So, yeah.
Better that she keep them focused on her while she made the call to her parents, and hopefully, after that, maybe some of their energy would have dissipated, and they’d be calmer.Maybe David would even forget.Unlikely, but a girl could dream.
Calling her parents and having a long-distance difficult conversation was definitely easier than having a difficult conversation with the two men in the room with her.So, she picked up her phone and found her mother’s contact info, pressing the call button, which kept the men focused on her rather than on each other.
I will not throw up, I will not throw up, I will not throw up.
“Hello?Audrey?Is everything okay?”
Her mother sounded concerned, which took Audrey aback for a moment.Did she really not call her parents that often that it was cause for concern when she did?
Well… yeah, maybe.Especially lately.It was just easier not to than to have another conversation about how she wasn’t closing her bakery and moving back to Philly.
“Um, hello, Mother.Unfortunately, not really.Cash was just here, and he proposed to me.”
“He did?Oh, that’s wonderful!”Her mother’s gushing tone was genuinely happy, which made Audrey cringe because she knew she was going to have to burst her mother’s bubble now.“We can start planning the wedding immediately!It’ll be difficult, moving and planning at the same time, but I will be there with you every step of the way.”
Well, that sounded awful, and the very idea of having her mother standing over her while she planned a wedding was enough to have Audrey immediately tell her the truth, even though she knew her mother wasn’t going to take it well.
“I told him no, mother.”
There was a long pause, and Audrey glanced up at David.If he was bothered by hearing their mother’s voice after all this time, it didn’t show in his expression.He looked completely blank.
“What do you mean you told him no?”Her mother’s voice had gone from gushing to shrill.“Why would you tell him no?Oh, he botched it, didn’t he?He didn’t get the Cartier ring.”
Seriously, did everyone think she could be bought off by a Cartier ring?Granted, there may have been one wild moment when she’d been sad that she was saying no to her dream ring, but she needed the ring to come with the right man.Cash was not the right man.
“He had the ring, mother.He had a perfect ring.But he’s not the perfect man for me.He cheated on me at one of your parties.And I know you wanted me to forgive him and look the other way, but I can’t.I just can’t.Marriage is not the answer.”
“This is your father’s fault,” her mother said bitterly.“If he could just keep it in his pants, you wouldn’t have such a jaded view of things.Your father sleeping with everything that moves doesn’t mean Cash will.”
“Ask her about the business deal,” Mason murmured into Audrey’s ear, making the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up at attention.
Audrey cleared her throat.
“Mom, is the reason you’re pushing me to marry Cash because of a deal between Dad and Cash’s dad?For the company?”
There was another pause.
“Well, Audrey, you know that in our circles, marriage and business intersect quite often.I won’t deny that it would benefit both of our families immensely if you and Cash were to marry.”
“Even if his family is broke?”
“They’re not broke, they just need to liquidate some assets.Your father and I are more than happy to help Cash and his father out, and they’re grateful for our assistance.”Her mother said all of this airily, but Audrey knew what she meant.A marriage between her and Cash would allow his family to keep their reputation.Everyone would assume they weren’t actually broke, and even if they were, they’d now be bolstered by her family.
They would owe her parents a great deal.
And not all wealth was built on purely money.Having a stable of favors from influential people could be even more lucrative than an actual financial deal.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity, Audrey.Not just for yourself, but for the whole family.We can even fund a bakery here for you in Philadelphia if that’s what you really want.”Her mother’s tone managed to somehow be coaxing and judgmental at the same time.
“I don’t need you to fund a bakery for me in Philly.I have a bakery here that’s doing really well.”
“How well can it be doing when people are throwing bricks through the windows?”
Audrey felt Mason go still beneath her, and suddenly, it felt like bile was building up in the back of her throat.It tasted like acid as her stomach turned over.She blinked rapidly, the sting of tears threatening to fill her eyes.
“Mother, how did you know about the brick?”
