Page 169 of My Real Love Affair

“There’s our girl!” my dad boomed. He had one of those voices that carried, even through video. “We thought you’d forgotten about us!”

“Never. You guys were just off the grid, living your best life.”

“Damn right we were,” my mom said. “But we’re back in civilization now, and the first thing we see is you all over the internet with that Bancroft kid. What the heck is going on in New York?”

I wasn’t going to correct them and remind them Austin wasn’t exactly a kid. But I was their kid and anyone I dated or was friends with was also kid.

I felt my cheeks heat. “It’s complicated.”

I launched into the story, starting with the moment Austin and I officially decided to give us a real shot. I told them about the private dinners on the yacht, the way he’d photographed me without me realizing. They had already suspected he was the mystery photographer.

My mom’s eyes softened as I spoke. “You’re glowing, sweetheart. Even through this screen, I can see it.”

“Iwasglowing,” I muttered.

“What happened?” my dad asked, his protective instincts clearly activating.

I told them about the dinner I had made. And the conversation that had sent my carefully constructed future spinning off its axis.

“Those Bancrofts are intense. All that money and power.” Mom leaned closer to the camera. “And how do I get some?”

My dad snorted, running his fingers over his balding head. “No Bancroft can compete with this. Pure magnetism right here.”

I burst out laughing. God, I needed this. Needed their ridiculous humor and their unconditional love and their ability to make everything feel less heavy.

“I’ve missed you guys so much.”

“We missed you too, sweetie,” my mom said, her expression softening. “Now, what are we going to do about your boyfriend?”

“I don’t know.” I took a breath. “I care about Austin. Really care about him. There was potential. Real potential.”

“But?” my dad prompted gently.

“We just want different things out of life,” I said.

“So you’re worried you’re wasting time with someone who can’t give you what you want,” my dad said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. Exactly. What if I stay with him, fall even more in love, and four years from now realize I’m no closer to the life I want?” I felt tears pricking my eyes. “I’m afraid of getting in too deepand losing myself. Losing the future I’ve always imagined. I can hear my biological clock pounding in my head. I can’t really afford to waste time.”

My dad nodded slowly. “That’s wise thinking. Protecting your heart and your future.”

“But also it might be premature,” my mom added.

“Mom, what if I spend time with Austin, and yeah, we have a great time, but he’s not my Mr. Right? I could be walking right by my destiny because I’m caught up with him. One day Austin will get bored. I might get bored. I don’t think I’m ever going to change so much that I don’t want a house with a white-picket fence and all of that. I just don’t see how this ends well for anyone.”

“I didn’t want kids either,” Mom blurted out.

I stared at her. “What?”

“It’s true. Your father wanted them, but I didn’t.” She shrugged as if she wasn’t just telling her daughter she never wanted her.

“Mom, that’s—” I didn’t even know what to say. I would have been hurt and offended, but I knew my mother loved me. At least I thought she did.

“I never had a maternal bone in my body. The thought of being a mother terrified me. I saw it as sacrificing a huge part of my life. Giving up my freedom, my body, and my identity. I saw it as a burden.”

I blinked and tried to find the right words. She had blindsided me. In a big way. “I had no idea.”

“Because you weren’t supposed to know. Because by the time you were old enough to understand, I had changed completely.” She smiled, her eyes getting that soft look they always got when she talked about me. “I remember the first time I felt that flutter in my belly and I was immediately in love.”