Existing.
Belonging.
And it felt weirdly good.
The door behind the bar swung open, and Mom stepped out like she owned the place.
She had her hair pulled up, sunglasses perched on top of her head even though we were inside, and a coffee in her hand like it was an accessory.
I sat up a little straighter without meaning to.
Mom’s gaze swept the room, landed on me, and softened.
She walked right over, weaving through bodies, then stopped in front of me with that look, the one that said she was my mom first and everything else second.
“Hello, Mom,” I said.
“Hello, sweet daughter,” she replied, her voice sugary in a way that made me immediately suspicious.
I narrowed my eyes.“What?”
She smiled like she hadn’t heard me.“I didn’t know you were coming out today.”
I hesitated.“Is that okay?”
Mom laughed, loud enough that a couple of the girls glanced over.“Honey, I think you are past the age of asking me if it’s okay to do something.”
I huffed.“Still.I just—”
She nodded toward the camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling with its little red light blinking like it was listening.
“Pretty sure the camera would agree,” she said.
“Oh God,” I groaned, dropping my face into my hands.“How did I forget about the cameras?The kiss!”
Mom laughed again, and I peeked at her through my fingers.
“Because you’re supposed to,” she said.“That’s the whole point.When you step into the Fallen Lords world, you forget about the cameras so we can get it all on film.”
“That is… not comforting,” I muttered.
She sat down beside me on the couch like she had nowhere else to be.“It’s fine.You’ll get used to it.”
I swallowed, suddenly nervous in a way that was very stupid considering I had been jumped by grown men and lived.
But this felt scarier.
I leaned closer to her and lowered my voice.“I kissed him,” as if she hadn’t witnessed it in HD.
It came out small.Like a confession.Like I was six years old and admitting I’d stolen a cookie.
Mom stared at me for half a second, then she let out a loud laugh that made multiple heads turn.
“I know, doll,” she said, still laughing.“The whole world is going to know, too.”
My stomach dipped.
The club knowing was one thing.The ol’ ladies teasing me was manageable.Cole’s smirk when he walked into church like he’d just won something?Infuriating but… kind of hot.
