Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
But Mom gives her another welcoming smile.
“It’s our pleasure to have you here. I know it’s a lot, being engaged to my son.” She throws me a playful look.
Fuck this.
It’s all a show.
Mom and I have never been close enough to be playful. But I guess they’ve decided today must be all about making them look like the perfect parents. For Elvira Blackthorn, appearances are as supreme as famous, expensive labels.
Christ, where is that drink?
“What’s for dinner?” I ask, gesturing forward impatiently.
“Oh, yes. Right this way.” Mom beckons with one hand decked out in shining rings. Her hair is freshly dyed, a shade of ash blonde that’s too light. “We brought in a sushi chef, Hattie, so I hope you’re hungry. He’s very impressive, thirty years between Kyoto, Honolulu, and Seattle working his trade.”
Of course he did.
And of course they fucking did.
It would’ve been too much to expect them to cook or serve up something simple.
I don’t think Mom knows how to boil pasta. Gramps made her take a few lessons when she was a kid, apparently, but now if the food isn’t prepared by a culinary wonder, it doesn’t live in this house.
The entitlement shouldn’t piss me off as much as it does.
It’s always been this way.
Before we can settle in, though, there’s a distant tap at the door and a trilled “yoo-hoo” that makes my blood run cold.
Hattie stiffens beside me, absolute horror etched on her face as she slowly turns.
“Oh no,” she whispers like she’s been gutted.
Mom gives us a puzzled glance. “Do we have more company? I wasn’t aware you were bringing another guest, Ethan.”
Neither was I.
Not until Julia Sage lets herself in without invitation and rushes into the dining room, smiling at us.
She’s gone for a modern casual look today, baggy green suit pants and an off-white blouse that makes her look like she’s turning up for an interview at a California tech company.
“Hattie, darling!” she says, pushing her huge sunglasses up onto her forehead.
Hattie’s sigh sounds more like gagging.
“I’m so sorry for the surprise, guys. But you both know my mom—” she explains as Julia walks around the place like she owns it. The sight of her brings back memories of the green sludge.
I don’t know how I kept that vile potion down.
“Elvira Blackthorn! Oh my God, it must be—what?—ten years?” Julia makes a beeline for Mom, who just looks confused. “The other day when Hattie mentioned she was coming down here to see her new in-laws, I knew it was the perfect chance for us to all come together and reconnect!”
Hattie’s eyes flutter shut, pained.
Who the hell can blame her?
Mom pats Julia lightly on the back and smoothly disengages with a split-second annoyed grimace. A move I’ve seen countless times.
She even used it on me as a moody kid a few times to gracefully wiggle out of having to be a parent.
“Nice to see you again, Julia. Welcome to our lovely home,” she says.
“So lovely,” Julia gushes, so sickly sweet it makes my teeth ache.
Hattie winces like she has the same reaction, and I nudge her with my arm.
“Did you know she was coming? A warning would’ve been nice,” I mutter as Mom leads the rest of the way into the dining room, which is already set and ready.
Large windows overlook the green gardens and the glinting sea beyond. When you reach this level of money, you start to measure your wealth in landscaping fees, but it shows.
This view is almost as close to paradise as you’re going to get.
“I might’ve accidentally mentioned it to her,” Hattie confesses miserably, taking my arm and digging her fingers in. “But I didn’t think she’d actually come. We flew. I never even dropped the address.”
“Damn, she’s one of those people, then. Why did you bring it up at all?”
“She found out we were engaged and—yeah. Pretty unavoidable when people have been writing about us online. Mom loves the gossip mills and when she found out, she dropped in on me at work. Right before you did, actually.”
“Ah.” It makes sense now. “That’s why you were so worked up.”
“What? No.” She glowers at me, smoky eyelashes framing those green eyes as they spark with irritation. “I was worked up because you were being ridiculous. You still need to talk to Mr. Sneed and take it back.”
“Too late, he’s been paid. So your mother came to the bookstore and what?” I pull out her chair and let her sit.
She looks like she’s scared one wrong move will ruin this whole thing.
With her mom talking the ear off of mine, though, it doesn’t look like there’s any way I’ll make her relax anytime soon.
“She just bombarded me with a bunch of questions. I didn’t know how to answer anything. I’m not a great liar, Ethan.” She looks down at her lap, smoothing a wrinkle in her skirt. “Then I got flustered because—what am I supposed to tell her? I let it slip that I was meeting your parents, and now we’re here.”