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“Always,” Collins said, “but we should be okay in this case.”
“Unless they want to make an example of the president’s mother,” Nicoletta said.
“That’s always a possibility, but I don’t expect that to happen.”
“Well, hopefully it’ll all be resolved soon, and you can get back to your place and your life,” Jaclyn said as she packed up her laptop. “I could arrange for a hotel room in the meantime, if you’d like.”
“She’s fine here for now, Jac,” Collins said with an indulgent smile. “I have plenty of room.”
“Just trying to help.” She seemed to force herself to look at Nicoletta. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“You as well. Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome.” She gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Love you, sweetie.”
“Love you, too.”
As Nicoletta listened to them, it occurred to her that she’d never once had an exchange like that with her son, even though she loved him deeply. In her own way. Maybe her way wasn’t the conventional way, but it was all she had.
“She’s my middle kiddo,” Collins said when he returned. “She’s been such an asset to me at the firm, handling all the public relations stuff, social media and the like. I’m so clueless with that stuff.” He poured amber liquid from a crystal decanter into a cocktail glass. “Drink?”
“Sure. Thanks.” She sat on the sofa. “Your daughter wants me out of here.”
“She’s just being protective. That’s how they are with me since my wife died. It’s like the roles changed, and I became the child with three opinionated parents.”
His words were full of affection and amusement.
“They won’t want you spending time with the likes of me.”
“The likes of you? What does that mean?”
“You met me in a jail, Collins. That’s hardly the kind of meet-cute you see on the Hallmark Channel.”
His brows furrowed with confusion that gave him a boyish cuteness. “What the heck is a meet-cute?”
She sighed with pretend exasperation. “You need to watch more romances.”
“Do I?”
“A meet-cute is two people finding each other under the most adorable of circumstances, such as a woman being stranded in the snow, and a man comes to her rescue and offers to warm her up by the fire.”
“Ah, I see. So what you’re saying is that meeting in a jail isn’t very cute?”
“That’s what your kids will say.”
“Let me tell you something about my kids. I’m very close to them. I talk to them every day. We went through hell together when their mother was sick and for a time after she died. That ordeal made us even closer than we were before. But we don’t tell each other how to live our lives. I’ve been incredibly supportive of them and made their lives easier than mine ever was—and they know how lucky they are to not have student loans or to have to struggle to get by. They appreciate the lives they have and the person who provided them. And more than anything, they want me to find someone to spend what’s left of my life with. They’ve set me up on countless blind dates with friends’ mothers and aunts and cousins and what have you.”
“I’m sure you’re considered quite a catch by the mothers and aunts.”
His face flushed, which was also cute. Hell, everything about him appealed to her, and to pretend otherwise would be ridiculous. “I guess. The thing is, none of them appealed to me.”
“Why not?”
“How can I say this without sounding like a jerk?”
“Just say it. I know you’re not a jerk.”
