His wide grin probably matched the one making my cheeks ache.
“Noted. Sweet dreams, darlin’.”
I flipped the laptop shut and rolled onto my back.
Before he moved to New York, I needed to find a way to stop falling for my fake husband.
14
JULIE
Landon:It couldn’t hurt to try it, right?
Igroaned, scrolling down to the end of Landon’s text withanotherlink to an anti-inflammatory diet plan. His new hobby over the past couple of weeks was to search for superfoods or natural supplements that could possibly combat symptoms from autoimmune diseases. This was better than torturing himself with research on lupus complications, but he was driving us both a little nuts.
Landon didn’t know how to be helpless. He hated the unexpected and wore himself out researching every potential problem because he’d always insist there was an answer somewhere. That was what had gotten him ahead in his career so quickly. Being told no or that something was impossible to him was issuing a challenge.
There was no magic cure, only maintenance. While he was smart enough to know that a cure didn’t exist, it wasn’t in him to sit and do nothing about it. I knew this came out of love and I tried to be patient, but I’d poke him with my fork tonight if he scrutinized every piece of food I put in my mouth.
Me:This is a vegan plan. We’ve been over this. I cut out a lot of dairy already, but after all I’ve been through, I don’t want to lose bacon too.
“Why do you have that face?” my mother said as she sat across from me at my dining room table.
She’d lived around the corner from me in the same house I’d grown up in until a couple of years ago. My stepfather, Sean, had found a condo in an over-fifty retirement community about an hour away in Hudson Valley, New York. When I’d been really sick, she’d stayed here most nights until I’d forced her to go home or asked Sean to pick her up. Even after I began to feel better, she still made the drive once per week tospend the afternoon with meor, really, to check on me.
Watching me get sicker with no cause or cure for those few months had taken a toll on her. I let her fuss over me when she’d visit, even if it meant biting my tongue for half the time she was here.
Sean had managed to convince her to take a vacation to their time-share in Florida three weeks ago, and then I’d started my freelance job. This was the first afternoon we’d both had free for almost a month. The last time I’d seen her was the day before I left for Dean and Maria’s wedding.
And mine.
She’d probably be relieved I had good insurance that I didn’t have to pay for, but I didn’t know how to make her understand the dynamics of my fake marriage since I didn’t quite get it myself.
“Landon keeps sending me anti-inflammatory meal plans and natural remedies, and he’s driving me a little crazy.”
She picked up her mug of tea with a soft smile. “That doesn’t surprise me. He was always a nice kid.”
“He’s not exactly a kid.” I set my phone aside and shot my mother a wry grin. “We’re all almost forty.”
She waved a hand at me. “You’re all kids to me. And don’t be so quick to dismiss natural remedies. I saw something on TV about—”
“Mom, I’m going to stop you right there.” I draped my hand over hers. “I already take enough vitamins and supplements to choke a horse and am trying to eat as healthy as I can. Despite what you see on TV and what Landon finds in the far corners of the web, I’ll stick with what my doctor tells me.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to ask your doctor about the possible benefits of a different diet plan. My friend’s son went vegan—I think that’s the right word—he cut out all meat and dairy, and she said he’s never felt better.”
“He has lupus?” I raised a brow. I had to laugh at her frustrated inhale.
“He has some kind of inflammation…somewhere.”
“That’s all Landon has been sending me. Vegan diets that fight inflammation.” I crossed my arms. “You both fell down the same hippie rabbit hole. You should check in with each other and consolidate your efforts.”
She scowled at my chuckle.
“So, why don’t you at least try it? It can’t hurt.”
“And you both try to sell it the same way.” I turned my phone around to show her the screen.
“You can’t blame us for worrying about you.”
