Chapter 48 – Remington
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Two can play that game
Remington
We stare at each other in shock for what seems like an hour but in reality is probably only a few seconds before my mother appears in a silky blue bathrobe, not noticing me at first.
Because her hands are on my goddamn driver, one on his large bicep and the other on his bare chest. “Honey, bring the strawberries into the bathroom. I’ll be in the—”
“Ophelia,” Antonio breaks in, his eyes still on me as he gestures with a jerk of his chin.
Mom turns, sees me, and all the color drains from her flushed cheeks. I do my best not to speculate on exactly why her cheeks are flushed because I’d like to keep my sanity somewhat intact, thank you very much.
“Remington, it’s not what it…” she starts before shaking her head, mussed hair bouncing. I’m also not thinking about why my mother’s hair would be mussed like that. She blows out a sigh. “I guess it is exactly what it looks like.”
Antonio’s big arm wraps around my mother’s slender frame, pulling her protectively against his side, and something snaps inside me. But not in a bad way.
They look… good together.
Mindy’s hand soothes up and down my back. “Remi, why don’t we come back later?”
But I shake my head, still gawking at the couple in front of me. Because that’s exactly what they look like. A couple. And for some reason, seeing them together makes my chest fill with something I can’t describe.
“Remi,” Antonio says in a deep voice that holds an edge of warning. “I won’t have you upsetting Ophelia.” My mom looks up at him like he set the stars on fire just for her.
And that’s when I start laughing. Like, full-on, belly laughing.
“Dear god, he’s lost his shite,” Antonio mutters. “Get in here before security is called.”
Guided by Mindy’s hand on my back, I take a few steps into the room and hear the door close behind me. I still haven’t stopped laughing, and everyone stares at me like I’m a lunatic.
“I think we broke him,” Mom whispers to Antonio. She steps forward and grips my forearm. “Sweetheart, do you need a Tylenol or something?”
That causes an undignified snort to emit from my nose, and I shake my head, unable to speak as I hold my stomach with both hands.
“Forget Tylenol. Anyone have a tranquilizer?” Mindy mutters behind me before slapping me on the ass. “Get yourself together, man.”
“I can’t…” I breathe, pointing from Mom to Antonio, who are apparently lovers now. “You two… and you’re here… together.”
“Yes,” my mom draws out, narrowing her eyes at me. And seriously, I don’t blame her because I’m acting like a nut. “Why are you laughing, Remington Haywood Hale?”
The use of my full name by my mother erases a bit of the hilarity, and I begin to heave in a few deep breaths to get myself under control, my laughter slowing to deep chuckles.
“Because,” I manage to say, shaking my head as I look between my mother and the man whose job it is to protect me. “Because I think this is fantastic.”
No one in the room has eyebrows anymore because they’ve all shot up into their respective hairlines.
“You do?” Antonio asks, utterly shocked by my reaction. I nod, and he drags a hand down his face. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I need a drink.”
Mom pats his chest. “That’s a good idea, honey. Why don’t you arrange drinks for everyone while I go turn off the bathwater.” Her cheeks pinken again as glances at me. Then she gives me her best mom eye. “Don’t act like an ass while I’m gone.”
I step forward and kiss her cheek. “I won’t, Mom. I’m really happy for you.”
Her brown eyes soften before she retreats to the back of the suite. A minute later, I find myself seated in an armchair with Mindy on my lap. I’m not complaining, though I’m pretty sure she sat there to hold me down in case I decide to turn into an idiot. I won’t.
As Antonio hands Mindy and me a glass of scotch, my mother returns dressed in black leggings and a gigantic T-shirt that has to be Antonio’s.
She folds a leg beneath her and sits gracefully on the couch.
The big man sits beside her and hands her a glass, which she sips. They both look at me expectantly.
“First of all,” I say, “I’m not calling you Daddy.”
A grin creeps across Antonio’s lips beneath his full beard. “That’s okay. Your mum calls—”
“Bahhh!” I cry, shaking my head and slamming down the entire two fingers of brown liquor. “Do not finish that sentence.”
He booms out a laugh as Mom swats his arm in consternation. “I’m kidding with you, lad.” Lifting his glass in a salute, he says, “I assume you have questions?”
My eyes pass between them. Mom is sitting with her body angled toward him, and he has an arm draped along the back of the couch behind her. She’s so tiny compared to him, but they really do look sweet together.
“I, um… How long has this been going on?”
