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“You’re so effortlessly pretty,” Delly says, giving me a perfumed kiss on the cheek. I can feel the slick press of her lipstick and I resist the urge to wipe it away. “Do you know how long it takes me to get ready in the morning?” She laughs, throwing up a hand. “No, don’t answer that.”
“Would you like some coffee?” I open the cupboard with the mugs. “I’m making Dexter some right now before he’s off to work.”
“Work on a Saturday? Where are his manners?” she huffs loudly. “But yes, I’ll have a coffee please, darlin’. Decaf, if you’ve got it. Can’t stand more than a milligram or two of caffeine these days or I get the shakes all day.”
I finish their drinks and fix myself a fully caffeinated coffee with an extra shot of espresso while I’m at it. Something tells me I’ll need it today.
“Speaking of my son, where is he?” She glances around the kitchen like she’s half expecting him to pop out of the massive cabinets. Absurd or not, they’re actually big enough.
“He’s upstairs getting ready after his workout,” I say, wishing I’d gotten dressed before I came downstairs. “He’ll be down any second, I’m sure.”
Because he’s so desperate to get to work and avoid me.
“That’s just like him. The boy never learned how to relax.” Delly sends me a sympathetic look.
Like he knows we’re talking about him, Dex enters the kitchen with perfectly combed hair, wearing a full suit that looks almost painted on.
“Mother? What are you doing here?” He stops short at the sight of her.
“Oh, I thought I’d drop in and spend some time with my new favorite couple.” Delly gives him a kiss on the cheek he doesn’t return. He frowns at her, not missing the glance she sends at my bare hand. “But it looks like you’re all ready to go.”
“I am,” he says. “And for the record, Mother, normal people don’t just ‘drop in’ this early.”
“You know me. I’ve been up since five.” She waves a dismissive hand.
“Junie needs to sleep in when she’s off.” He glances at me apologetically, but our little argument still sours the air between us. I shrug. “Bye, sweetheart,” he says, accepting the coffee and kissing me on the cheek. Although he does that a lot of mornings, there’s a different vibe today, like we’re really pretending now and it feels forced.
I hate it.
“Bye,” I say as he leaves. The door slams behind him. I wrap my hands around my mug and lean against the counter. “Sorry. That was rude of him.”
“No need to apologize, dearie. I’ve only been dealing with his bluster for half my life.” Delly sinks into the sofa and pats the space beside her. “A mother knows her son. He’s always been like this. Work is his escape when he’s climbing the walls.”
So he’s escaping me then?
I tap my nails idly on the ceramic mug as I sit beside her, wishing she would leave, knowing that every moment we spend together just makes the happy fiancée illusion flimsier.
“I guess that’s just the draw of the cards, huh?”
“Only when he’s stressed.” Delly pats my leg, apparently under the impression she’s reassuring me. “The rest of the time, he’s more reasonable.”
I already know he’s stressed, but hearing her say it like that hits me in the stomach. I take another gulp of coffee so hot it sears my mouth.
“Maybe I’m stressing him out,” I say. “With the Sugar Bowl’s latest business deal, I mean.”
“The one with Mr. Haute? Patton did say something about that the other day.”
“That’s the one. It’s great for the bakery, but I know Dex has a few misgivings about it, and—”
“Oh, my dear.” Completely disregarding the fact that I’m holding a mug, Delly takes my hands. “You’re not the problem, Juniper. Please don’t think that for one second.”
How many times has he said that?
I wish I’d never said yes to this.
I should have just turned it down and figured everything out on my own. Sure, I’d still be struggling to drum up a few extra dollars and coming home to canned soup in a different crappy apartment.
But I knew how to manage without money or special connections.
