"The chick in the limo?" He paused. "That's your mom?"
Just like too many other times tonight, I felt my face burn with raw embarrassment. I gave a silent nod before saying, "So I guess I should apologize, huh?"
"For what?"
"Well, for the way she was acting, I guess."
"Why shouldyouapologize?" A distinct edge crept into his voice. "She's the skank, not you."
I didn't like him calling her a skank. Maybe it was true, and it was definitely justified. But who wants to be the daughter of a skank? What if skankiness ran in the family?
If so, I was totally doomed.
From the little I knew of my grandmother, the trend was definitely there.
His voice softened. "Listen, I don't mean to insult you, but a woman like that? She's not fit to be called mom."
Probably, he was right. But emotionally, he had no idea what I was going through. How could he? Obviously, he'd grown up under very different circumstances.
Probably,hismom was some sort of socialite who never felt compelled to use her charms – or whatever you called it – to make ends meet.
Trying not to sound as low as I felt, I said, "Well, she's the only mom I have, so…" I gave a tight shrug and didn't bother continuing.
"So…?" he prompted.
"So, it's not like I can get a replacement."
At this, he actually smiled. "You'd be surprised."
I should've smiled back. But I couldn’t. Not now. The whole sordid conversation was a grim reminder that my mom washereof all places. So instead, I leaned into Jax and tried not to think about it.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to make myself stop. Probably, my mom was looking for me right now. I wasn't so naive as to think that Tabitha had been theonlyone to spot me. Cripes, for allIknew, my mom was the one who'd sent her to get the dress.
Even as Jax held me so blissfully close, I found myself scanning our surroundings, dreading yet another ugly confrontation.
I tried to tell myself that probably wouldn't be nearly as dreadful as I feared. After all, Dominic was here, and she'd surely want to impress him, right?
Of course, that didn't mean I wouldn’tstillbe humiliated in some way or another. No matter what, my mom always found a way.
In a fit of frustration, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried for once in my life to live in the moment. It shouldn’t have been so hard. Here I was, dancing with the hottest guy I'd ever met, and he'd been so amazingly wonderful.
Still, a little voice whispered that the dance wouldn’t go on forever, and eventually I'd be facing a different kind of music. For the millionth time, I wondered, where on Earth would I be sleeping tonight?
Jax's voice, low and soothing, brought me back to the present. "You're trembling."
"Am I?"
His voice was very quiet in my ear. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Damn it.This was such a magical moment, and I was ruining it by worrying what might happen later. I didn't want to ruin anything, especially this dance. It might be our only one.
Desperate for a distraction, I asked, "Is this really your house?"
He pulled back to study my face. "I'll tellyouif you tellme."
"Sorry, I'm not following."
