54. She Endured His Mother
She Endured His Mother
Gwen
The Sydney Opera House disappeared as the ferry crossed the harbor. Toby held me steady, shielding a way through the tourists snapping photos so I could grab the last free seat, park the stroller, and wrestle a pom-pom beanie on Noah’s head.
I sighed. “Look at that.” My eyes searched the blue skies and sunshine soaking the city, the wind whipping across my cheeks. “Beautiful.”
Toby paid no attention to the skyscrapers towering over the harbor. “Yeah.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. A kiss pressed into my temple. “Beautiful.”
“Toby.” I swatted his knee.
“Yes…” He lowered his voice for my ears only. “Gwendolyn?”
“Stop that,” I hissed.
I said stop, but I also gave him a smirk and burrowed my head into his chest. His grip tightened, his eyes sparking with interest whenever I played the coy damsel to be ravaged.
“Stop?” He tickled kisses up my neck. “That’s not what you said last night. Or…this morning…”
The memory of his eager mouth devouring me made me squeeze my thighs together. He had been very enthusiastic before breakfast. “That’s, um… That’s…” My cheeks flamed.
“Perfect? Amazing? You can whisper a thank you if you want. An orgasm before pancakes is worthy of a kiss.” He tapped his cheek. “Lay one on me, doll.”
I glared at him for about a second, then laughed and kissed his cheek.
My heart soared. Last night had been a turning point for us.
Our reconnection. Toby had needed me to take the first step.
He always joked around, but his confidence had been shattered from months of rejection.
I took the lead first. He took over. And now, we had the blissful memories of one of the best nights—and mornings—of our lives.
I murmured an “I love you” and snuggled so close I was almost in his lap. More kisses dotted up my neck.
“Toby!” I smacked a playful hand on his chest. “What if someone sees?”
“Sees what, exactly?” he murmured. “That I adore my wife? Let ’em look.”
My eyebrow arched. We both knew at least one person would be looking because a shadow had fallen over the stroller when we’d boarded the ferry, and it hadn’t budged since.
I glanced at Romeo. When was Liam going to tell him to stop following us?
I didn’t need protection. I was a suburban mum with a big, burly husband. The whole situation was ridiculous.
“Did you get in touch with Tanya?” I asked.
“Yep. She’s driving up from Canberra tomorrow morning.” He frowned. “I can’t wait for that bomb to drop. Mother dearest will be giddy with excitement to see us all for lunch… Not .”
We drifted around the zoo for a couple of hours, hand-in-hand, exchanging shy smiles and sneaking kisses. Romeo was always a few steps behind.
Toby floated beside me, as giddy as a teenager on a first date, grinning like he couldn’t believe his luck.
Noah charmed everyone with his big smiles and sweet coos.
We bought ice cream. I handed one to a stunned Romeo, who drawled a “thank you” before dragging his tongue along it, to the absolute delight of the group of women passing by.
We took photos. We laughed when Noah tried to kiss—or maybe eat—the buttery fluff of a tiny chick I held out to him at the petting zoo.
At one point, as the spider monkeys leaped and chased each other through the trees, Toby came up behind me. He slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, his lips brushing the crook of my neck.
“Are you ready to go to the police about the clinic books this afternoon?” I asked softly.
“Born ready.”
“What about seeing your mum tomorrow?”
“Nope. Dreading that. But if you’re there…”
“Mmm?”
“I’ll be okay. I’m a better man when you’re beside me.” He kissed my head. “Thank you for giving me another chance.”
“Tobias, you said this was a family meeting.” His mother’s lips pursed, and she flicked an invisible speck of dirt off the cheery daisy tablecloth.
No one else sitting at the tiny café table spoke a word. I couldn’t even see Tanya’s face because it was stuck on the menu. I fought the urge to check my phone. I wasn’t worried about Noah being with Cat, but I silently prayed for an excuse to escape sitting at a table across from Toby’s mother.
He’d wanted to rip the Band-Aid off—talk to his family all at once. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of his brilliant plan. Catching up for a late Sunday lunch, pretending to be one big happy family, was a disaster waiting to happen.
Toby slung an arm around my shoulders. “Gwen’s family.” He smiled down at me, his chest puffed up, proud. I liked that a lot. “She’s my wife.”
“Please don’t remind us,” Sarah spat back.
Toby only smiled. “She’s my wife. She’s my wife. She’s my wife.”
Head still stuck in the menu, Tanya snickered.
Sarah’s murderous glare slid from Tanya to Toby. “Must you always act so stupid?”
Toby’s face barely started drooping before I launched to his defense. “Don’t you dare call him stupid.”
Tanya was oblivious to everything. Her hand shot up, waving to the waiter. “Can I get some fries over here?” she called out.
