Chapter 30
Watching Mira taking orders from my mother makes my stomach roil.
If anyone treated Mira that way at the bar I’d escort their asses out faster than Lilah could pour a Guinness.
I want to tell my mother to stand down, that we’ve gotten enough family memories for the evening, but protesting would only lead to more questions, and Mira made it clear she didn’t want to cause a scene.
She’s handling herself like a champ though, taking punch after punch from my mother, but I can tell that her resolve is beginning to fray at the edges when she suggests that Katherine and I get a few shots together.
Since Katherine’s still pissed about our fight from earlier, she keeps her distance as we stand like awkward pre-teens at a middle school dance.
“Get closer,” my mother orders, moving Katherine so that she’s standing in front of me.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Katherine sighs, throwing an arm through mine, throwing on a smile. I grit my teeth, making sure to never break eye contact with Mira through the lens.
After she’s satisfied with the family photos, Susan drags Mira around each table, forcing her to capture a photo of each guest with the couple.
She hasn’t even bothered to learn Mira’s name, referring to her as “the photographer” each time she needs her attention.
I keep a watchful eye, making sure I can step in if I need to.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen my mother thank, tip, or appreciate anyone who has ever waited on her, and tonight is no different.
She orders Mira around for the rest of the night, only letting up after the tables are bare and the candlesticks blown out.
I move towards Mira, eager to help her pack her bag and get out of here, when Katherine blocks me.
“So you’re with her then?” she asks, the sharpness of her words catching me off guard.
“Derrick saw you two making out in the hallway,” she clarifies, as hurt radiates off her. “Is that why you wanted her to stay in our room? So you two could . . . what, hook up in secret?”
“No, of course not,” I reply, appalled. Even though we were broken up I would never be that much of an asshole. “I didn’t know she was going to be here.”
“Were you going to tell me? That you were together?”
“Would you tell me if you were seeing someone else?”
“But you’re in love with her,” she says, a sheen in her eyes.
It takes me a moment to realize it isn’t a question but a statement. And I can’t deny it anymore.
“Yeah. I think I am.”
Katherine dabs at the corners of her eyes, before taking a deep breath and running out of the room.
“Is she okay?” Mira asks as I grab her bag from her hand.
“I’m more worried about you? I’m so sorry about Susan.”
“It’s fine,” she says, waving off my apology. “But as someone who’s dealt with so many Momzillas in my day, your mother takes the cake.”
“She’s not really meant to be outside a five-mile radius of her country club.”
She laughs and I feel the pressure release from my chest.
“I should have fought harder about all those photos with Katherine.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Then why do you look so upset?”
“I guess I never stopped to think about how this is going to work,” she says, gesturing to the space between us. “I think I’m just worried about how your mother’s going to react when you show up to the next family gathering with the photographer by your side?”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m not really close to that side of the family. I never have been,” I admit.
“Still. She’s your mom.”
I shrug. “Technically. But she never wanted to be. She doesn’t want to be now.
It’s shitty but I really thought, these last few years, that she wanted to get to know me.
That she wanted to actually be a mom. But it was all an act.
A performance to look good in front of her friends, in front of Katherine.
It’s part of the reason I agreed to the whole fake-dating ruse to begin with,” I say, the trauma spilling out of me.
“I was afraid to know if my mother’s feelings towards me would change when she found out she wasn’t going to get the daughter-in-law she wanted.
But if this week has taught me anything, it’s that those feeling didn’t exist in the first place. ”
“Hudson,” Mira replies, squeezing my hand, and I’ve never been more grateful for a touch.
“It’s okay, really,” I assure her. “I have my dad and that’s enough. We’re sort of the male version of Gilmore Girls if that show occurred in the woods instead of suburban Connecticut.”
“I’d watch that,” she laughs, slipping her arm through mine. “I’d need a field guide to understand all your nerdy nature facts, but I could see it becoming a hit.”
“I’d love for you to meet him, my dad. After dealing with all this,” I say, gesturing towards the room. “It’d be nice to show you the other side of the family. We could even go up to his cabin in Asheville.”
“Do we have to hike to get there?”
“Nope,” I say, with a coy smile. “And there’s a hot tub.”
“Mmmm,” she coos, and I’m already imagining us snuggling up on the couch, watching the leaves fall from the window.
“Please tell me Susan’s gone,” Meredith asks, resting her head on Derrick’s shoulder, passing him a bottle of bourbon. Besides the party posse, the only people left in the room are the cleaning staff, who vacuum over the gold carpets and break down tables and chairs.
“I think you’re safe,” I say, checking my watch. “She has a strict ten o’clock bedtime on weekdays.”
“Guess the game is over,” Angie sighs.
“What game?” Mira asks, walking over to their table.
“We were taking shots every time Susan bossed around a server.”
“I’m surprised the bourbon lasted that long,” I reply, looking at the half-empty bottle.
“This is our second one,” Derrick says, before Meredith snatches it from him.
“Here,” she says, handing it to Mira. “After the way she treated you tonight, I think you deserve the rest.”
Mira smiles, taking a swig. I can’t help the way my eyes track the hollow of her throat, and I can’t wait to get back to the ranch to finish what we started.
“You ready to head out?” I ask, placing a hand at the small of her back.
“Yeah, just need to run to the restroom first,” she says, excusing herself.
“How are you guys getting back?” I ask the group, knowing the shuttle already departed.
“I volunteered as designated driver,” Jocelyn says, holding up Grant’s keys. “I knew someone was going to have to get the posse home.”
“This is why I love you,” Angie coos, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. Following them out, I take Mira’s bag and make my way into the night air, the quiet of midnight approaching as I flag down the valet.