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A smile tugs at my lips, accompanied by a burst of excitement. I’m not as worried he’s tricking me if he’s fine with me bringing my mom, and this would be so much cooler than a thirty-minute limo ride around our old town. “Thank you,” I text back.
“You’re welcome, beautiful.”
My cheeks flush, and not from the nippy fall weather.
Since there are now three angry drivers slamming on their horns behind us, I drop my bag from my shoulder and quickly climb into the car.
My heart races when Hugh closes the door, and I know I’m trapped inside again. It could be another deception. A bigger one. He might have agreed to me taking my mom so easily because he knew I would never make it back to my dorm, let alone to her house to pick her up. I could be on my way to him right now.
But then I’d never be able to trust another thing he says.
Maybe he doesn’t care, but I think… I think he does.
The partition is down so I can see Hugh, and there’s no reason he can’t hear me. “We’re going to pick up my mom,” I say tentatively, watching carefully for some sign he’s not going to do what was promised.
“Very good. What’s her address?”
I give it to him, but I’m still on the edge of my seat as he gets back on the road and presumably starts toward my mom’s house.
When he takes a left I’m not expecting, my heart accelerates. “We’re going straight to her house, right?”
He meets my gaze briefly in the mirror before returning his eyes to the road. “Unless you’d like to stop at your place to drop off your schoolbooks, yes.”
I glance down at the bag leaning against the seat. “That’s okay. I’d just like to pick up my mom.”
He nods. “We’re heading there now,” he assures me. “I was just avoiding an accident on the route,” he adds, perhaps realizing my anxiety is because he took a wrong turn.
“Oh,” I say, relief washing over me as I sit back in the seat. “All right. I should probably text her to let her know we’re coming then, huh?”
Hugh nods kindly. “Yes, I imagine you should.”
Reassured that we reallyaregoing to pick her up, I finally text Mom to let her know I’m coming to get her, and I have a surprise.
“What is it??” she asks.
“You’ll never guess,” I tease. “Just clear your schedule and be ready to go in ten minutes.”
“Ohh, I love surprises! Best daughter ever,” she sends back with a smiley emoji.
I smile, too, because I love beingableto surprise her like this.
Chapter Thirteen
Sophie
After a full evening of shopping, we leave the last store with bags bursting with new clothes and a new winter coat for me.
I don’t feel guilty indulging in a shopping spree on Silvan’s dime. I wish I could buy more. He owes me a little something for the pain and suffering of having to endure his tenacious presence.
“Remember those Christmas trees with hanging wishlists from families in need they used to have up around the holidays? Do they still have those? It’s been years since we’ve been able to grab a tag and buy them some stuff. We should find one while I have Silvan’s credit card.”
Mom smiles faintly. Obviously, I couldn’t tell her the real story, so I told her Silvan lost a bet with me and that’s why we’re out on the town on some rich boy’s dime. “I don’t think they put those up this early in the year. I feel like we used to get those around Thanksgiving.”
“Too bad,” I murmur, stopping on the sidewalk where Hugh dropped us off. I glance over at Mom. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Are you ready to get some food?”
Mom nods, and Hugh pulls up to the curb. Like always, he gets out and comes around to open the door for us, but I feel so awkward standing there waiting for him to serve me, I say, “Don’t worry about it,” and open the door myself.
Or I try to anyway.
