Sixteen
It was silly to be nervous. It was a date. With a man she enjoyed. One she was pretend-marrying, one whose mother hated her, one who was wanted by other women. One who looked at her like she mattered even after a short period of time.
Lexi logged on to her bank, transferring the money a lovely woman, Danielle, had e-transferred her this morning after picking up her father’s tools. She said they’d make a great gift for her husband and it was such a great deal.
It was good for both of them since Lexi’s tuition was now paid. Brett texted as she was staring at her school account balance in another open tab, enjoying the statement: BALANCE OWING: 0.00 . That meant any extra shifts she picked up at the restaurant could maybe go toward purchasing something for the party Will also called a gala that she was mildly freaking out about.
Brett
Can you work? We need someone ASAP.
She stared at her phone. Shit. She’d never be in a financial position where she shouldn’t say yes. But Will was due in half an hour. He’d put time and energy into planning a date. She’d ended up emailing him her interview questions and they’d spent their texting time going back and forth with him teasing her about what they were doing.
She started to text back, paused. If she said she was sick, she’d definitely run into someone who could tell him because that was how life worked. Your tuition is paid. Say no.
Lexi
I can’t. I’m sorry. I have plans.
Brett typed back immediately.
Brett
Fine.
Lexi pushed away the niggling sense of irresponsibility. She was reliable almost 100 percent of the time. She could take this one day. Even if she was losing her Monday shift at Bitsy’s. Heading out of her room, she found her mom hunched over her worktable, sketching out a drawing.
Lexi took a breath before braving the topic she rarely brought up anymore. “You know, if we sold the house, we could find you an apartment. I could even get one close by.” She couldn’t leave her mom alone in this huge house. The mortgage was too much. The bills on her dad’s business were finally paid but the house needed work and was basically a money suck.
Her mother didn’t even lift her head. “Lexi, you know I don’t want to leave. Please don’t start on me.”
Stepping into the room, she pushed just a little more. “It’s getting harder to keep up with the house, Mom. Dad’s insurance barely made a dent, we barely broke even on selling the business, and I’m barely finished scraping together and paying off what he owed around town for supplies and stuff.” Construction made good money and there was plenty of work. But not if you kept spending in the time between jobs. Which her father had.
Despite being the office assistant, her mom had known nothing about the bookkeeping and only continued to shy away from the truth every time Lexi brought it up. When Lexi was young, her mom was full of life, like a glitter bomb adding a sparkle to everything. Nothing would be the same now, of course, but was it asking too much to get a little more of her back?
Gwen stiffened her spine, her gaze brimming with tears. “It’ll all work out somehow. I could sell some of my pieces on the internet. Maisie said she’d make me some sort of online shop.”
Lexi smiled, tried to be gentle. “I think an online shop would be wonderful. You’re very talented. But Mom, we can’t afford to stay here.”
“You have a friend coming over. I need to get ready.” Gwen lowered her head as she left the room.
Lexi closed her eyes, leaned against the work table, and counted to ten. You’re pushing too fast. It was true. She’d gone running every morning since she’d promised herself she would and it was as if she’d lit a fire under herself, a drive to… not get back to who she used to be, but become the person she wanted to be. Lexi went to her own room to get ready but her thoughts refused to settle.
Will’s mother had been no peach but she wondered how he’d react to Gwen. He was clearly no stranger to the wear and tear parents could create on a grown child’s life. Maybe they weren’t so different in that respect. The realistic part of her figured she was just shoving the final nail in the coffin. He’d see she wasn’t his type. She had too much going on and if he was going to date a high-maintenance woman, it might as well be one with a pedigree so he could get his mother off his back.
But damn she liked him. Liked the way she felt when she was with him. Her mother wasn’t the only one who’d lost the person she used to be. Will made Lexi feel like her old self again. Older, wiser, a little more sarcastic and realistic, but her .
“Do I look all right?” Gwen’s soft voice, like a scolded child, came from the archway between the hall and the kitchen.
Lexi turned to see her mom in a pair of soft, faded blue jeans and a navy-blue cable-knit sweater, her hair brushed so it looked like dark silk and a hint of makeup adding to her delicate features.
