a straight A student for your father and I to be proud of you.” There’s a pause. “You understand that, right?”
“Yup.” I’ve always known it. They’re not the ones who put all the pressure on me.
I am. It’s one hundred percent internal. It’s something I realized in high school. I’m the one who sets high standards for myself.
Not them.
And I’m the one who beats myself up when I’m anything less than perfect.
As I lift the glass to my lips, she says, “Then it must have something to do with Ryder.”
My hand pauses midair as my eyes flare wide. “What?” My voice comes out sounding choked.
Her expression never falters as her steady gaze stays pinned to mine. “I assume if it’s not school or your roommate, then whatever’s going on has something to do with Ryder.”
“Why would you say that?” I whisper.
With a smirk, she shakes her head. “Because I have eyes and I’ve seen the way you two have been looking at each other.” There’s a pause before she tacks on, “Especially lately.”
My mouth tumbles open.“You have?”
“I’ve always seen the way he looked at you, Jules. The way he’d stare when he thought no one was watching. It was sweet.”
Those comments have my throat closing up, making it impossible to breathe.
“So, I’m right? This has something to do with Ryder?”
“Yeah.”
“Were you two seeing each other?” she ventures with a guess.
“For a little bit, but I broke it off.”
Her brows draw together as she pauses her prep. “How come?”
I jerk my shoulders and shift restlessly on the stool. “I don’t want to be a distraction. You heard Dad at lunch. Ryder needs to be one hundred percent focused on hockey.” Even though it hurts my heart, I force out the rest. “Not me.”
She sets the knife down on the plastic cutting board before rounding the massive island and slipping onto the stool next to me. “You’re absolutely right. Ryder needs to focus on his priorities. But I think you’re one of them, sweetie. And that’s not a decision you should make for him. He’s a grown man.” There’s a lengthy pause as she searches my eyes. “I made a similar mistake when your father and I got serious. I broke up with him because I’d thought I was making the right decision, and you know what? It turned out to be the wrong one. For both of us.”
“You did? Really?” This is one part of their story I’ve never heard before. I’d assumed that once they got together it was all roses and rainbows.
Her expression grows solemn. “Yup. It’s one of the worst mistakes I ever made.”
I lean closer. “How did you resolve it?”
“Once I finally realized what I’d done, I booked a ticket to Milwaukee. Then I tracked him down at the hotel where he was staying with your grandfather and begged him to forgive me.”
My lips lift as I imagine the scenario playing out. Mom rushing through an airport and then hauling ass to the hotel. “Since you’ve been married for almost twenty-five years, I assume he forgave you?”
A chuckle escapes from her before she sobers. “He did. But I could have easily ruined the best relationship of my life because I allowed outside influences to get in my head. What I should have done was sit down and discuss the situation with him like a grown adult.”
