Page 86 of Lucky Mother Pucker

She blinks, and the look in her gaze softens. “Apology accepted. Thanks.”

She grabs my glass and takes a sip of my club soda. “I gotta say, I’m a little thrown off by what you said. It was very grown-up and mature. Not like you at all,” she teases.

I crack a smile. “When you left, Lucy gave me a pep talk that made me realize that I might be in the wrong.”

Zoey raises an eyebrow. “I like her even more.”

I look at Lucy laughing with my mom. I think about how much more stressed out I’d be if she weren’t here.

I smile. “I do too.”

Chapter 32

Lucy

“I’m going to stop by the ladies’ room for a touch-up,” Leo’s mom, Cora, says. She looks at Zoey and me. “Would you girls care to join me?”

I’m heartened that she’s including me. His mom and sister have been so kind and welcoming. Just like Leo.

“Sure, I’d love to,” I say.

I start to follow Zoey and Cora as they walk off, but I turn to Leo. “Will you be okay here alone?”

The ballroom is even more crowded now.

His smile is warm. “Yeah. I just saw Nick and Poppy walk in, so I’ll go say hi to them. Have fun. And don’t let my sister spray perfume around an open flame.”

I laugh as I walk off to the ladies’ room. When we walk in, my eyes go wide. It looks more like a fitting room at a designer clothing store than a public restroom.

The walls are covered in pretty striped wallpaper. There’s a plush loveseat in the corner. The floor and sink look like they’re made of the same expensive marble as the lobby.

I glance around when I don’t see any actual toilet stalls, confused. But then I see another massive door and a sign above it with the word toilettes written in cursive. This place is so fancy that the restroom is two separate areas.

Cora sets her clutch on the sink and pulls out mascara, lipstick, and a Q-tip. I stand back and watch as Zoey helps her mom with her eye makeup. I smile at the resemblance between them. They both have the same long, dark, chocolate brown hair, deep brown eyes with golden flecks, and full lips. They’re both really tall too. They must be like five-eight or five-nine.

Cora turns to me. “My eyelashes don’t look like spiders, do they?”

Zoey chuckles. “Mom, it looks good. Thick lashes are in.”

“She’s right. You look amazing,” I say.

Cora smiles like she’s relieved.

“You’re both really beautiful,” I say. I make a flustered noise. “Sorry, I hope that’s okay to say. I just have always thought it’s really special when mothers and daughters share a strong resemblance.”

Cora beams at me. “Oh, Lucy, honey. You never have to apologize for giving a compliment like that.” She looks at Zoey and pats her hand. “I’m thrilled that you think I look anything like my gorgeous daughter. At my age, it’s a joy to be told I look like a twenty-five-year-old.”

Zoey chuckles. “You always look amazing, Mom.”

I take a second to clean up my makeup in the mirror.

“Do you and your mom look alike too?” Cora asks.

“Yeah, we did. She had the same red hair as me.”

Cora's smile fades, seeming to pick up on my use of the past tense when talking about my mom. “Oh, honey, does that mean…”

I nod. “She passed away a couple of years ago. My dad passed a couple of years before that.”