Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I teased him with, “Maybe you’re jealous,” which earned me a scowl.
Romy returned to the kitchen a minute later, and as he grabbed some silverware he said, “You should really make the time to talk to Ford, bro. I know you’re with Jack now, but there’s no reason you and your ex can’t be friends.”
There was every reason we couldn’t be friends, starting with the fact that we were completely toxic together. But I didn’t want to get into that right now, so I told him I’d think about it.
As soon as we all sat down at the table, my mother flashed me a hopeful smile and asked, “So, where did you and Jack meet?”
I answered truthfully. “In a bar.” Then I redirected the conversation with, “What’s new with you, Mom? You’ve been so busy the last couple of times I’ve called that we’ve barely had a chance to catch up.”
Romy answered for her. “She’s dating someone. His name’s Chet, and he’s really nice.”
My first thought was oh no, because this never ended well. But I said, “Oh yeah? Tell me about him.”
Over lunch, I discovered that Chet was forty-eight (so, fifteen years younger than my mom, not that I was judging…much), an artist (red flag—that usually was a code word for unemployed), and divorced. When I pressed, I discovered he’d actually been divorced three times. Fucking hell.
“Please be careful,” I told her. “I know you have a tendency to jump in with both feet, and I really don’t want you to get hurt.” She actually sighed at that, as if her track record proved me wrong somehow.
Toward the end of the meal, I brought up a topic I knew would go over like a lead balloon. I chose my words carefully as I turned to my mom and said, “Even though the bar’s going to be put back together by this afternoon, I’d feel a lot better if it remained closed for a few days—just until I get this situation under control.”
“I can’t do that,” she said. “My regulars depend on me. For some of them, it’s all they have, and they count on me to be there. I can’t turn my back on them.”
“But if it’s not safe for you—”
“It is, though,” she insisted. “You have people watching the place, and like I said, that Greco fellow already sent his message. Why would he do it again?”
“I don’t know. Nothing he does is predictable.”
“Also, those men didn’t target me or any of my customers. They just broke stuff. If they actually wanted to hurt me, they could have done that easily, but it wasn’t their objective,” she said.
That wasn’t reassuring. I tried a few more arguments, but of course it ended exactly like I’d thought it would—with my mom digging in her heels and being stubborn. Finally, I just had to let it go, and trust that my teams of armed guards would keep her safe.
After we ate, I took out my tablet and showed Mom the table and chairs I’d selected. She browsed through the entire selection before finally settling on the style I’d picked out. As I placed an order and added rush delivery, Jack’s phone buzzed. He took it from his jacket pocket and glanced at the screen before telling us, “It’s my best friend, Wyatt. Please excuse me while I message him back.”
He got up and went into the living room, and as soon as he was out of earshot Romy whispered, “Why didn’t you tell us you’re dating someone? Jack is absolutely gorgeous! And I’m sorry about inviting Ford over. I had no idea you were bringing your new boyfriend to meet us.”
“I don’t know what Jack is to me at this point, but he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Yet,” my mom whispered. “You brought him with you from California, so he obviously means something to you.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Isn’t it always,” Romy murmured, before finishing the last of his iced tea. Then he added, “I like Jack. He doesn’t say much, but the way he looks at you is really sweet.”
“How does he look at me?”
“Like you fascinate him.”
I thought about that before asking, “Is that how Ford used to look at me?”
“No. He usually seemed like he was irritated.” That was from my mom, and it sounded about right. She added, “Now he seems like he’s full of regret.”
“He still cares about you,” Romy said. “When I walked him to the door, he had a million questions about you and Jack. He wouldn’t ask if you didn’t matter to him. But just to be clear, I’m not telling you this because I think you two should get back together. You were pretty terrible as a couple. That doesn’t mean you can’t be friends, though.”
“Maybe, but Ford’s way down at the bottom of the list of things I need to worry about right now.”