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“Mom, do you know who that is?”
“Wait…” She leans forward. “Is it…”
“It’s Cillian.”
Mom says what we’re all thinking. “What the hell is Jane doing with him?”
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Max
The three of us sit in a corner of the restaurant, drinking coffee. There’s an uneasy truce. A sense that we’re not going to repeat what happened outside, though the tension is by no means gone.
Vanessa moves her finger around the rim of her mug almost obsessively. “Can you explain this?” she says after a pause.
“It’s love at first sight,” I tell her.
Ellie gasps and looks at me with her glistening eyes. Her hair is messy in a perfect, beautiful way. This was supposed to be our first big date, and now look at my woman. She deserves so much more.
“That’s the best way to explain it,” I go on. “We saw each other. We knew, but you probably want to hear how your daughter feels.”
Vanessa nods, looking at Ellie. She takes a breath. A flush floods into her cheeks, her eyes wide and excited. “It felt that way for me, too—love at first sight. I saw him, and I knew. I just knew I wanted to be with him forever. I knew I wanted to have a family with him.”
Vanessa groans, resting her head in her hands. “I can’t make sense of any of this. I wish Jane would just tell the truth.”
“The truth?” Ellie murmurs.
“About what happened. The bruise. All of it. I always…”
“It’s okay, Mom.”
“I always thought she was lying. She gets this look. Like when we were kids, she’d blame me for things. I saw it as my duty to be the loyal big sister, so sometimes I’d take the blame. When she told me what you did, Max, she had that same look, but I buried it and ignored it. I couldn’t let myself think about it.”
“I understand,” Max says softly.
Mom laughs in disbelief. “How can you?”
“When I was a kid, I was raised by my uncle for a while. He did some bad things, but sometimes I was with him when I could ignore them. I could purposefully forget, and we’d have a decent enough time together.”
“That’s what it is. Purposefully forget,” she sighs, “but I’m not saying I believe you. I need to know.”
“Mom,” Ellie snaps, a fierce chord in her voice, just like out there when she stood off against Jane. “If you thought Max was a woman beater, you wouldn’t sit here with him. You wouldn’t let me sit here with him.”
“You sounded so happy,” Mom whispers. “Just now, when you were talking about love at first sight… I believed you, Ellie. I like to think I’m a pretty good judge of character.”
“Yeah, Mom, especially when it comes to your own daughter.” Ellie takes her hand. “I know it’s wild, but it’s true. I can’t explain it. It just… is. It’s what we want. It’s how we feel.”
“What about your job?” Vanessa says, looking at me. “You’d risk it all for her?”
“I’d quit my job for her,” I say. “Without a doubt.”
“How would you support her?”
Ellie laughs softly, then raises her eyebrow. “I think you need to tell her.”
I shrug, then quickly give her the rundown about my writing.
“Oh, wow,” Vanessa says. “Well done.”
I smile and nod. “Thank you. Anyway, I don’t think I’d have to leave my job. There are policies against dating students, but they can’t do anything if we’re married.”
“Wait… what?” Vanessa’s voice quivers, and she looks around as though only just waking up. I can see the thoughts clattering in her head. Why have I let it go this far? He can’t marry my daughter.
She stands up.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“Marriage… after a couple of weeks?” Vanessa says. “Are you listening to yourselves?”
“What else do you think love at first sight means?” Ellie says, passion in her voice.
“Don’t yell at me, young lady,” Vanessa snaps.
“I wasn’t yelling.”
“You’re not even twenty. Max, how old are you?”
“Thirty-eight.”
“Does that seem right to you?” she demands.
“All I know is that I want to provide for your daughter. Protect her. Protect and provide for our children. All I know is—”
“Come on, Ellie. We’re going home.”
I stand, ready to walk them to the car. I won’t be able to kiss Ellie goodbye, but just a few more precious seconds with her. I’d never want to cause damage to her and her mom’s relationship.
Ellie stays seated and shakes her head. “I’m staying here.”
“Ellie.”
“Mom, I’ve made my choice. I love you. I’m not choosing him over you, but right now, for tonight, I want to stay with Max. I think that’s fair. You can’t order me to come home.”
Vanessa glares at me. “Do you realize I could call the college tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re okay with that?” she asks Max.
“Like I said, I’d sacrifice my job for your daughter. I’d sacrifice everything for her. I made a mistake with your sister, Vanessa. I tried to be somebody I wasn’t. But with Ellie, I never have to question who I am. She gives me a role. She is my purpose.”
