Entwined with You(88)

As my mom slid gracefully into the back of the car, he smiled back. At least I think it was a smile. His mouth twitched a little.


“How are you?” I asked him.


He gave me a brisk nod in reply. “And you?”


“Hanging in there.”


“You’ll be all right,” he said, just as I slid into the car beside my mom. He sounded a lot more confident about that than I felt.


THE first few minutes of lunch were filled with an awkward silence. Sunlight flooded the New American bistro my mom had selected, which only made the unease between us more obvious.


I waited for my mom to start things off, since she was the one who wanted to talk. I had plenty to say, but first I needed to know what the priority was for her. Was it the trust she’d broken by putting a tracking device in my Rolex? Was it her cheating on Stanton with my dad?


“That’s a beautiful watch,” she said, looking at my new one.


“Thank you.” My hand covered it, protecting it. The timepiece was priceless to me, and deeply personal. “Gideon bought it for me.”


She looked horrified. “You didn’t tell him about the tracker, did you?”


“I tell him everything, Mom. We don’t have any secrets.”


“Maybe you don’t. What about him?”


“We’re solid,” I said confidently. “And getting stronger every day.”


“Oh.” She nodded, her short curls swaying gently. “That’s … wonderful, Eva. He can take good care of you.”


“He already does, in the way I need him to, which has nothing to do with his money.”


My mother’s lips tightened at my bitter tone. She didn’t actually frown, something she studiously avoided to protect the flawlessness of her skin. “Don’t be so quick to dismiss money, Eva. You never know when or why you’ll need it.”


Irritation simmered through me. She’d put money first my whole life, no matter who she hurt—like my father—in the process.


“I don’t,” I argued. “I just won’t let it rule my life. And before you blurt out something like, oh it’s easy for me to say that, I can guarantee if Gideon lost every cent he had, I’d still be with him.”


“He’s too smart to lose it all,” she said tightly. “And if you’re lucky, you’ll never have anything happen that will drain you financially.”


I sighed, exasperated with the topic. “We’re never going to see eye to eye on this, you know.”


Her beautifully manicured fingers stroked over the handle of her silverware. “You’re so angry at me.”


“Do you realize Dad’s in love with you? He’s so in love with you, he can’t move on. I don’t think he’ll ever get married. He’ll never have a steady woman in his life who’ll take care of him.”


She swallowed hard and a tear slid down her cheek.


“Don’t you dare cry,” I ordered, leaning forward. “This isn’t about you. You’re not the victim here.”


“I’m not allowed to feel pain?” she retorted, her voice harder than I’d ever heard it. “I’m not allowed to cry over a broken heart? I love your father, too. I would give anything for him to be happy.”


“You don’t love him enough.”


“Everything I’ve done is for love. Everything.” She laughed humorlessly. “My God … I wonder how you can stand to be with me when you hold such a low opinion.”


“You’re my mother and you’ve always been on my side. You’re always trying to protect me, even if you go about it the wrong way. I love you and Dad both. He’s a good man who deserves to be happy.”


She took a shaky sip of water. “If it weren’t for you, I’d wish we had never met. We both would’ve been happier that way. There’s nothing I can do about it now.”


“You could be with him. Make him happy. You seem to be the only woman who can.”


“That’s impossible,” she whispered.


“Why? Because he’s not rich?”


“Yes.” Her hand went to her throat. “Because he’s not rich.”


Brutal honesty. My heart sank. There was a bleak look in her blue eyes I’d never seen before. What drove her to need money so desperately? Would I ever know or understand? “But you’re rich. Isn’t that enough?”


Over the course of three divorces, she’d amassed millions in personal wealth.


“No.”


I stared at her, incredulous.


She looked away, her three-carat diamond studs catching the light and glittering with a rainbow of colors. “You don’t understand.”


“So explain it to me, Mom. Please.”


Her gaze returned to me. “Maybe someday. When you’re not so upset with me.”


Sitting back in my chair, I felt a headache building. “Fine. I’m upset because I don’t understand, and you won’t explain because I’m upset. We’re getting nowhere fast.”