LOL: Laugh Out Loud (After Oscar, #2)(71)

She pulled a face, wrinkling her nose and turning down her lips. “Those places are disgusting. No way was I staying there when I knew you were in cushy Vermont.”

“How did you even know where to find me?” I asked, still feeling off balance by her sudden appearance.

“You told me, remember? I needed the address for my discharge paperwork.”

I mentally kicked myself. How had I not seen this coming? “Oh yeah,” I grunted.

“As soon as I heard you say swanky Stowe, Vermont? Please.” She waved a hand through the air. “I’m not an idiot, Scotty. I figured you had something real good going on here.” She reached out and placed her hands over mine, smiling. “And I want in.”

I yanked out of her grasp. “No. Absolutely not. This is not what you think.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “You’re in bed with Hollywood’s biggest star and you’re going to tell me you don’t have some kind of endgame planned? Pfft. No boy of mine would be that stupid.”

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take a deep breath before continuing. Otherwise I was afraid of what I might say. Because what I wanted to do was grab her and toss her ass back out into the Vermont winter.

“Mom,” I pleaded. “That’s not what this is. Please don’t fuck this up for me. I really like him.”

She gaped at me, a forkful of food forgotten halfway to her mouth. “You… what? Do not tell me you have feelings for him.” She snorted and set her fork down. “Honey, don’t be ridiculous. Men like that do not end up with men like you. And that’s even assuming he ends up with a man at all. Ten bucks says he ends up with some beautiful woman on his arm who can give him equally beautiful babies.”

I crossed my arms, trying to ignore the ache in my chest her words created. I didn’t want to believe what she’d said, but her words continued echoing around in my head, taking up space, and I knew they would be difficult to forget. What if she was right? Sure Roman had said all sorts of wonderful things about the two of us having a future together, but that was because we existed in a bubble. In the real world, things might look different.

“Even more reason for you to get out of here and let me enjoy whatever it is while it lasts,” I said, suddenly feeling sullen.

She made a pffft sound and quirked an eyebrow. “If you think for one minute I’m going to let you squander this opportunity, you’re fucking nuts. Scotty, we have one chance at a million-dollar take here.” She leaned closer, dropping her voice. “This could set us up for life. We need to strategize. And what the fuck with the two hundred bucks? You couldn’t send me a thousand? I’ll bet the man has more than that in cash in his wallet right now.”

“Keep your voice down,” I growled. “And stay away from him. His money is not our money.”

“Not yet,” she said. “Just you wait. I’ll think of something.”

I dug my fingertips against my temples in aggravation. I’d never been on board with her plans to scam people’s money away from them, but targeting Roman? No fucking way. I had to think of a way to get her out of there. The clock on the microwave ticked over to half past one in the morning. There was no way to kick her out at this hour, especially in an unfamiliar town.

I placed my hands on the counter to keep them from trembling with anger. “First thing in the morning, you’re going back to the city, you hear me?”

She rolled her eyes.

“I mean it, Mom. If you even think about stealing one single thing from this house, or of selling one piece of information about Roman to the press, I’m calling the cops on you,” I warned. “Don’t think I won’t.”

“I’m not about to fuck up something big for a trinket, Scotty,” she said, an incredulous look on her face. “How stupid do you think I am?”

I buried my face in my hands, wondering if I should try warning Roman about my mom again or not. It was humiliating having a scammer and a thief as a parent. There had been years when I’d agreed with her schemes because she’d done such a good job of convincing me it was the only way to support the two of us. But then I’d started driving the carriage and realized how many people we knew who were able to support themselves even with low-paying jobs and tips. No, it wasn’t easy. But it was possible to support yourself legally, even if you had a shit education like my mother. She’d had to drop out of high school when she found out she was pregnant with me.

And maybe that had been part of it. I felt guilty. Like… she wouldn’t have had to scam people out of their money if she didn’t have me. She would have had a better chance at a decent life.

But there was no amount of guilt in the world that would allow me to let her scam Roman Burke out of his money, no matter how much he had to spare.

I tried one more time. Dropping my hands and letting every bit of hope and fear show in my face I said, “Mom, please. I think… I think Roman could be the one.”

She studied me for a long moment and then let out a sigh. “Oh, Scottybear.” She sounded defeated and sad and exhausted. She reached out a hand and laid it over mine, squeezing gently. “I wish I could tell you it would work out—”

“Then do,” I told her, cutting her off before she could tell me all the ways I was being stupid and naive. “I don’t need to hear all the potential downsides. I don’t need you to tell me how ridiculous I’m being to think that Roman Burke might fall for me the way I’ve fallen for him. Trust me, I’m very well aware of all of that. What I need is for you to be happy for me. To give this relationship a chance to work. And for fuck’s sake, I need you to not fucking steal anything or fuck this up with one of your fucking schemes.”