Sarah stared at Tanya. “You aren’t actually eating here?” she asked her with disbelief.
“I will be if they ever bother to serve us.” Tanya clicked her fingers to get a waiter’s attention. She grunted when no one headed in our direction and turned to Toby. “Alright, little brother. Start talking. I’m all out of fucks to give—”
“Tanya!” Sarah shrieked . “Language!”
She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t drive for three hours straight on my only day off this week for a repeat of the Great Christmas Lunch five years ago.”
A round of grimaces flashed around the table.
That was a memory bomb Tanya didn’t need to drop.
After Toby’s father had hit one too many Baileys and told Sarah precisely what he thought of her, she’d made sure that everyone was just as miserable as her.
No one had escaped that lunch without crying at least once.
Toby slumped in his chair. He was losing his nerve. I rested my hand on his thigh—high, almost indecent, and just where he liked it—and gently squeezed.
He nuzzled his nose into my neck. “There’s that magic stuff,” he whispered.
“Oi. Gross.” Tanya made a gagging noise. “Now, it’s a repeat of the Bleach My Eyeballs Pool Party.”
I pressed my palms into my eyes and ducked my head, face burning.
Toby laughed, waggling his eyebrows at me. He clearly wasn’t embarrassed to be reminded about being sprung with his head stuck under my dress.
“You should’ve knocked ,” he told his sister. The scandalized look on Sarah’s face when the meaning finally clicked only made his laughter roar louder.
Tanya waved her hand to hurry him up. “No more trips down Awkward Memory Lane,” she said. “Get on with it.”
“I think our mother should probably do most of the talking,” Toby replied.
Sarah’s spine straightened, and her shoulders went back. “I have nothing to say.” Her chin lifted.
“What about on the subject of Ian?” he asked.
Tanya snorted. “No one’s interested in talking about your dumbass friend.”
“Brother,” Toby corrected her. When she rolled her eyes, he added, “Half -brother.”
“Wait—that’s—you’re not joking?” Tanya’s jaw hit the floor. “Is this true?”
Every pair of eyes at the table slid to Sarah. She sat there, void of any emotion, glaring straight ahead. She refused to respond, so Toby did it for her.
“It’s true,” he said. “Isn’t that right, Mother dearest?”
Sarah flinched.
Tanya started making some sort of choking noise. “That’s not—that can’t be—” I pushed a glass of water across the table, and she grabbed it, gulping down huge mouthfuls, her eyes wide. “Mother! You…you… hussy!”
Toby burst out laughing.
“The Cooper rat isn’t my son.” The look on Sarah’s face was nothing short of horrified. “He was your father’s mistake and his alone.”
Tanya paused, frowning, processing everything she’d heard. “But…you knew?” Her gaze flicked to me and Toby. “And you two knew?”
Toby shook his head. “We only just found out.” He pointed to his mother. “She’s known all along.”
Sarah was defiant and completely without remorse. “I won’t apologize for shielding either of you from that opportunistic bastard.” Her prickly gaze narrowed on me. “Or that one.”
“Don’t you say one word to my wife,” he warned.
“How about two?” Sarah said with a simpering smile. “Gold. Digger.”
“It’s just like Christmas lunch,” Tanya muttered. “And I’m not drunk enough for this. I can’t even believe what I’m hearing… Dad…and…Ian…” Her hand speared into her hair. “Ian’s a problem.”
Sarah scoffed her agreement.
“The problems with Ian are bigger than just him having Dad’s DNA,” Toby said. “I’ll spare you both the full rundown of the shit he’s put me and Gwen through over the last few months, but we think it’s all a smokescreen because he’s been stealing money from the clinic.”
Sarah sucked in a sharp breath. “Your inheritance?”
“Some of it,” Toby admitted. “But only what we invested to get the clinic up and running and the revenue since. Honestly, I’ve got no idea how much money is missing, but we reported it to the police yesterday and handed over everything we had for the investigation.”
“Tobias…” Sarah’s hand fluttered to her throat. “Everything your father worked for…”
“The rest of the inheritance is protected,” he reassured her. “Gwen made sure of it.”
Sarah’s simpering smile was back. “I’ll just bet she did.”
This again? I rolled my eyes. “I’m a lawyer—”
“You’ve certainly used your legal skills to land a very nice windfall for yourself,” she said.
“I haven’t landed any windfall,” I snapped. “Securing Noah’s future was what Toby wanted, too.”
“Noah?” She snorted. Her reaction didn’t surprise me. She’d never believe I wasn’t trying to steal Toby’s money. “I find it all very convenient that you and Ian are so close—”
“We’re not close,” I said through gritted teeth.