Chapter Twenty-Seven
I woke up with an awful crick in my neck from sleeping on the couch. I’d been right. Mom made herself comfortable in my bed, and judging by the empty wine bottle on my nightstand, there was no getting her up last night. Sleep was probably good for her, anyway. I sat up and rubbed my neck. I was going to take a long, hot bath, then I was going to get to the bottom of what was going on with my dad.
Mom was sitting on the edge of my bed in her classic muumuu, rubbing her head when I creeped in.
“Morning. I have some coffee brewing downstairs.”
“Is it organic?”
“Sure. . .” I had no idea.
She ran a hand through her spiky hair. “How’s the house?”
“I thought you didn’t care.” I grinned.
“It’s too early for back talk.” Mom encouraged some growing up; she didn’t want to stifle me. Dad wasn’t all that fond of it.
I sat next to her on the bed. “I called a restoration service, so it’s better. It’s going to take three to five days for everything to dry out and before repairs to the ceiling and your bathroom can really begin. I also left a message for your insurance agent.”
“This isn’t your problem, honey.”
“Of course it is; I’m your daughter. And you’re sleeping in my bed.” I tried to keep it on the lighter side.
She laughed but rested her head on my shoulder. “I don’t know what to do with him anymore.”
I patted her head. “We’ll figure it out together.” I felt more like the mom now.
“I love you, Katie.” She sniffled.
“I love you, too. Do you want to take a shower first?”
“You go ahead, honey. I need to commune with my crystals.”
“You have fun with that.” I was going to become one with my jetted tub and some music.
I slid into the hot water while the soulful tones of Billie Holiday singing Body and Soul filled my bathroom. I tried to clear my head, but all I could think of was Nick, giving myself over to him body and soul. I slipped my head underwater trying to drown out thoughts of him and my parents. My life felt suddenly out of control. Controlled environments were safe, albeit sterile.
I came up out of the water and ran my hands over my face, trying to wipe away the water and thoughts of Nick. He was completely off limits. Not only was it my job to find him a match, but there were rules against me dating him—the company’s and my own. He was a young adult fantasy, that was all.
I hoped Chanel knocked his socks off and he was rethinking being in a short-term relationship. I didn’t think it would take much to convince her to change her mind by the way she was jumping up and down when she came in to sign the NDA. Maybe after the game ended he took her out for drinks and they stayed up all night talking or doing . . . other things that were none of my business and shouldn’t be making me feel even an ounce of envy. I had to work through it like the book said. Live it in my head and never act on it.
I stayed in the tub until the water went tepid. It was long enough for my neck and back to relax. I had a feeling the knots would be back while I figured out what was going on with my dad and how to get my parents back together. Unless he was having an affair. I felt ill thinking about it. And I didn’t want to suggest it to my mom until I knew for sure. She would have said something, though, if she’d been suspicious, right? Mom wasn’t the kind of person to sweep things under the rug.
I threw on some cutoffs and an old college tee. I planned on going over to my parents’ house to talk to Dad some more and clean up some of his other messes. Mom was right; the house resembled a demolition zone. I wouldn’t want to live there right now either. But she couldn’t stay with me forever. I loved her, but I knew after a while she would drive me crazy, along with any potential suitors I would probably never have anyway, but one could hope.
My hopes faded even more when I turned off my tunes and the fan in my bathroom once I was ready for the day, meaning my hair was pulled up and I had some mascara on. At first I heard Mom’s voice. That didn’t concern me too much. She was talking to her crystals. It was a little, or a lot, weird, but that was her. The real problem was when they talked back in a deep, masculine voice that wasn’t my father’s.
I rushed out of my room and listened for a moment trying to figure out who she’d let in the house.
My worst fears came to light.
“Did you know she kept a poster of you above her bed in college?”
Oh. My. Gosh. I ran down the stairs, but not fast enough.
“Really?” His silky tones rang through my house.
Mom cackled. “Oh, yes. She was so in love with you. She used to write Kate Wells on everything. I bet I saved a couple of her notebooks with yours and her name plastered all over them in hearts.”
I came to a screeching halt at the bottom of the stairs. There they were sitting at my breakfast bar, drinking coffee. Nick wore the most arrogant grin in the history of smiles, and my mom sat there like she was talking to a girlfriend, pouring cream in his coffee.
“Mom!”
Both heads turned my way. Nick’s eyes said I knew it.
“Speak of the devil.” Mom placed her hand on Nick’s arm. “Really she’s an angel.”
“I can see that.” Nick’s eyes roved over me.
