I ponder her words, just as her cell phone starts to ring in her bag. She pulls it out, and the nameMommy Dearestflashes on the screen.
Yikes.
She quickly silences it and puts it back in her bag.
“What’s that all about?” I nod toward her phone. “I noticed you silenced a few calls yesterday by the pool too. You avoiding your mom or something?”
She rolls her eyes playfully. “Of course you would notice,” she mumbles. “And yes, I’m ignoring her calls for now. I sent her a quick text yesterday letting her know I was out of town and had limited access to phone reception, but the woman just won’t quit.”
I’m trying not to judge her. Especially since I had such a great relationship with my mom, and the limited information I have tells me that Nikki and her mom aren’t very close. Hence why she has spent almost every holiday throughout the years with Amelia and our family. But a part of me feels like I need to understand their dynamic a little bit better.
“Care to shed some light on what’s going on with you and your mom?”
Her short laugh lacks humor. “I thought I was the therapist in this duo. You coming for my job, big guy?” She elbows my arm.
I shake my head but stay silent, hoping she’ll give me something.
She holds my gaze for a minute, then concedes. “My mom and I have a… complicated relationship,” she starts. “She had me when she was in her early twenties. She had dreams of becoming an actress or a model, and instead, she ended up as a young single mom working inreal estate.” She sighs heavily.
“Anyway, fast forward to now. She’s more interested in keeping up with her looks and finding men with deep pockets. She’s been married three times and is on the prowl for her fourth as we speak. I try not to critique her lifestyle too harshly since she made sure I had everything I needed when I was growing up. And I don’t want to make it sound like she fully neglected me or anything. But let’s just say that if my mom had a sitter available and the option to either take me to the movies or go on a date, the date would win that competition. Every time.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been really tough, especially as a kid” is all I can manage. Internally, I’m raging that my poor Nikki always felt like the lesser option to her mom instead of a priority.
“It’s fine. When we’re around each other, we get along well. I’ve been able to move past it, and she even agreed to do family therapy with me when I was in college, although that was short lived. But it is what it is. I’ve learned to love her as the person she is and not the mom I wish her to be.” She pauses, contemplating if she should continue.
I tuck a piece of her golden hair behind her ear, and she offers me a sad smile.
“After Amelia survived the kidnapping and the news went viral, my mom called me immediately to ask how she was doing. I was so relieved to have her show up for me in such a mom-type role in that moment. I really needed someone to talk to about what happened. Especially since Justin and I had broken up on the same day Amelia was taken.” I stiffen at the mention of her ex but hold her hand to encourage her to carry on.
She takes a deep breath, as if bracing herself for what she’s going to say next. “After we spoke about Amelia and how she was going to make a full recovery for a bit, Mom started asking questions about Evan.”
Fuck. I know exactly where this is going. “Go on.”
“Amelia and Evan were on the cover of every newspaper in the city after she met up with him at his holiday party in that full black gown, right before she was taken. My mom saw it once the news went viral and, of course, focused on the fact that Evan is a billionaire. She started asking questions about him. How often I see him. Whether he has a father or even a brother.” Nikki shivers at the thought. “She started going on and on about me being in his ‘inner circle’ and asking if I could introduce her to any of his business associates, and I just—” Her voice cracks as her eyes start to water.
Without a second thought, I pull her into my lap as the catamaran starts steering us toward our next stop.
I tuck her head under my chin and wrap my arms around her. I don’t miss how she immediately melts into me.
She takes a couple of deep breaths, and I do the same, blissfully drowning myself in her cherry scent. “For so long,” she whispers into my chest, “I gave up on the idea of her being a regular mom. I got comfortable with the reality that I had to treat her more like a girlfriend. But in that moment, when I was so emotionally distraught about Amelia, and my mom kept droning on about her favorite subject—men with money—I kinda lost it for a bit. I told her not to call me for a while and maybe used some pretty colorful language to drive home the point. She’s been calling me ever since. I texted her to let her know I’m fine, but the last thing I’m going to do is answer her call while I’m on the world’s most expensive vacation. She’d blast me with a million questions about it, or even worse, ask for an invite. So yeah, I’m just ignoring her calls until I’m ready. And I’m not sure exactly when that’s going to be.”
I give her a quick squeeze. “Take all the time you need, Nikki. I’ll be here for you in the meantime.”
She untucks herself and stares up at me. “You really mean that?” she asks with enough vulnerability to crack my heart in two.
“I’d love to see you try to get rid of me at this point, corazón.”
“Corazón?” She quirks a brow.
I shrug nonchalantly. “Just go with it.”
And for the rest of the ride, she stays on my lap while wrapped in my arms, like it’s the most natural thing she’s ever done.
Like she’s finally home.
19
Nikki
