Sighing, I close my eyes for a second. “Look, I’ve been trying really hard to be patient about this whole thing, but in case you haven’t noticed, the world doesn’t revolve around Amber. I have an entire life of my own with important grown-up problems to deal with. There are over three hundred guests booked in right now who are relying on me to be on top of their every want, and when I go home, I have a young daughter who needs me, bills to pay, a home that needs to be looked after, and exams to prepare for.”
“Oh God, I know, Brianna.Everybodyknows about your bar exams, because it’s the only thing you ever talk about. Poor me, I have to raise a child, and work, and study all the time so I can be a fancy lawyer!”
“In case you weren’t aware, I’m not doing it to upset you. I’m doing it because I have aspirations, which most parents would be proud of, actually.” I turn and stalk away from her toward the lobby, then spin back because I’m not done yet. My voice rises out of my chest as my indignant rage builds. “But not you, because the only thing I could do that would be remotely impressive to you is to find some man to take care of me! Well, sorry, but I’m not going to do that, Mum. I’m going to look after myself, thank you very much.”
She rushes to me with an urgent expression. “You’re making a scene,” she hisses.
I’m just about to tell her I don’t give a good god damn when there’s a tap on my shoulder. I turn to see Mr. Bianchi is standing far too close to my left side. “Scusami,” he says. “I make check on butterflies. You use enough ice,si? But not too much.”
I close my eyes for a brief second, then open them and force a smile. “The butterflies are all taken care of, sir, but if you’d like to see them for yourself, I can take you to them in just a moment.”
He smiles at my mother. “Is this your mamma?”
“Yes, she is. If you can—”
“Same eyes,” he says, grinning back and forth between us. Then he points to my chest. “You got…bigger ones though. Is lucky.”
My mother and I both narrow our eyes at him, and I’m pretty sure the two of us could give his wife a run for her money in death glares.
His smile disappears. “I go wait at desk.”
“Brilliant,” I say. Turning back to my mum, I open my mouth, but she interrupts me.
“I’ll let you go so you can take care of the problems that are so much more important than your family, like chilling butterflies.”
“It’s my job, Mum. It’s how I put food on the table for Isabelle. I cater to the whim of every bloody guest that walks into that lobby with their stupid demands. And you know what? I’m bloody good at it, because thanks to you, I’ve had a lifetime of practice at accommodating ridiculous requests.”
“Well, tell me how you really feel, Brianna,” she yells, clearly not caring anymore if we make a scene.
“Sure. Why not?” I raise my voice even louder. “This is how I really feel, Mum. I feel like you and dad have babied the shitake mushrooms out of Amber, and the end result is that she’s grown up to be a completely incompetent, basically useless adult human being without even a hint of ambition or the ability to take responsibility for anything in her life. You want me to feel sorry for someone who has an infection because she decided to get a tattoo at the dodgiest place in the Caribbean? Sorry, but I’m not going stop everything and go hold her hand while she takes antibiotics to get rid of a little boo-boo, okay? I tried to tell her it was a bad idea to get permanent artwork on her body by a guy who calls himself Randy Andy, but she didn’t want to hear it!”I’m yelling now. I should totally stop yelling.“But since Amber’s apparently an adult, there’s really very little I could do to stop her and her idiot friends from making a huge mistake. Now, unlike you, I havean actual preschool-aged child, not to mention three hundred demanding, dumbass guests I need to look after for the next four hours, so if you don’t mind, I’ll get on with it so I can go home and get three hours of sleep before my daughter wakes up needing breakfast!”
“Fine!” she hollers.
“Fine!”
“I will see you at the wedding,” she says dramatically before turning and stalking into the parking lot.
I stand for a moment, watching her, my chest heaving with deep, angry breaths as my brain scrambles to catch up with what just happened. When I turn back to the lobby, I see Leo staring at me, his expression unreadable. Glancing around, I see everyone else, guests and staff alike, are pretending they didn’t hear. A deep sense of shame comes over me for handling myself so poorly, and I’m not sure whether I should chase after my mother to apologize or just get back to work. Seeing Mr. Bianchi sitting on the bench near my desk, I decide the best course of action is to take care of him.
***
Things get busy for the next hour, meaning I go straight from a huge fight into please-everyone mode. By the time the lobby is empty again, I’m so tired, I want to slide down the wall and just sit on the floor until midnight. Leo’s been avoiding me, and I can’t tell if he’s just giving me some space, or if he’s horrified with me. Every time I try to make eye contact, he dodges my gaze, and he’s kept himself busy polishing the brass poles on the carts for the last ten minutes. They’re so shiny, they’re stripper ready.
Glancing at the clock, I see it’s time for my coffee break. I put the sign up on my desk and tell one of the receptionists, Onika, I’m going on break now. She gives me a slight nod, then escapes my gaze as if I’m a rabid dog, and she’s terrified to challenge me. Walking over to Leo, I say, “Break time. Do you want a coffee?”
“You go ahead. I’m going to finish this up first,” he says, rubbing a cloth back and forth on the cart he’s polishing.
“You don’t have to be scared of me,” I say with a grin that says what happened with my mum was no biggie. “I’m not going to yell at you or something.”
“I know,” he answers. When he looks up at me, I see disappointment in his eyes, not fear.
My shoulders slump, and I walk slowly to the breakroom, feeling very much alone. I get myself a coffee, then sit on the couch. I try to have a sip but a lump in my throat stops me from swallowing. I spend the next fifteen minutes listening to the hum of the fluorescent lights and letting tears roll down my cheeks, hoping Leo will walk in and make me feel better. But he doesn’t come in and wrap an arm around me and tell me it’ll be okay and that my mum was being impossible and poor me for having to put up with her. Instead, he stays away, giving me the distinct impression that I’ve somehow offended him, too.
CHAPTER 28
Can You Break Up with Someone If You’re Not Technically Dating?
Leo
