Adam’s mouth thinned. “I need to talk to you about my brother and his date.”
I waved him off. “We need to get a quick pic for your mom.” I sized up his jacket and then grinned when I correctly guessed which pocket held his phone. I squeezed against his side and he smiled without any prompting from me as I took the photo. “Tell her we’ll keep sending them until we get too drunk to work the phone.”
“Jolene says hi,” Adam intoned as he typed out a quick message and sent the photo.
I laughed. “Already editing me? Aren’t you worried I’ll do irrevocable damage to your reputation by the end of the night?”
“You’re definitely going to do something to my reputation.”
The sun inside me went supernova. I almost glanced down at my skin to make sure it wasn’t glowing. I grabbed my coat. “Adam, are you trying to say you like my dress?”
“I’m actually afraid to touch you right now.”
“Okay, now I am the one blushing.” I could feel my face heating and it was nothing compared to what I felt inside. He was way too smooth with the compliments, and he wasn’t even trying to be smooth.
“But seriously, about Jer—”
“Jolene! I found them!” Mom came running down the stairs, breathless but triumphant, with her fist held in the air. She brushed past Adam and, taking me by the shoulders, spun me to face the hall mirror. A second later she draped a delicate string of pearls across my collarbone and fastened the necklace. “There. You’re perfect.”
My fingers rose to caress the pearls. They were lovely and made me look too sweet, but I said thank you because she was smiling, something she hadn’t done since I’d mentioned Adam and the winter formal.
She’d kept up the silent treatment until about an hour earlier when Tom had shown up, and then she’d thrown herself into the role of fretful mother sending her daughter off to her first dance.
I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t real, because it felt nice to have her fussing over my hair, invisible wrinkles in my dress, and her last-minute quest to find the necklace she’d worn to her prom.
She’d gone into a panic over locating it for me, like it was some symbol of mother-daughter bonding for us both to wear the necklace. Or that was what I’d thought until I realized it was Tom’s reaction she was looking for instead of mine. It was the first time that he’d been by in a week, and she wasn’t going to waste it.
She’d angled her body as she stood behind me so that he could see her face as she lifted it to catch the light. It was all soStepford Wives, and not the original one either, the crummy remake that Nicole Kidman was wasted in. If I’d had more time, I’d have looked for a control panel to switch her off.
“Lovely,” Tom said, joining us in the foyer and sliding an arm around Mom’s waist. “I can’t decide who’s prettier.”
“Jolene,” Mom-bot said, her computer programing releasing enough fluid to add an alluring shine to her eyes when she looked at me. “She’s a vision.” She kissed both my cheeks, leaving lipsticks smears that I’d have to rub off, before turning to Adam. “Jolene, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Mom, this is Adam Moynihan. Adam, this is my mom and her boyfriend, Tom.”
I couldn’t tell what Adam was making of my mother. She was on her best behavior. It was a show she was putting on for Tom, but I didn’t care about her motive so long as she stayed that way until we left.
Adam nodded to Tom before extending his hand to my mom. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Timber. Your home is lovely.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you, as well. Jolene has told me so much about you. Please call me Helen.”
I hadn’t told her squat about Adam, but I was too grateful for this moment of normalcy, however artificial, to contradict her. And really, what would be the point?
They schmoozed for approximately thirty seconds before Jeremy laid on the horn again, this time without any indication that he planned to stop.
Mom-bot surprised me again by responding with laughter when Adam apologized for his brother. “Must be eager to start dancing with his own date. I won’t keep you, but I do want one quick photo.” She held up a finger and dashed into the other room for her phone.
Our smiles were strained because Jeremy honked the entire time, but he did give us the excuse to leave the second the photo was taken. Mom-bot’s parting words that Adam take care of her baby followed us out.
The horn didn’t stop until Adam was opening the back door of the car, by which time he was redder than I’d ever seen him, not from embarrassment either. He didn’t say anything as he closed my door, then walked around to the driver’s side and opened Jeremy’s.
“If her mom wasn’t watching us right now, I’d knock your teeth out.” Then he slammed the door and slid in next to me. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Got us out of the house quicker.”
“You,” Jeremy said, turning around to face me, “are welcome.”
“And you,” I replied, “are a tool.” Then I noticed his date in the front seat and apologized.
