Damien (Slater Brothers #5)(28)

“So, your age wasn’t the problem; you just had a strong connection with the lad.”

Another grunt. “I guess so.”

“So, your sex test with Dante really wasn’t all that necessary.”

“Ma.”

“What?” She chuckled. “I’m only sayin’.”

I shook my head.

“About the test, though,” she continued. “It wouldn’t really prove anythin’ unless the sexual subject was Damien. You can have sex with many men and leave them, but you wouldn’t be able to prove anythin’ unless you had sex with Damien and left ’im. He is the one who got you all tied up in knots in the first place, so you’d have to experiment with him to see if your theory was accurate.”

My mouth dropped open.

“That’s exactly what Bronagh said!”

Ma grinned. “I always said she was a bright girl.”

I shook my head. “I’m not havin’ sex with Damien just to prove a theory.”

“Why not?” Ma quizzed. “You had sex with Dante to prove it.”

She was a smartarse, but a smartarse who made total sense.

“That’s enough talkin’ about who I have sex with, thank you very much.”

Ma laughed, and it brought a smile to my face. I loved her laugh.

“It’s all so interestin’, though,” she continued. “Two men and only one of you.”

“It’s worse because Damien and Dante never really got on.”

“And now they hate each other?”

“Pretty much,” I said. “They fought today over me.”

“Hold on,” Ma said with a snap of her fingers. “So, you’ve be sleepin’ with Aideen’s older brother, and no one knew about it, but now everyone knows about it, and the man who you clearly have feelings for knows, and hates the older brother, and fought ’im over you?”

“Basically.”

Ma clapped her hands together. “This is like an episode of Maury!”

“Ma!” I tittered. “This isn’t funny.”

“Of course not,” she said, folding her hands on her lap. “Please, proceed.”

“There is nothin’ else to say.” I shrugged. “Me and Dante are goin’ to be just friends, and Damien wants to talk to me tonight about everythin’ that’s happened between us, but after seein’ them both fight over me ... it’s left a bad taste in me mouth.”

“Two gorgeous men fightin’ the other to win your heart is romantic, not tasteless.”

I rolled my eyes. “You read too many romance books.”

“Blame Keela,” Ma countered. “She recommends all them to me.”

I chuckled. “Have you read her book yet?”

“Yes, it’s wonderful. Have you?”

“No,” I answered. “She’s so protective over it. She has so much self-doubt; she thinks we’ll laugh at ’er if we read it. She finished it ages ago and is no closer to publishin’ it.”

“It’s ’er baby.” Ma soothed. “It’s a project she has put blood, sweat, and tears into. It’s normal for ’er to be scared, but she shouldn’t let the fear of people dislikin’ it keep ’er from publishin’ it.”

“Have you told her that?”

“Of course,” Ma answered. “It’ll register with ’er eventually. She just needs time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.”

“I hope I am as wise as you when I’m older.”

“Stick with me, kid.” She winked. “I’ll rub off on you.”

I laughed. “The chicken is ready.”

Together, we finished preparing dinner, taking turns cooking and seasoning the food. In the thirty minutes it took us to get everything ready, I had never laughed so much in my life, and that was a big deal, considering how often Alec Slater cracked me up. But my ma? She was on a whole other level of funny.

“Me sides are killin’ me,” I said as I set the table.

Ma snorted. “I think we both needed that laugh.”

“I know I did.”

I felt better. After the week I had, and the current day especially, it was nice to forget about everything and just laugh with my ma. She always knew what to say and do to make me feel better. We continued to tell jokes and laugh ... until the front door opened.

“I’m home, love.”

I looked up at my ma and watched as a huge smile broke out across her face as my da entered the house. She quickly adjusted her apron and ruffled her hair and ran out to the hall to meet him like she was sixteen and her boyfriend just randomly stopped by for a visit. If I didn’t know what a piece of shite my da was, I would have thought his relationship with my ma was perfect, but it was one-sided. My ma adored him, and he repaid that love and admiration by sleeping with another woman.

It made my blood boil.

“Alannah, love,” Da beamed when he entered the room, his arms still around my ma as she hugged him tightly, her face buried against his chest. “You’re ’ere early.”

There was no way on God’s green earth that I was telling him the real reason I was here early, and I knew my ma wouldn’t either.