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I give Mom this hour and then I tell her we have to leave. Mostly because I have work to do, but also because I don’t have it in me to sit with Adeline like this for any longer.
“I like your mother,” Adeline says a couple of minutes into our drive home. She’s full of surprises tonight. Initiating conversation with me is something she rarely does.
“She likes you too.”
“Has she had many relationships since your father died?”
This isn’t a topic I ever discuss with anyone; however, I find myself answering her. “She’s dated, but I suspect she’s cautious after my father.”
She frowns. “Why?”
I keep my private life very private. The only people who know what my father was like are my mother, Hudson, and Bill. As far as I know, they’ve never shared the details either. All Adeline knows is that my father died when I was eighteen, and that I didn’t get along with him while he was alive.
“Dad didn’t treat her well. It wasn’t a very happy marriage.”
She takes that in, silently processing it. “Do you think she’s open to love?”
“She wants it for everyone else, so I imagine so.”
“She desperately wants it for you, doesn’t she? I don’t get the impression she’s as worried for Hudson as she is for you.”
I nod. “You are correct. She’s gone out of her way to find me a wife.”
“I can imagine.”
“I’m not sure you can.”
She lifts her brows questioningly. “What has she done?”
“The most outrageous thing was to set up a dating profile for me. She responded to all the women who matched with me and then arranged dates.”
Adeline’s entire face lights up with a smile. It might be the most beautiful smile I’ve ever witnessed. “Oh my gosh. Go Reese.” She shifts in her seat to face me. Every fiber in her being is invested in this conversation. “How did she get you to agree to the dates?”
“She didn’t. She simply invited me to lunches and dinners with her. Then, she didn’t show up and I was left to explain myself.”
She laughs. “How many of these ‘dates’ did you actually go on? Surely you figured out what was happening pretty fast.”
“One dinner the first time. One lunch the second time.”
“Oh my God, she did it twice?”
“Yes. My mother is nothing if not persistent.”
“I see where you get it from.”
Her phone sounds with a text.
After she checks it, she says, “That was my social media manager. She told me to commend you on your kissing ability.” She holds her phone out for me to read the message.
Lara: Holy woah, Addy. Jameson outdid himself today. I may let him off the hook for refusing to do the photo shoot. That kiss this morning has gone viral and from what I’ve heard, sales are through the roof. Most importantly, though, it’s taken some of the heat off with all the other stuff being posted about you.
“So, does your directive still stand, then?” I ask.
“What directive?”
“The one in which you ordered me to never kiss you again.”
If I’m not mistaken, her breathing picks up. “Yes, that directive still stands.”