Mom’s head bounced between the two of us, her eyes and smile widening with each turn. “Just as I suspected. Your auras are calling to each other.”
“Mom,” my voice warned.
She blew that warning right off and squeezed Nick’s arm. “Katie, here, has a mostly pink aura, which means she’s a romantic and searching for her soulmate. She won’t admit it, but don’t let her fool you. She loves to be loved and to give it in all aspects of her life.”
“MOM!”
She ignored me. Nick did too; he was captivated by what my mother had to say.
“And you,” she waved her hand over and over Nick, “have the rare gold aura, which makes you a generous lover and perfect for pink. You enjoy being the center of attention, but you can make a woman feel like she’s the center of your universe. And you know what you want, don’t you?”
“That’s enough.” I headed toward the kitchen. “I’m sure Nick has better things to do today than listen to some made-up wives’ tales.”
“Uh,” she tsked, affronted by the insinuation. “This is science, and anyone can see the connection between the two of you.”
I cleared my throat rather loudly. “Mom, we have a professional relationship and Nick is dating someone.”
“No, I’m not,” Nick interjected.
“Yes, you are.”
“I would think I would know if I was dating someone.”
“You’re dating Chanel.” I was getting more frustrated by the second.
He gave my mom one of his elusive smiles. “We went out once.”
“And you’ll go out again.”
“I don’t think so.”
Every part of my body sank. “Why?” He needed to like her for my own mental well-being.
“We’ll talk about it later.”
Mom with her ridiculous Cheshire grin stood up. “I think I’ve done my job here. I’m going to go get ready. You two obviously need to talk.”
“No, we don’t. You can stay. I’ll make us some breakfast,” I offered, okay, pleaded.
“No. No.” She patronizingly pinched my cheek. “I would hate to intrude.”
She was well past that.
Nick stood up. “It was nice to meet you, Stella.”
Her eyes drifted over him adoringly. “The pleasure was most certainly all mine. But I have a feeling it won’t be the last time we meet.”
“I hope not,” Nick replied.
Okay, maybe it was time for her to go. “You can use my bathroom, Mom.” I gave her a little push.
She flitted away like she was Doris Day until she made it to the stairs and turned around. I swore her leg popped. “One more thing, Nick, do you wear boxers or briefs?”
I was dying. Literally dying inside. “Goodbye, Mom.”
“Honey, we need to know these things. You aren’t getting any younger, and it’s important to know about any fertility issues up-front.” She zeroed in on Nick, expecting an answer to the very private question.
I was never getting married. No man wanted this. Besides, I would never be able to show my face in public after this.
Nick smirked at me before turning toward my mom. “I’ve got plenty of healthy swimmers left, Stella.”
I couldn’t believe he said that. And why were men so proud of that achievement? And how did he know that?
You know, I didn’t want to know.
Mom looked ever so pleased. “You look like a virile man, but it’s good to check.”
Words I never needed to hear my mom say in my presence—virile or generous lover.
As soon as Nick left, she and I were having a serious talk about boundaries.
She floated up the stairs, leaving me with the large can of worms she opened and a man who couldn’t wait to dangle the slimy things in my face.
Nick folded his arms. “Kate. Kate. Kate. My biggest fan.”
I narrowed my eyes until I realized he was in tight faded blue jeans with a white tee, my favorite look on a man. And the way he filled them out was a sight to behold. His cocky attitude, however, helped keep me properly disgruntled.
“Believe me, I’m not. You’ll never see me with a tattoo of you on my. . . never mind.”
He pressed his lips together, but his eyes smiled. “I prefer my name all over your notebooks anyway. Kate Wells does have a ring to it.”
I was in hell by the way my cheeks burned. “That was a long time ago, and it was a stage that I outgrew.”
“Right.” He wasn’t buying it.
“What are you doing here, anyway?”
His arrogance was replaced with concern. He tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, making me wish for things I shouldn’t.
“I wanted to see how you are this morning. You sounded upset last night.”
“You could have called.”
“I was in the neighborhood.”
There was either no oxygen left, or my diaphragm and lungs ceased working. “You didn’t have to come.”
“That’s what friends do.”
“Are we friends?” I was finding I so wanted to be, even amongst all my conflicting emotions and rules.
“I’d like to be, but you’re a difficult woman.”
“I know.”
He cocked his beautiful head. “Why is that, Kate?”
I looked up to the ceiling before meeting his eyes. This desire to open up to him welled up inside of me. I had to dial it back.
“I made a big mistake once, and I can’t afford to make the same one twice.”
His eyes bore in, penetrating my core. “Me, either.”