Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“So, Mom—”
When her phone dings with an incoming message, she pounces on the slim device and glances at the screen. Her lips lift into a smile as she taps away on the miniature keyboard.
“Mom?” Annoyance floods my voice.
Her eyes flicker to me as she quickly sets down the cell. “Sorry. Just an old friend wanting to get together.”
I suck in a deep breath and hold it captive in my lungs for a long moment before steadily forcing it out again. Instead of working my way up to this much-needed conversation, I decide to get straight to the point. It’s only been five minutes and I’m already on the verge of snapping.
“It’s fine.” I clear my throat, prepared to delve in. “I wanted to know what your plans are now that you and Crawford are together. Are you moving back into the house?”
She shrugs before waving a hand. “I suppose at some point, but I’m not in any hurry.”
“Have you two even talked about it?”
“Oh, he mentioned something about me selling the Florida property, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I enjoy having my own place. Plus, all my friends are there.” She gives me an are you cray-cray look. “How can I just abandon them?”
My brow furrows as all this circles through my brain. “I get that your friends are important, but how are you going to make a relationship work if you’re not living in the same state?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. Right now, we’re just taking it day by day.”
A pit grows at the bottom of my belly. She seems a lot more blasé about their relationship than he is.
“Mom, if you’re not one hundred percent committed, then you need to be honest with Crawford so he doesn’t end up blindsided.”
Like before.
For the first time since I sat down, annoyance flickers across her normally smooth features. It’s the first real hint of emotion I’ve seen from her in a while. Her tone turns snippy. “You’ll excuse me if I don’t take relationship advice from a twenty-one-year-old, thank you very much.”
I open my mouth to snap back with a pithy retort when Lola stops by our table to drop off drinks.
“Your entrees will be out momentarily,” she says, sounding harried.
I glance around and realize just how packed the place has become before forcing a smile. “No worries. We’re all good.”
Mom stares after Lola as she takes off, beelining for another table. Gone is the insipid socialite she pretends to be. In her place is the thirty-something-year-old woman who had a hard life and spent her late teens and twenties working her fingers to the bone.
“I remember what it was like to be her.” Fear flickers in her eyes before it’s quickly smothered. “And it will never be my life again.”
I shake my head, surprised by the deviation in conversation. “I don’t understand why you’re bringing that up when we’re discussing Crawford.”
“Perhaps you don’t realize it, but they’re one and the same.” She drums her nails impatiently on the table before shifting on the chair.
“How so?”
“As long as he’s part of my life, I won’t have to worry about money. He’ll be there to take care of me.”
Jeez.
What this woman is looking for is a sugar daddy who’ll give her everything she wants without any kind of expectation in return.
I lean closer and drop my voice, not wanting to be overheard. “But…he thinks you’re together again. He’s under the impression you’ll stay by his side and help take care of things at the house, like hosting dinner parties and events.” I pause for a heartbeat before forcing out the rest. “All the things you didn’t want to do the first time around.”
The vulnerability filling her expression disappears as she rolls her eyes.
Can you believe that?
The woman actually has the audacity to roll her eyes like a surly teen being called out for bad behavior.
“In case you haven’t noticed, the man is a workaholic. He’s never around. He has no interest in taking off and going on vacation or spending quality time together.” She thumps her chest. “I need a man who will focus on me. My wants. No one’s ever done that before!”
I can only stare. What Pamela really wants is a man who has nothing else going on in his life so he can cater to her every whim and spoil her rotten with attention.
How is this woman an actual grown up?
It’s like she’s a selfish seventeen-year-old trapped in the body of a thirty-eight-year-old woman.
Even though I’m only twenty-one, I feel lightyears more mature.
It’s sad.
Worse, I don’t think there’s anything I can do or say that will make a difference.
It’s like screaming into the wind. And I’m smart enough to recognize that and save my breath.
Lola drops off our entrees before asking if either of us need anything else. I paste a smile on my face and shake my head. This lunch is going about as well as I imagined. Everything I was concerned about has now come to fruition.