I laugh softly despite myself. “Yes, we’re together.”
Her shriek nearly ruptures my eardrum.
“Mami!”
“I’m sorry, darling,” she squeals. “But after dodging that awful man, I’m just so glad you’re with the one who makes you smile.”
A huge smile spreads across my lips before I can stop it.
“Anyway,” I say, trying to regain control of the conversation, “I’m not ready to deal with the mess I left back in Charlotte yet. We’re taking a couple of days before going back.”
“Of course. Take all the time you need.” Her tone softens. “And don’t worry about your father. He’s handling the Ryans.”
I blink in surprise.
“He hired a new lawyer. Apparently, Easton’s little blackmail scheme is already turning into a legal disaster.” She huffs. “And your father finally showed me everything. The company was never officially lost. It was being used as collateral, but he had already paid everything back.
Relief crashes through me so hard I nearly sit back down.
“And I’m handling everything else. You just focus on resting,” Mami continues. “And let me know when you’re ready to come back. I want all the details.”
“Mami, as much as I love you, there will be absolutely no details shared.”
She whines.
My fifty-something-year-old mother actually whines.
“But sweetheart, now that you finally have a hottie in your life, I need to live vicariously through you. After almost forty years with the same man, things can get monotonous.”
“Ewww. I did not need that visual.”
She cackles loudly.
“I was just playing around. Mostly.” I can hear her grin through the phone. “Enjoy your getaway, Penny Bean. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”
When we hang up, I place Miles’s phone exactly where he left it.
He trusted me enough to hand me his unlocked phone, and I’m not about to become a nosy-rosy snooping through things that don’t concern me.
The moment I stand up, I feel the urge to puke.
My stomach twists violently, and heat rushes through my body as cold sweat beads across my forehead.
“Oh God—”
I barely make it to the toilet before throwing up every bite of mybreakfast.
“Ugh.” I groan weakly once I’m done. “I definitely shouldn’t have eaten that much.”
I stay there for another minute before slowly pushing myself upright and turning on the shower.
Maybe cold water will help me feel human again.
After sleeping the afternoon away, I finally feel like myself again.
Miles insisted on taking me out for dinner.
Now we’re sitting in a booth at a small diner near the resort, waiting for our food while he keeps trying to make me laugh.
