When we first moved in with my stepfather, I was eight, and I thought he was an okay guy. My mother divorced my father shortly after my sixth birthday, and she moved us back to Manhattan, leaving my father on the farm.
I got regular visits from my real father, but after he passed away, only a few months after we moved in with Barry, it was like Barry tried to take his place. It only made our relationship stranger, as I kept him and my mother at a distance. I was angry at her for choosing Barry over my father. I was angry that my father had left me, even though it wasn't by his choice, but that was how it felt after he had a farming accident.
Everything moved so quickly, and from then on, I couldn’t pretend to be the perfect daughter, which got me into a lot oftrouble with my mother, who only ever wants to make Barry’s life easier.
“Of course, he’s worried. We both are. I came because I wanted to see you. I also received a call from your agent.”
I glare up at the ceiling. Well, fuck. “How did Janet even get your number?”
“I’ll have you know that Janet and I have met a few times at your events and are friends now, and she’s worried just like I am. She said you haven’t spoken to her since the incident, so I wanted to see if there’s something I can do to help.”
I bite so hard on the inside of my cheek, I can taste blood.
It’s ironic that the harder I pray for silence and isolation, the more it would appear everyone is banding against me. I don’t want to be helped, nor do I want to be saved.
“I just want to be alone. Don’t worry about my work. I’m fine.” I take another puff of the cigarette.
“You don’t look fine, darling,” she says with a wobble in her tone, and it unnerves me. I don’t like hurting her.
The second bedroom door opens, and Dante walks out, mouth open wide on a yawn, and naked as the day he was born.
My gaze trails down his abs and straight to his cock, and my mother literally grabs for the pearls around her throat.
“Oh, I didn’t know we had a guest,” he says, still groggy from sleep.
“Yeah, and my mother doesn’t need to see your cock,” I grumble.
Realization dawns on Dante's face, and I roll my eyes as the arrogant asshole grabs for the first cushion to cover his cock before he holds out his hand to my mother.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Lutton.”
“Granger,” she corrects, sounding almost hypnotized.
“Not the same last name as your daughter?”
“Oh, no, she has her father’s last name.”
“Mom,” I grit, and pin Dante with a lethal glare.
He’s smirking as he steps toward the bathroom. “Romi Lutton is a lovely name. It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Granger. I need to get ready for work.”
I crush out the cigarette, then stomp over and shove him into the bathroom. He’s laughing as I slam the door, and when I turn, my mother diverts her gaze, as if she weren’t staring at his ass.
“I won’t tell Barry about this if you don’t tell anyone else about this,” I say quickly.
She looks abashed. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Mom, you literally clutched your pearls.”
Her bottom lip quivers, and we both break into light laughter, and it shifts something ever so slightly in me. Laughing now feels foreign.
“Should I be curious about this delicious man in your apartment?”
I usher her to the entryway. “No, Mother, he’s my new roommate.”
“New roommate?”
I gently push her out the door and press a kiss to her cheek. “Please, give me time with this. I don’t want to fight with you.”