“You look beautiful, Mom.”
Gwen wrung her hands together, looked at the floor. “I don’t mean to make your life harder. I’ll try, Alexandria. I will. I’ve got an appointment with the counselor for next week. But I’m not ready to let go of the house. I know we can’t afford it. I’m not completely unaware. I just… need more time.”
Lexi nodded, tears stinging her eyes. They didn’t have any more time. It’d been over three years. They were floating on the surface but the undertow was hovering. They’d be no match for it.
Walking over, she pulled her mom into a hug.
“Let’s just get through today. One step at a time. I love you.”
Lexi held tighter as Gwen cried softly against her shoulder, apologizing and breaking Lexi’s heart a little more.
Lexi hated feeling unsettled. And she was. The tummy tangled in knots, checking her makeup thirteen times kind of unsettled about a guy meeting her mother. It was a first. Track had kept her too busy to maintain a steady boyfriend and while she’d had a few crushes, she’d never brought a boy home to introduce him. In college she was even more focused, because keeping her scholarship was everything. She knew she couldn’t run forever. Athletes had a sweet spot. She’d met a few guys, hooked up a couple times, but she’d never found a guy who made her want to wander off her path.
When Will knocked on the front door, she was already standing there, waiting to open it. Staring at the wood separating them, she smoothed down her pale-yellow sweater. She’d gone with a sweater, jeans, and a pair of cute, dark-brown ankle boots with cozy beige cuffs. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, held it, let it out softly.
She opened the door telling herself it was just a date. She could admit to the term this time while also acknowledging that a date was no big deal. Then she looked at him, felt her heart thump like an overactive puppy tail, and knew she was lying to herself. Will Grand was not just a date.
His eyes widened with obvious pleasure, those kissable lips tipping up in a smile warmer than her sweater.
“You look amazing,” he said, his gaze roaming down, then up to meet her eyes.
“Thank you. And hi.”
She caught just a hint of nerves in his laugh. He leaned in, kissed her cheek. “Hi,” he whispered.
She wished she could settle her pulse. Closing the door, she gestured to the stairs. “Come on in.”
He let her go first but with every step, her feet grew heavier, the nerves acting like cement, slowing her down. About halfway up, she turned and faced him. They were eye-to-eye.
“My mom,” she whispered. “I told you; she hasn’t gotten over losing my dad. I just want you to know that in case she says anything weird or—”
Will pressed a finger to Lexi’s lips, and she resisted the urge to bite it.
“We love our moms. We don’t have to explain them.”
He made everything seem so easy. Lexi nodded and Will replaced his finger with his mouth, giving her a quick, bolstering kiss.
When she turned, he patted her butt, nudging her up the stairs, once again making her laugh.
Gwen was in the kitchen, sitting ramrod straight on a stool, her hands cupping a mug.
“Mom, this is Will Grand. Will, this is my mom, Gwendolyn Danby.”
Setting her mug down, her mom got up from the stool.
Will stretched his arm out, a sweet smile on his gorgeous face. “Mrs. Danby, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Her mom’s cheeks pinkened, her gaze happy as she shook Will’s hand. “Please, call me Gwen. It’s so wonderful to meet you. Lexi’s never brought a boy home. Though I guess you’re not a boy. You look like a male model on one of my romance books. Though, these days, more and more of the covers are illustrated, which I love.” Gwen trailed off, dropping Will’s hand to clasp her hands together.
Lexi groaned and Will laughed.
Will’s hand settled on Lexi’s lower back. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I think you and my sister Kyra share an affinity for the same books.”
“Oh, I mean it as one,” Gwen said. “Can I get you something to drink, Will? We have coffee, orange juice, soda, and water.”
Lexi’s gaze widened. What the hell—Gwen was playing hostess?
“I wouldn’t say no to coffee. Black, please.”
A wave of dizziness washed over her when her mother all but pranced to the cupboard to get a mug.
Will leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. “Relax, Alexandria.”
Fuck. The way he said her name made shivers race over her skin, making it hot and uncomfortably tight. Relax. Yeah. Okay.
“So, Will, tell me about yourself.”
