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I suck in a steeling breath. “Mother, this is Gabriel Lucas. Ned’s best friend and business partner. And Isa’s godfather.”
She gives a tight smile. “Of course. We met at my daughter’s wedding, correct?”
Gabe hooks his thumbs in his pockets and twitches a nervous smile. “Yes, we did. Nice to see you again…Mrs. Miller.”
“Please call me Rena.” My mother’s eyes bounce from Gabe to the dollhouse to me. A miffed sound spills from her pinched lips. “You still have that piece of junk? I thought I threw it out ages ago.”
She did, but I rescued it from the garbage and hid it in my bedroom closet.
An increasingly uncomfortable Gabe spares me from responding. “Well, I’d better get on my way. I have a meeting I can’t miss.” A pause. “Take care, Ava.”
The words hang in the air between us. Gabe’s eyes stay fixed on me. I don’t want him to leave.
“Mother, I should see him to the door.”
“I’m sure Mr. Lucas is very capable and can see himself out.” My mother imbibes her drink and glowers at me. “Ava, I’d like a word with you.”
I watch as Gabe disappears. A viselike sadness takes hold of me until my mother rips it off like a Band-Aid, exposing the tender, raw skin underneath.
“What were you doing with him?” she asks, her voice as sharp as a tack.
“He was just helping me put together the dollhouse.” I falter. “Gabe is very handy.”
“I can see that.” Her eyes narrow. “But that’s not what you were really doing.”
I play innocent. “What do you mean?”
“I have eyes, Ava.” She purses her lips. “You can’t fool me. There’s something going on between the two of you.”
I say nothing as she continues chastising me.
“You have a family now. Don’t jeopardize your marriage. Most women would kill to be married to a man like Ned.”
Caffeinated, I find the courage to stand up to her. “Are you threatening me, Mother?”
A snarl curls her lips. “No, I’m warning you.”
The ice in her voice makes the temperature in the room feel like it’s dropped ten degrees. A shiver zips through me.
I hug myself and my mother glares at my left hand, my digits curled around my right upper arm.
“Ava, where are your engagement ring and wedding band?” Her rough tone rivals an uncut diamond.
I briefly lower my eyes. “I took them off a few months ago. My fingers were very swollen from water retention and the rings were cutting off my circulation.” It was an ordeal. It took forever to get them off even after icing my finger and applying a bottleful of hand lotion. There’s still a faint scar on my finger where I finally managed to squeeze my engagement ring over my knuckle; I tore the skin.
My mother’s eyes linger on my ring finger. “Well, it doesn’t look that swollen to me.”
I gaze at my fingers again. She’s right, they look back to normal. Well, almost.
She takes a sip of her drink and I’m reminded she once wore a big rock too.
“Mother, whatever happened to your rings?” I know she pawned them but say nothing.
She flinches. “None of your business.” She takes another gulp of her drink. “If I were you, I’d put the rings back on. They might refresh your memory about whom you are married to. And they might make a statement to that nanny of yours…if she hasn’t stolen them.”
At her audacious insinuation, anger surges inside me. “I want you to apologize for that accusation. She’s been nothing but kind, helpful, and honest. Like a friend to me.”
She sniffs with contempt. “Well, I don’t trust her. I’ve had a bad feeling about her from the second I laid eyes on her. If you ask me, there’s a black heart under that white uniform. I’ve known women like her.” Her face darkening, she pauses. “How much do you know about her?”
