“Have you considered that your life would be better if you permanently cut her off?” she asked finally.
I managed a wan smile. “More times than you can imagine.”
“And…?”
“And she’s my mother. As much as I would like to be strong and cut her out of my life, I can’t. She’s the only family I have.” I held my hands palms out, frustration spiking. “She’s my mom.”
Sympathy rolled across Hayley’s pretty features. “Fair enough.” She opened the pastry box, grabbed a doughnut, and flopped onto the couch. “So, what are we talking about?”
“Brody and Bree living happily ever after,” Paisley replied, her lips quirking.
“Oh, yay.” Hayley matched Paisley grin for grin. “How are things going there?”
I pretended I hadn’t heard the question and rooted around in the pastry box. Hayley had gotten my usual, a cake doughnut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles, but before I could automatically grab it, I considered my options. Brody kept making me sample food items wherever we went. He didn’t take my comfort entrées away. He just broadened my horizons. Most of the time, I still preferred the food I ordered. A few random times, however, I’d been delighted with the taste test. It made me realize that by being so regimented—which had been necessary for survival when I was a child but no longer needed to be part of the process—I’d missed out on a great many things. On a whim, I grabbed a long john and sat again.
“Well, well, well,” Hayley drawled. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“I’m trying new things,” I replied, not making eye contact.
“Like going on her book launch with Brody.” Paisley gave a gusty giggle. “They’re visiting fifteen cities over the course of a month, and she doesn’t want me to go with her, because she prefers him.”
I pinned her with a warning look. “We talked about this. That is not why.”
“She’s not a girls’ girl,” Paisley whispered conspiratorially to Hayley, knowing it would irritate me.
“She’s always been a ‘pick me’ at heart,” Hayley teased, using the infamous meme line to eviscerate me.
“Ha, ha, ha,” I drawled. “You guys are so funny I can barely stand it.”
Paisley giggled at my discomfort. “I already told you it’s fine. As much as I like the book-launch tours, I’m always exhausted at the end of them. I get why you want to tackle this one alone. It’s not going to be much fun for you if your romantic dates after three-hour plane rides include me and Brody.”
“No, that definitely doesn’t sound fun.” My eyes went to the window as a shadow passed in front of it. “I wish she would just get over it and go,” I muttered. “I can’t tell her to leave, but I’m sick of her.”
Paisley leaned to the side for a better view of the lawn. “She really does look as if she’s losing it.”
“She’ll be fine.” I hoped that was true. “Let’s talk about something else.” I focused on Hayley. “I heard you’re traveling with Nathan on these book-launch things. How do you feel about that?”
She shrugged. “We get along fine.”
That was a very diplomatic response. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” I said. “It’s just… Nathan is notorious for picking up women at every stop. How are you going to entertain yourself if he’s busy balling melons at every turn?”
“Balling melons?” Hayley looked horrified. “I cannot believe you said that.”
“Actually, Brody referred to it that way once. It made me laugh.”
“Brody, huh?” Hayley crossed her legs and regarded me. Her stare was intense… and a little creepy.
“Why are you looking at me that way?” I complained, shifting on my chair. She was making me distinctly uncomfortable.
“You’re in love.” It was a simple, declarative statement, not a question.
“I didn’t say that.” I forced myself to look at the window again. Focusing on my mother was preferable to this conversation.
“No, you are.” Hayley laughed when I squirmed. “It’s okay to admit it.”
She was right—it was okay to admit it. Was I ready to, though? Ultimately, I was. All the fears I’d felt when Brody and I first started hooking up had slowly dissipated over the course of the weeks we’d spent together.
He’d been patient. He’d never pushed me. He always included me in decisions about where we would go and what we would eat, and he never once rolled his eyes when I picked a topic of conversation. He was game for whatever movie I chose to watch on television, and I’d tested him with some of the worst Lifetime movies I knew.
