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“She lost her husband, my father, when she was in her twenties and raised four boys as a single parent. She was a mom and dad, nurturer and protector, provider and disciplinarian. She saw through all of our bullshit and managed to keep us out of jail and alive. And she did it all with grace, humility, and strength. She is, by far, the most intelligent, capable, resilient person I know. She is more than capable of making up her own mind about who she wants to be with. And if you think you can pull one over on her…” Seb let out a forced laugh. “Good luck.” He took a breath. “I’m not worried about my mom. I’m worried about yourdaughter. Not because she’s any less capable or amazing than my mother. She’s equally as capable, intelligent, and resilient. I’m worried about her because of the history you share. I don’t know what you did, and I honestly couldn’t give two fucks about how sorry you are. All I know is that you hurt her. Badly. And if you eventhinkof doing it again, wewillhave a problem.”
Instead of trying to talk his way out of anything, Michael just nodded his head. “Understood.”
Seb watched as Michael walked away.
He’d turned back to the bar and set his beer down. When he turned back around he saw his mom walking toward him. There was purpose in her gait. She was a woman on a mission. He knew that she must have seen him talk with Michael and thought it was about her.
“That wasn’t about you.” Seb lifted his hands in mock surrender.
“I know. I heard all of it. It was about Kennedy. The woman you love.”
He didn’t see the point in arguing with her.
“Have you told her?” she asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Complicated because she’s going on that reality show? A reality show where she’s looking for love? Wouldn’t it be a lot less complicated if she could skip all of that because shealreadyhas it?”
“You don’t understand.”
“Okay, enlighten me.”
He’d never talked to his mom about his love life. Mainly, because there hadn’t been much to say. The women he’d dated had all been casual. He’d never had actual feelings for any of them.
Seb looked around and saw that no one was within earshot or paying attention to them. He took a deep breath. “I know that you’re not going to agree with this, but she deserves better than me. I know she cares about me, but I’m noteverythingshe’s looking for. She deserves everything.”
Seb knew that they had the tear-your-clothes-off chemistry, and he knew how powerful that could be. It could be powerful enough for her to compromise other things she wanted.
“What more does she deserve?”
“She—”
“No.” His mom lifted her hand to stop him. “Stop. I don’t want to know. Because whatever you think it is, doesn’t matter.”
“Mom, I know you think I’m this amazing guy who she’d be lucky to—”
“No, I don’t,” she cut him off again. “I mean, yes, I do but that’s not why it doesn’t matter. Whatever reason you think you’re not good enough for her doesn’t matter because shelovesyou. I saw it the first time I met her at Well Brook. And you love her. Everything else is just semantics. I think sometimes your emotional maturity works against you. You overthink and overanalyze everything and every situation.
“I heard what you said about me to Michael.” His mom’s eyes teared up and she sniffed as she wiped a tear that fell down her cheek. “Thank you, for that. Thank you forseeingme. You have no idea what that means to me. But, don’t you think that Kennedy deserves that, too?”
“I do seeher Mom that’s why—”
She held up her hand again. “I’m not talking about seeing her, I know you do. You told Michael that I was more than capable of making up my own mind about who I wanted to be with. Don’t you think Kennedy deserves the same opportunity?”
Seb hadn’t thought about it like that.
“I know you think you know what’s best for everyone, but sometimes you need to trust people to know what’s best for themselves.”
Seb’s mom hugged him and then walked away, leaving him alone with his thoughts. His mind had felt so cloudy, so confused but talking to his mom had cleared it. He looked at Kennedy and knew exactly what he had to do.
27
Kennedy’s heartwas pounding so hard in her chest, it was all she could hear as she walked up the steps to the apartment above the Snack Shack.
