“Whatever, Mom, you know nothing about maintaining a course load, okay?”
Usually Ella could shrug off the barbs that Madison made while she was in this mood, but today, they stung.
“Has the offer expired?”Ella gripped her mug as she asked it.
“No, but the clock is running down on it.”
“I think we should talk it over with Dad again, okay?Call us tonight.”
The silence on the other end of the phone went on for so long she was sure Madison had hung up.
“Fine.But I can just sign it on my own, you know.”
Ella bit the inside of her lip.
She had kind of expected Madison to do that before now.
Madison didn’t need her parents’ permission to drop out of school or sign a contract.
Part of her wanted Madison to be gutsy enough to go for it on her own.
“You could,” Ella said.“And we’ll support you.I can’t promise Dad won’t be mad about it, but we love you.”
“Love you too.Thanks, Mom.”
Ella hung up, wondering if Madison had taken that for permission and if Zee would take it out on her.
But she’d deal with that later.
She didn’t want her daughter to end up regretting her choice.
But what did she know?Her daughter was right; she only had a high school education.
She never even held a job, going from working her parents’ farm, to helping them out at their market stall, to being Zee’s wife, where she raised their daughters while making Halloween costumes for everyone.
When he retired, she handled his guest speaking bookings, made corsets with proceeds going to the foundation, sat on charity boards and did volunteer work.
Ella didn’t regret her life.
But she wondered, if she could go back in time, what would she have done?
She glanced at the corsets on her mannequin.
Her friend Sasha worked for a fashion designer, and it sounded stressful.
Ella sighed, sat at the piano and let her hands float over the keys, exhaling the tension from the conversation with her daughter.
She thought of the job offer Annie had shared with her but knew it wasn’t for her and she had a fantastic life.
Giving way to the music cleared her head and she started on a piece by Cramer, forgetting that she actually knew it until the notes rang out.
Ella was so lost in the music, she startled when firm hands clamped down on her shoulders.
“Sorry, Master, I didn’t hear you come in!”
“And again, no greeting at the door, my love?”He nipped her ear, his lips skimming the sensitive flesh of her nape, making her nipples pebble.
“You usually text me,” Ella panted, her voice strained from the bite of pain.
