AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re joking.”
I blew out a breath, mixed with a slight laugh. “I wish. It was surreal.”
“Well”—she put Snickers down and placed her hands on her hips—“what did Liam want? Why was he here?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. I think he just wanted to ruffle my feathers.”
My mother let out an annoyed huff. “You cannot be ruffled. Idiot.” She walked the length of my living room. “He didn’t say anything though? Really?”
“What are you getting at?” I asked because she was acting weird. “What do you think he wanted?”
She stopped moving. “I wondered if he thought he might have claim to the restaurant.”
I shook my head almost violently. “No. I made sure the divorce agreement stated that the restaurant was solely mine. He has no rights to it.”
Blowing out a soft breath, she looked so relieved. “That’s good.”
“You were worried about that?”
“I was, but now, I’m not.” She wiped her hands together, like she was brushing her cares away. “Tell me what happened with your Tony.”
For almost two whole minutes, I hadn’t even thought about the man.
“I feel wrong, talking about this, but you’re my mother, so it doesn’t count, right?”
“Mothers are exempt. They get free passes,” she said, and it made me smile.
I gave her a very limited version of what had happened to him and his wife. Basically told her bits about the accident, but that was it. I left out the part where he had kissed me senseless and then told me to leave.
She whispered in Spanish to herself, mostly praying for Tony and his wife. After making the sign of the cross, she engulfed me in a hug. “I’ve seen the way you look at him,mija. Don’t give up on him just yet. His heart is in pain.”
I felt myself grow defensive even though it was completely uncalled for. “I know. I’m not giving up. I won’t.”
“He would never do what Liam did to you,” she added, and I felt my eyes start to water.
“I know that.”
I wasn’t sure how I could be so certain, but I was. I felt it in my guts. Tony wasn’t the kind of man to be unfaithful, no matter how trying times got.
A hard knock, followed by the turning of the knob, had us both staring at the front door. My pregnant best friend waltzed through it, an annoyed look on her face.
“You’ve been avoiding me.” She started chastising me before noticing my mother. “Oh, hey, Ma.”
“Hello, darling.” My mother walked to Elise and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “How is my bambino?” She put her hand on Elise’s stomach for a breath.
“She’sdoing good.” Elise emphasized the gender, and my mother laughed.
“You’re going to be so mad whenshe’sahe,” she teased, and Elise made a face. “I’ll be on my way. You two have some catching up to do.” My mother waggled her eyebrows at us before heading toward the door.
“See you later,” I shouted at her retreating form.
“I’ll drop off more goodies later,” she said before disappearing, and I was grateful.
She hadn’t been baking as often as usual, so I was lacking in the dessert department, which I did not like. If my mom was going to stop making sweets, I needed to figure out a new solution. My restaurant had to serve at least one dessert.
Elise cleared her throat, directing my attention to her. She stood the same way my mother had—hands on her hips, waiting for me to spill the details of last night. “I can’t believe you’ve been ignoring me. I should punish you.”
“How?” I wondered what she thought she could do to me that would count as punishment.
