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“She's not going to like that.” That was the understatement of the century.
“This isn't about what she likes. This is about her growing up and realizing that marriage is work”—she eyed him—“hard work. She should’ve picked a more malleable man, but she made her choice. Now, she needs to live with it.” She turned back toward the door. “Give me about five minutes and then come into the room.”
Alison was going to blame him for this, but he didn’t care. Her anger was better than a divorce.
CHAPTER 15: Alison
Alison cringed when her mother came into the room. She knew that look and it never, ever meant anything good. “Mom, I’m sorry. Aunt Tiff is right. This…this mess with Harker…this contract was all my fault. I wanted to own Angel Face.” She touched Irene’s head, as the baby slept on her chest. “I had no idea what it’d be like to be a mother. I…I never should’ve done this but…I did and…I want you to know that I realize it had nothing to do with you or your house. Not really. That was an excuse I used to give myself permission to do this so that I could co-own Angel Face.” She sighed. “I was so stupid.”
“That program wasn’t all you wanted.” Aunt Tiff looked at Alison’s mother. “She still won’t admit that what she really wanted was that man.”
“I did not want him,” she said through gritted teeth. She’d been over this again and again with her aunt. “He was my boss. A friend…or I thought he was a friend.”
“Whom you wanted,” said Aunt Tiff. “An attractive man you couldn’t stop talking about and with whom you spent almost every waking moment. Stop pretending that you didn’t have a colossal crush on the man since the day you met him.”
“Yes, I thought he was attractive at first, but I pushed all that aside. He was my boss. I don’t date—”
“Oh honey, he is a man first and you’re a woman. You may never have acted on that attraction because he was your boss, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.”
“Do you remember when you first took that job?” asked Mom. “You were so excited.”
“Yeah. It was a great job. We’re doing work that means something. It’s not just some sales page on a website. Angel Face will save lives.”
“But it wasn’t only the work you talked about.” Mom glanced at Aunt Tiff.
“I was not attracted to him, not really.” If only she’d kept her mouth shut around these two, but she never kept her mouth shut around anyone.
“You were.” Mom walked over to the bed. “You talked about him all the time. How funny he was and how annoying. You had such a crush on that man.”
“I did not.” She almost yelled but lowered her voice when Irene started fussing. “Yes, I talked about him a lot, but that's because he was the only person I saw.”
“You did spend a lot of time with him. I told you I didn't like you and him alone at the office all the time. You practically lived there. Your aunt and I were very suspicious.”
“Nothing happened. At that time it wasn’t that kind of relationship.”
“I know. That's what you said. Do you remember why you said it?”
“Yeah, because nothing was going on between us. I didn’t even think of him like that until after we married.” She could use her wedding night as proof except she wasn’t telling anyone about that fiasco.
“That is such bull,” said Aunt Tiff.
“No, Tiff. I think she’s being honest,” said Mom.
“Thank you.” She watched her mother warily because she sensed a trap.
Mom touched her hand. “You didn’t think of him like that because you were scared. Do you remember what you said?”
“I wasn’t scared, and you’ll have to be a little more specific. I say a lot of things.” She had a pretty good idea what her mother was going to say, and she didn’t want to hear it.
“You said that a man like him wouldn't be interested in a woman like you. You've been saying things like that your entire life.”
She sighed. So much for not talking about this. “Yes, Mother. I’ve said that. Do you want to know why?” She didn’t bother to wait for an answer. “Because it's true. I hid it from you, but I never had a lot of friends in school. Not junior high, high school or even college. I talk too much. I’m smarter than most people, and I refuse to pretend to be dumb to make them comfortable. And I’m not going to draw flocks of people to me by my looks.”
“You're right.” Mom nodded.
Alison swallowed around the tightness in her throat, trying not to cry. It was one thing to believe that about herself and another for her mother to agree. Her mom was supposed to think she was special, perfect. Okay, maybe not perfect…
“You weren't the most popular girl, but the friends you had were loyal. And there were boys who adored you, but you never gave them a chance.”