“A few months,” my mother replies. “When you asked Antonio to drive me home after you and I had lunch one day, he walked me inside to make sure I got in okay. There was a busted pipe in my kitchen, and I panicked because there was water all over the floor.”
My head bobs up and down. “I remember. You said Antonio got the water stopped for you.”
“And spent the afternoon helping me clean up,” Mom adds, looking with so much affection at the man beside her. “I made him dinner as a thank you.”
“Nothing happened that night,” Antonio assures me, averting his gaze to my mother. “Except Ophelia’s lasagna bewitched me.”
His eyes are so soft on her, and I smile, pretty sure it was more than just the food that had bewitched him. I’ve never seen him like this.
Mom pulls her eyes away and returns her attention to me. “So next time I made Italian food, I invited him over again. We talked for hours. Antonio is an excellent conversationalist.”
“Antonio?” I ask flatly. “The man who only communicated in grunts for the entire first year I knew him?”
She giggles. “Yes, one and the same. We decided we enjoyed spending time together, and it eventually…” Her lips roll in between her teeth. “It turned into more.” Mom places her hand on his thigh, and they gaze at each other like lovesick fools once again. It’s kind of fucking adorable.
Antonio finally manages to stop making goo goo eyes at my mother and levels his gaze on me. “Is that enough information, or would you like a more detailed account?”
I shake my head until I’m afraid I’ve given myself a subdural hematoma. “Noooo, that’s plenty. Thank you.”
There’s a knock on the door, and Antonio rises to answer, coming back with a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries, my mother’s favorite. “You want one?” he asks us, and Mindy shakes her head.
“No, those are for you,” she says politely, and I erase any ideas about why my mother and Antonio ordered strawberries. For the bath. Fuck. I’m open to the idea of them being together, but I do not need any type of naked information in my head.
“You seem to be taking this very well,” Mom notes. “We were worried since this is a complicated situation. I’m a little older, and Antonio works for you.” The worry is evident in the crease of her brow.
Setting my empty glass aside, I give the couple my full attention.
“I’m a grown man, Mom, not an angsty teenager who’s mad my parents are getting a divorce,” I say, referencing the time all those years ago when my parents separated.
My mother gives me a sympathetic smile. “You’ve been nothing but supportive when each of your sons found the love of their life. I think you deserve the same respect.”
Mindy makes a little aww sound while Mom places a hand over her heart. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“We felt bad about keeping it a secret,” Antonio says, allowing his hand to drop to my mother’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. A lot of couples have things they need to work out in private before they feel comfortable telling anyone else.” I look up at Mindy and tighten my hold around her waist. “Sometimes that takes a while if one of them is particularly grouchy and stubborn.”
“He’s talking about himself,” she fake-whispers to the other couple, and they laugh.
“I appreciate you being cool about this,” Antonio says. “I know I’m not nearly good enough for Ophelia but—”
“Would you stop saying that?” she complains, leaning fully into his side now.
It’s a foreign sight to me, seeing my mother cuddle with a man, but it’s somehow refreshing.
She’s been alone for so long, supporting and loving her family through thick and thin.
It’s about damn time she found happiness for herself.
“She’s right, Antonio,” I chide. “You’re the most loyal and protective person I know, and I can’t think of another man I would feel safer with around my mother.”
His lips press together, and I can read the emotion in his eyes. “Thank you for saying that, Remi. It means a lot.”
“Plus,” I add, “it’s pretty cool that my mom is dating Batman.”
“I know that was a total shock to you, but you handled it well,” Mindy muses as we walk down the hallway hand in hand.
“I was a bit stunned to see him in Mom’s room, but somehow everything clicked, and it seemed to make perfect sense.”
“They are really freaking cute together.”
We enter the elevator, and I press my keycard against the scanner.
“I’m glad we went down there to talk to her. It seemed to help that I told her in person about Nicolette, once we finally got around to that.”
“Agreed. She’s so excited about getting a new grandbaby.”
The cart rises, and I shift my gaze from the numbers above the door to Mindy’s profile. “Do you want kids one day?”
She looks up at me in surprise, and her lips curl into a soft smile. “I really do. How about you?”
“I want ten,” I state matter-of-factly.
Mindy barks out a laugh. “Then you better find yourself another woman, Remington Haywood Hale.”
I bend to kiss her plush mouth. “Never. How about two?”
“Mmm, that’s doable.”
When the door opens, I scoop her up and carry her down the hallway toward our suite. “Speaking of doable…”