Lexi watched with low-key fascination as her mother served Will his coffee and listened intently while he told her about his two sisters, his grandfather, and Grand Babies, all of which he clearly loved.
“Oh!” Gwen clapped both of her hands together under her chin. “I bought from there when Lexi was a baby.”
Will smiled, winked at Lexi. “My family would be happy to hear that.”
“What are you two up to today?” Gwen asked.
Lexi hadn’t seen her mom filled with this much energy in months and months.
“I thought I’d take Lexi apple picking,” Will said, finishing up his coffee.
“How fun.” Gwen tapped her fingers on the counter before adding, “If you bring back some apples, I’ll make a pie.”
Grateful she wasn’t drinking anything because it would have been spewed all over the counter, Lexi gaped at her mom. “You will?”
Gwen tipped her head to the side. “Sure, sweetie. Don’t you remember how good my piecrust is?”
Nodding, not sure why her throat felt tight, Lexi could only stare. Of course she remembered. That and a whole lot of things. Piecrust, pumpkin carving, holiday parties, after-school snacks full of protein, her mom at track meets. She’d placed memories of that Gwen in a box labeled: BEFORE DAD LEFT US.
“I’m going to go look up a recipe right now. Will, it was wonderful to meet you.”
“You too, Gwen. Truly.”
When Gwen left the room, Lexi stared after her, still dazed.
Will squeezed her shoulder. “You okay?”
She turned to him, tipped her head back. “We never have visitors. Just Maisie. I haven’t seen her like that in a long time.” Her chest felt tight but in a good way.
He smiled, pulling her closer with a hand on her waist. “That’s a good thing, right?”
Lexi narrowed her gaze. “Are you magic, Will Grand? Some sort of sorcerer?”
Will laughed, lowered his head so their noses almost touched. “No, but I’m happy to let you think so.”
In the quiet of her kitchen, she fell a little more. She reminded herself that athletes knew how to fall in a way that helped them avoid injury, but she wasn’t sure that applied to what she was feeling.
Will kissed her like he wanted to keep kissing her, like he had all the time in the world but not nearly enough. It was intoxicating.
When she pulled back, her fingers clutched his sweater. She laughed and smoothed the fabric. “Apple picking, huh?”
He nodded, his gaze darker, crackling with warmth and something deeper.
“Alexandria?” Gwen said from behind her, from the doorway to the kitchen.
Lexi looked back, over her shoulder. Gwen had her phone in one hand, a look of something Lexi couldn’t read on her face.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Lexi turned away from Will.
In that moment, Lexi watched a little piece of the woman her mom had once been fill this version with light. Her smile was nothing short of luminous.
“I had my phone turned off. I mean, I don’t use it all that much anyway, but.” Her mom’s voice softened as she took a deep breath. “Louanne, do you remember her? I haven’t seen her in ages. She texted me.”
Lexi felt like her breath was trapped in her lungs. “Okay?”
“Oh, honey. You said it was a date. You’re engaged? Why didn’t you tell me?” Gwen looked at Will, tears shimmering in her gaze, happiness emanating from her core. “William. Welcome to the family.” She drew him into a hug, murmuring, “You’re engaged. You’re engaged. Lexi’s father would be so happy.” He hugged her back, a look of uncertainty on his face. Yeah, she didn’t know what to do either. She shouldn’t have assumed her mother would remain clueless about it.
Gwen stepped away from Will, turned to Lexi, and put both hands on her cheeks. “This is why you’ve been talking about moving forward. I’m so happy for you. I’m so sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me.”
Lexi was incredibly torn in that moment. Part of her felt like an absolute monster letting her mom believe a lie. But the other part of her was staring at something she hadn’t seen in a very long time: true happiness in her mother’s teary gaze.
“Mom,” she said, pulling her into a hug, fighting back tears of her own. She didn’t know what to say, how to say it.
She met Will’s gaze and the softness, the sweet understanding in it nearly leveled her. It was too much. She should end this now, while she could still pick up the pieces of her mom’s disappointment when she told her the truth. And Will. She should end that, too. Because the way he was looking at her right now, a little part of her wanted all of it to be true.