Fake It Till You Bake It(94)

“You know, I can tell you’re hurting. You’ve looked miserable the entire night. I’ve been pretty patient, respecting your privacy, but I’m your mother, so that comes to an end now.” She laid a hand on his sleeve. “Let’s go somewhere quieter to talk.”

He followed her to a corner, away from the chatter and the orchestra providing the musical backdrop. His mother didn’t waste any time.

“Donny, what’s going on? Why are you here with me instead of Jada?”

Donovan pushed the answer past a tight throat. “We’re no longer seeing each other. You know that.”

His mother nodded. “Yes, I do. The question is why.” When he remained silent, she sighed. “Can I let you in on a little secret?” She looked around, presumably to make sure no one could hear them. “I knew you and Jada weren’t really dating the day I stopped by the shop.” She held up a hand as shock swept through him. “Now, I know you and your sisters think I don’t know how to keep a secret, but I do. I was married to your father, after all. I know you really well, and I could tell things were a little off between the two of you, but I could also tell you really wanted it to be true, and I wanted you to figure it all out. Obviously, you did, but then you screwed it up.”

Donovan worked his jaw side to side, the emotions still so raw and jagged. “I was prepared to tell her I had fallen in love with her, but she ended things before I could.”

“And you let her go.”

Donovan scraped his hand against the back of his neck, frustration tearing him apart. “What else was I supposed to do?”

“Not let your father continue to rule your life.”

He staggered back at that sucker punch to gut. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

His mother was resolute. “It means that I know he still calls you for money, and that you respond. I talk to people from the old neighborhood all the time. They let me know what foolishness your father is up to so I can protect my kids as much as possible.” She sighed. “Your father hurt you, he hurt all of us, and I’ll forever be upset with myself that I didn’t get us out sooner.”

He’d heard enough. “You did the best you could. You’re a terrific mother. Never doubt that.”

She patted his arm. “Thank you, my favorite son, but it’s true that your parents influence you, for good or for bad. The lesson you learned was to concentrate on eradicating any surprises and upheaval from your life. If you could be financially stable, then life would be smooth sailing.”

Donovan kept quiet, unable to deny her claims.

“Then Jada came along. She shook you and your world up and you fell hard. But then she hit you with the biggest surprise of all by ending things and you retreated. Yes, your sisters told me what happened.”

Donovan sighed. He couldn’t be mad at his siblings for spilling the beans. He should have known. They were too close-knit for secrets.

“What was I supposed to do? I can’t make her be with me.” Anguish still ate at him, still dogged his heels at every turn. He wasn’t sure when it wouldn’t. If it ever would.

“No, you can’t, because Jada is her own woman. But I also know this is the first time you’ve been in the same room with her in three months. Are you really prepared to leave it at that?”

No, he wasn’t. Not by a long shot. It was time to stop living in the past and fight for his future with everything he had in him.





Chapter Twenty-Six


Theoretically, Jada was having a good time. Tonight was proof that following her dreams was paying off. As she’d told Grams, she’d used the connections she’d gained by working at Sugar Blitz to secure several small event-planning gigs. That had led to more events, which led to her being here tonight. A client recommended her services to the event organizer, Sydney, when Sydney’s assistant had to go on bed rest for the last two months of her pregnancy. As far as Jada was concerned, any experience was good experience, and she’d readily accepted the new gig.

She’d happily done the grunt work asked of her, from blowing up a million balloons to organizing myriad spreadsheets, to make sure this event was a success.

They were raising money for a worthy cause. All around her, people were having fun, thanks, in a small part, to her efforts.

So yes, theoretically, she was having a good time. But she couldn’t stop thinking that Donovan was somewhere in this packed room. She’d damn near hyperventilated when she learned he was one of the night’s honorees and gave a moment’s thought to quitting. But she’d quickly come to her senses and realized that was impulsive and something the old Jada would have done. Instead, she’d put her head down and gotten back to work.

That didn’t mean she didn’t think about him approximately a million times per day. She’d even tried to rehearse what she would say if she saw him tonight, but could never come up with anything that did justice to how much he had meant to her. What he still meant to her. Would she even have the courage if she did have the chance?

Earlier, she thought she’d caught a glimpse of him, thought this was her time to find out, but then someone called her name, and by the time she returned to the spot, he was no longer there, if it had even been him in the first place.

Anytime anyone asked about him, asked about them, she smiled, nodded, and said she was working tonight, so they couldn’t spend much time together, but she’d surely pass along their congratulations. All in a day’s work.