Was Chrys right? Have I been looking for excuses, never fully committing? I haven’t even told my mother about our engagement.
I lowered my phone, suddenly aware of how fast my heart was racing. I had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but for the firsttime since being kicked out of her car, I felt like I was playing my own game instead of Kat’s.
I pulled up Chrys’s name in my messages.
I saw the sonogram
I deleted it.
How could you lie to me?
Deleted.
I’m sorry I doubted you
Deleted.
Nothing I typed made sense. I was mad, hurt, confused and still so in love it made me want to scream into a pillow.
I went to my mother’s contact. Deanna White would know what to say. She always did. But what would I tell her?
That I’ve been engaged for weeks without mentioning it? That the man I loved might be having a baby with someone else? That I wasn’t sure I was strong enough for this world of wealth, drama and public scrutiny?
I set the phone down without calling.
Zeus shifted, pushing his body closer to mine. At least I wasn’t completely alone.
My mother had protected me all my life, and when I’d started college, Tammy had taken on that role. But with Chrys, everythingwas always unpredictable. Passionate. Consuming. And right now, I was drowning in it all.
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. I ignored it, curling tighter against Zeus. Whoever it was would get the hint, eventually.
The knocking persisted. “Tia?” Kayla’s voice came through the door. “I think your mother is at the gate.”
I bolted upright. “What?”
I rushed to unlock the door, finding Kayla standing there. She grabbed my arm, pulling me through the hallway.
“My mom? That’s impossible,” I stammered as she hurried me along. “She’s in Montrose.”
“The security guard called. Someone’s raising hell at the gate, claiming she’s your mother,” Kayla whispered as we rushed down the corridor. “She threatened to call the police if they didn’t let her in.”
We emerged onto the front steps where Dimitrios, Irida, and Domna were already gathered in the silvery moonlight, all in various states of dishevelment. Domna’s gray hair was wrapped in pink rollers, while Dimitrios had hastily thrown a burgundy silk robe over his pajamas.
“What’s happening?” I asked, but my question died as headlights swept across the driveway, illuminating the trees.
A car screeched to a halt, the door flying open before the vehicle had fully stopped. And there, to my complete shock, was my mother.
She stepped out in black sweats and running shoes, her hair tied back in a low bun. She had thatI’m about to catch a caseface I knew all too well.
“Where the hell is my daughter?” she shouted, as she scanned the assembled family.
I froze on the steps, utterly stunned. My mother was in Greece. I’d spoken to her this morning, and she’d mentioned nothing about coming here.
“If anyone in this house has laid a finger on my baby, I will murk everyone in this motherfucker!” Her voice carried across the entire property. “Don’t think I won’t!”
Irida gasped and clutched her robe closer. I heard Domna mutter appreciatively, “I like her.”
My mother approached the group, ignoring her still-running car. “Tia!” she called, her voice cracking slightly. “Mommy’s here! You can come out. Nobody will hurt you!”
