Sure enough. Bree came back out of the kitchen. “Mom, what the heck?”
“Now what?” Zona responded.
“You know what. You’re doing it again. You’re falling for a guy.”
“I am not,” Zona insisted.
Louise knew it was a lie, and she knew that, deep down, her daughter knew it, too.
Bree plopped onto a chair and set her glass on a side table. “Crap, Mom. How bad do you need a man at your age?”
Zona gave her daughter a warning look.
A warning wasn’t enough, so Louise jumped in. “Your mother’s still a young woman,” she said sternly.
“She needs to chill,” Bree said.
“You don’t need to talk about me like I’m not here,” Zona informed her.
Bree’s disrespectful attitude was getting old. “And you do need to quit giving advice to the people who raised you,” Louise said, pointing a finger at her. “You haven’t lived long enough to earn your DIO degree.”
“What’s that?” Bree scoffed.
“A Dish It Out Degree. You won’t be qualified for another twenty years.”
“So, I’m supposed to just sit by and watch Mom make another mistake and get hurt?”
“Maybe you need to worry a little less about my life and take care of your own,” Zona said shortly.
Bree scowled and threw up her hands. “I give up.” She walked her half-empty glass back to the kitchen and then walked out the door.
Zona sighed. “What do you think really happened after Cinderella married the prince?”
“She had a couple of kids. He got bored and took a mistress,” Louise joked.
“I guess, when it comes right down to it most princes are frogs,” said Zona.
“Keep that in mind,” Louise cautioned.
“I’m being careful.”
“I hope so,” Louise said. “But sometimes longing can put a blindfold on you.”
“You’re right,” Zona said.
“I think that’s what both Bree and I worry about. I know I jumped to conclusions about Alec James. Over-the-top ones. But that doesn’t mean my concerns now aren’t justified. Be careful.”
“I will,” Zona said, and that was the end of the conversation.
Louise could only hope her daughter would be as careful as she promised to be. Sadly, it wasn’t a very strong hope.
ZONA HAD MEANTwhat she said. She was enjoying hanging out with Alec, and that kiss they’d shared had taken up residence at the back of her mind, playing like a movie trailer. Maybe someday, if he did prove to be safe, if his stepsister really did vanish from his life, they’d have a chance together.
But contrary to what her daughter thought, Zona’s brain wasn’t dead. She was going to be careful. And they were going to take things slow.
Meeting Alec for burgers on her lunch break was slow. Training Darling out in the front yard was slow. Going out for drinks was slow. Wanting to snuggle back in his arms was... not slow.
No, no, she was okay. She hadn’t acted on that desire. She was in charge of her lusty hormones, not the other way around.
