“What is wrong with you?” I yelled. “Can you not takenofor an answer? Let me go, or I swear I’ll call the cops.”
His mouth tightened, then he shrugged. “Go ahead. And I can take no for an answer, but not when it’s something like this that’s hurting you, and you won’t let me explain.”
God, I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear it. Mortification had me wanting to crawl into a hole and never come out. Was it any wonder I never went to any party my mother attended and preferred keeping out of the limelight? She might not care, but I did—I hated the malignant whispers directed at her.
And now here I was trapped when I had work to do—
Oh, shit! My deadline!
At War’s intractable expression and flat stare, it was clear I wouldn’t win this, and with my new job on the line, I had to swallow my pride. Damn him.
“Fine.” I snatched the coffee from the sideboard, grateful it had a sealed lid. “We’ll travel together.” But I didn’t want to talk about anything until I had myself more under control. I couldn’t, not with my emotions flying high.
“Thanks,” he said softly, making me feel like crap.
No, it wasn’t his fault, but how did one rise from the ashes of this mess? It was as if my entire life played on repeat, my mother staining every chance at happiness.
As much as I liked War, every time he looked at me, he’d be reminded of her. My throat constricted painfully, my stomach in a knot.
He opened the front door and waited. I walked out, heading for the elevator.
A while later, after a silent drive, tense with emotions, and as the clouds continued to shield the morning sun, War slowed the Escalade outside my home. I scrambled out of the truck before he came around and helped, banging my knees on the running board for my pains, and sprinted across the street. I could feel his frustration as I opened the side gate and ran up the driveway. Yeah, it made two of us.
Once inside the mausoleum, I shut the door behind me. Since Mother never rose until eleven, I was safe.
Grateful, I was in the opposite wing to hers, I hurried upstairs to my bedroom with its pale green walls and lavish, white Queen Anne style furniture, shutting the door quietly behind me.
From my walk-in closet, I got out my duffle and a suitcase and left them on the bed, tossing clothes and whatever else I required into them. Last, I got my laptop and the rest of the devices I needed to start my work for Cooper and shoved them in my backpack, along with three of my go-to romance books.
With another quick check, ensuring I didn’t leave anything behind, I hooked my backpack over my shoulders, picked up my duffle and suitcase, and walked out.
As I ran downstairs, my mother’s light footsteps echoed. I bit back a frustrated groan.
“Charlotte, you’re leaving?” Concern laced her voice.
My mouth pressed in a tight line, I pivoted and finally faced the woman who never seemed to understand how much hurt and embarrassment she caused me through the years.
Mother strolled toward me, a green smoothie in a tall glass in hand. Wearing a pale pink dressing gown belted at her narrow waist, she looked too young to be anyone’s mother. At forty-seven, my mother appeared in her early thirties. She preferred saying it was good genes. Yeah, a little Botox helped a lot. With her petite build and softly waved blonde hair framing her delicate features, she was stunning, and that was why men fell all over themselves for her.
“Why shouldn’t I, Mother?” I asked, struggling not to let my anger and disappointment show. “Besides, three’s company, didn’t you know that?”
“But you just got back from Germany, Charlotte, and I missed you.”
I shook my head, didn’t want to get into another argument with her, but the hurt roiling inside me broke free. “You said you wouldn’t do this again, jump into another marriage. You promised! The gossips would have a field day with this, and the tabloids, too!”
Her expression hardened. “Let them. I love Matteo. He gets me.”
“You just met him on a two-week cruise!”
“It was love at first sight.”
“What about Giles,” I demanded. “The last husband youlovedwith all your heart until he suddenly became too boring?”
Her mouth thinned in irritation. “Fine. You might as well know. I caught him with the maid. Since I had an iron-clad prenup, he wasn’t going to get away with it.”
“Mother, there is no perfect man. Given the opportunity, they will cheat.”
She shrugged a slender shoulder and took a sip of her smoothie. “Then I get their money.”
