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His eyes widen in mock shock, and he rests a hand over his heart. “I’m… I’m speechless, Cupcake. I’d be honoured to eat your sweets.”
Giggling, I pull him toward the door, grabbing my bag from where I dropped it on the floor.
*** *** ***
The restaurant is busy when we arrive, but we manage to get a table without waiting. The place is beautiful and expensive-looking. I would have been happy with a Travel Lodge or a bed and breakfast. Instead, the place is like something you’d see in a magazine.
The floor is black-glittered marble, shiny enough you can see a little of your reflection. Extravagant art lines the inside walls of the building, while the outside wall is glass.
The decor is dark wood. It’s warm and inviting, especially with the light shining through the window.
You can even watch as the chef cooks, flipping steaks and other stuff on the hot stove. Waiters and waitresses are dressed to impress too. The girls are wearing black skirts that end below the knees, white shirts and black ties. The guys are wearing the same but with trousers.
Fresh flowers in little vases are on every table, and as we arrive at ours, we have fresh bread and cold water waiting for us.
“Do you think all these people are here for the signing?” he asks, glancing around the busy restaurant as we sit down. I do have to admit, when my eyes scan the room, I do notice more women than men here.
“Probably, but there’s also a Comic-Con convention going on nearby, so they could be here for that.”
“No wonder I had to get my mum to find us a room. Everywhere I looked said they were fully booked.”
“You asked your mum?” I smile.
“Yeah. She also found me the tickets. I told her how badly you wanted to go, but there weren’t any tickets left. She told me to wait a few days to see what she could do. Apparently, she knew one of the organisers and managed to snag a couple of tickets. They keep a few spares for raffles or something. I paid the money to get them, and then she helped find this place. She has to come here a lot for business trips so she has a standing reservation.”
“That is awesome. She didn’t mind doing it?”
He chuckles, taking a sip of his water. “Are you kidding me? She loves this shit. She called me after our first visit with her and said she nearly blurted out my surprise a few times. It was killing her not being able to talk about it.”
“No?” I laugh. “Is that how she knew about my birthday?”
“Yeah.”
“Your mum is amazing. You’re really lucky to have her.”
His expression softens, and he takes my hand. “I am. She’s the best. She’s been through so much, and her family aren’t really the supportive kind. We avoid them at all costs now.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, happy he’s opening up more. He told me about his mum, but when it comes to his other family, he shuts down, and I can’t get a read on him. I never brought them up again. I didn’t like seeing him so upset.
“They disowned her after she decided to keep me.” He scoffs, his lip curling. “They didn’t understand why she would keep me after what happened to her. According to them, she should have aborted me when she had the chance.”
I gulp, rubbing my thumb over the top of his hand.
“I know it’s a hard question to ask, but…whydid she? Not that I’m not happy she did, because I am—I wouldn’t have met you if she hadn’t. But you have to admit, it’s not something you hear happening every day.” When his gaze darkens, I immediately feel bad. “Sorry, that was rude of me.”
He pulls my hand closer, kissing my knuckles. “No, it’s fine. A lot of people ask the same thing when they find out. You’d be surprised at how many women my mum helps who are in the same position she once was. It’s more common than people think. It’s just not something people broadcast to others.”
“I guess.”
“Anyway, after she was raped, she had all the tests they do at the beginning and took the morning after pill they gave her. That night, though, she said she was violently ill, throwing up, which was caused by bad memories. The after pill never had chance to get into her system, so it didn’t work. Three months later, she found out she was pregnant with me. She admitted to me about being torn, not wanting anything to do with the monster who hurt her, but the second she had her scan, she fell in love. She wasn’t repulsed, she didn’t have any reservations about keeping me, she just knew it didn’t matter how I came to be. What was important was that I was there, and I was hers.”
“What did she do next?” I ask. His mum is more incredible than I first believed. The amount of strength she must have possessed is inspiring.
“As far as I know, she kept it from her parents for as long as she could—they already treated her differently after the attack—but when they found out, they went ballistic. They couldn’t comprehend why she would keep me.”
I rub my chest, the ache there hurting for both CJ and his mum. “So, what did her parents do?”
“They kicked her out.” He shrugs, but I can see their actions hurt him more than he’s letting on. “Her grandparents took her in. They weren’t like her parents; they were kind and loving. It’s how she ended up inheriting everything they owned after they died.”
