Page 69 of From Grumpy to Forever
My phone rang. The sharp sound sliced through the quiet evening as my heart leapt into my throat.
I’d told him to leave me alone, but now that I was alone, I wanted nothing more than for Reid to be there with me. I snatched up the phone without looking at the screen and accepted the call. “Reid, I?—”
“Hello to you, too, Avery.”
“Mom.” My heart fell, which wasn’t fair. Despite our differences, I loved my mom. “I was just thinking about you.”
“All good things, I’m sure.” She laughed, and despite my exhaustion, the sound warmed me. “How are you, dear? I haven’t heard from you in ages.”
I know it wasn’t intended, but guilt flared through me. I’d purposely kept my mom in the dark about the drama surrounding my inheritance. I didn’t want to give her any reason to worry, but if I was being honest, I really didn’t want her opinion on the whole situation. Never mind the fact that I’d gotten married and not told her. That was a whole different issue.
I knew what she’d say. And right now, it didn’t feel like there was enough room in my heart for the truth.
“I’m doing great.” I tried for light and fun. ”It’s been really busy around here getting everything ready for the grand opening, and today there was a thing called the Sprout n’ Shout. It was?—”
“Avery.” The tone of my mom’s voice told me she could see directly through my bullshit. “What’s really going on?”
I wasn’t ready to concede defeat. “What makes you think there’s anything?—”
“Avery.” She waited a beat. “I heard you got married.”
“Oh.”
“Yes,” she said. “Oh.”
I exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of my nose. There was no point lying to her. At least not any more than I already had. Especially considering she was there for the will reading. She knew what it said. And she knew very well I wasn’t in any position to get married before that moment.
“It turned out that the lawyers weren’t able to dismiss that particular part of the will.”
“So you figured out a way around it.”
It wasn’t a question but I nodded anyway, even though she couldn’t see me.
“Oh, Avery.” Her voice didn’t hold any judgment. Only sadness and worry. “Put me on video.”
I did as she requested, pushing the button that changed our call to a video. Seeing my mom’s face on the screen had the immediate effect of bringing tears to my eyes. Or maybe it was everything else that had happened, coupled with my complete and total exhaustion. Either way, seeing the way my mom was looking at me with so much worry and concern broke me, and the tears spilled down my cheeks.
“Sweetheart.” Her voice was full of love. “What’s going on? What happened?”
“You were right,” I said after a moment. “This was a bad idea. The inn…Trickle Creek…all of it. It was a horrible idea. I’ve maxed out every credit card I have, and borrowed against my savings.” I ignored the shock on her face at my confession and kept going. There was so much more. “I paid the handyman I barely knew to marry me so I wouldn’t lose it all, and then Jacob showed up, threatening to take it all away from me. And he did. Or at least he’s going to. He figured it out and he made a big scene at the festival and then Reid punched him and I got mad and yelled and sent him away and now my heart is breaking because somehow, somewhere along the way, I fell in love with him but we can never be together, because our entire relationship is a lie and?—”
“Wait.”
My breath hitched and another sob tore from deep inside me. I was a mess. Tears poured freely down my face, streaking my cheeks with the mascara I hardly ever wore.
“I just wish he was here with me, but I don’t know where he is and I?—”
“Avery,” she said gently. “Stop.”
I did.
“Take a breath, honey.”
I did as I was told.
“Now,” she said. “There’s a lot to unpack there. So, let’s start with the most important part.”
I nodded.
