“I did not. And really? You’re telling my mother on me?”
My mother bursts out laughing.
“Oh, I like him,” she says.
Of course she does.
“We really need to go,” I say, grabbing her elbow. “Beckett has real traumas. Not whatever this is.”
He folds his arms. “I can spare another minute.”
I glare at him.
My mother is delighted. “So tell me, Doctor Upstairs, are you single?”
I choke.
Beckett does not.
I spin toward him. “You do not have to answer that.”
Before he has a chance to respond to her interrogation, she asks, “Do you normally catch women in hallways for fun, or is my daughter special?”
He looks straight at me when he answers. “Oh, no, this one is special.”
I feel heat crawl up my neck.
“For God’s sake,” I mutter. “That’s enough. It was good to see you, neighbor. Mother, move your feet.”
Thankfully, my mother finally walks.
“Bye,” he says, just before he looks at me as if to say,What the fuck is wrong with you?“Nice to meet you, Donna.”
“You too, Beckett.”
I don’t say another word. I grab Mom’s arm and practically drag her toward the double doors. I can feel Beckett’s eyes on my back the entire way.
“Don’t even start,” I warn as we step outside.
“Lives upstairs, huh?”
“Yep,” I say, walking faster.
“Is his treadmill the only thing he’s pounding?”
“Mother!” I spin on her, horrified.
“Don’t play the fool with me, Madison Callahan,” she says, unfazed. “I know your tells better than my own. You have that look. The one where you pretend you aren’t bothered, but your heart’s trying to beat its way out of your chest.”
She links her arm through mine.
“You deserve to be happy, baby,” she says quietly.
“Mom, that’s not what this is.”
“No?”
“No. It’s just… a noisy neighbor.”
