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“Adelaide,” Lucy replies with a wince, and I feel my stomach fall. “What should I tell them?”
“Let her through,” I reply with a sigh. “And I’ll figure out how to get rid of her.”
“Who’s Adelaide?” Brynna asks.
“My mother, unfortunately. Listen, this could get messy. I apologize in advance. Would you mind quickly letting the others know for me?”
“Of course, I will. I’m sorry, honey. We’ll figure this out.”
“Thanks.”
The doorbell rings, and I hurry over to open the door, seeing that this is going to be messier than I thought.
She’s fucking drunk.
“Baby,” Mom says and practically falls into my arms. “Oh, my baby. Don’t worry, honey, I’m home. I’m home now.”
“Uh, Mom, pull yourself together.” I manage to disentangle myself from her and pull back, frowning. “What are you doing?”
“Why, I came to visit, of course. It’s Christmas. Oh.” She blinks rapidly as she looks around and sees so many people staring at her. “You’re having a party. Aholidayparty. How lovely. I’d like a drink.”
“I think you’ve had enough to drink already.”
“There’s no need to be snide,” she hisses at me, baring her teeth. But then, as quickly as it was there, it’s gone again, and she’s smiling, staggering on her feet. “I’ll just put my things in a bedroom and join the fun.”
“No.”
I’m well aware of the audience we have as my drunk mother rounds on me. “No? What do you mean, no? I came to see you.”
“You can’t stay in my house. Caleb doesn’t even know who you are, and I won’t have him upset at Christmas. You can stay at a hotel, and I’ll fit in a dinner with you this week.”
“You were always ungrateful,” she snarls. “Ungrateful for everything I did for you. All the sacrifices I made.”
“Right. Sure, okay. I hope you didn’t let that Uber go.”
“You listen to me,” she begins, but Lucy hurries over.
“Hello, ma’am. I’m Lucy. Don’t you worry at all because I’ve made a reservation for you at the Four Seasons—a suite, of course—and they’re expecting you. I’ve also made sure that dinner will be waiting for you in your suite when you get there. We want you to be as comfortable as possible, and we appreciate your understanding that this is a private party that London has been planning forweeks.I know you wouldn’t want to disrupt that.”
“Well, of course not. Did you order me some wine?”
“Oh, yes, a bottle of white and one of red, since I wasn’t sure of your preference.”
“I’ll drink both.” Mom winks at Lucy, then glares at me. “At least someone here has the manners to take care of a guest.”
She pushes her scarf over her shoulder theatrically and turns to leave through the door that Lucy has already opened.
My assistant escorts my mom to the Uber, and when she returns, I take a deep breath before turning to find all the Montgomery women watching me. But they’re not staring out of judgmental, critical eyes. They lookworried.
“Are you okay, London?” Brynna asks me.
“I’m embarrassed, actually.” I offer her a shaky smile. “My mom and I, well, we don’t—”
“You don’t have to explain,” Meg says, shaking her head. “It’s none of our business, as long as you’re okay. Trust me, I know all about having an asshole for a mom. It sucks.”
What did I do to deserve this amazing family that’s swooped in and accepted me as one of their own? I’m so overwhelmed by the support it brings tears to my eyes.
“She’s gonna blow,” Stella says, making me laugh.
