Page 66 of Suddenly Yours

“I just had a lovely visit with your brother. Did he message you that I was on my way?”

I was slightly surprised and pulled out my phone. There were four missed calls from Max and two long text messages that I would read later.

“I guess my phone was on silent,” I admitted.

Since the bakery was busy at the moment, we decided to walk down the street to the little café with the blue awning. It was a lot quieter, and far enough away that I didn’t feel like the walls of the bakery were closing in or interrupting us. We ordered salads and iced tea and took a small table outside to enjoy the warm air.

Summer was only a few weeks away.

For a few minutes, we talked about safe things. The bakery. The town. Max and Cora. Her working again at Sharper Image’s main studio in New York alongside Max.

The fact that she was calling Max by his preferred nickname instead of Wyatt, as she had always done, surprised me. Then, during the conversation, she called me Missy.

Something was definitely different here.

She also asked questions, real ones about my life, and I found myself answering before I could overthink the answers.

Then the silence shifted.

“Your father stopped by my place last week in the city,” she said carefully. “He was… not subtle about wanting me to ‘reconsider my portion of the divorce settlement.’”

“He visited here a while back too. He wants me to persuade you to offer him more money for his portion of Sharper Image.”

Her lips pressed together. “Of course he does. The fact that he is dragging you and your brother into this mess is a sign of the lack of his backbone.”

I stared down at my plate, then sighed. “He made sure to tell me that I am wasting my time here.” I hesitated, then added, “He also suggested I get back together with Levi. He said it would be smart of me.”

Her fork froze halfway to her mouth.

“Levi’s back in your life?” She frowned at me.

“No!” I blurted out, then added more softly, “No.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but he cheated on you, correct?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

I nodded and continued, my voice tightening despite my best efforts. “For some reason, he showed up at the bakery a few weeks back. Now he’s angry that I won’t take him back. Dad knows he cheated and doesn’t seem to care.”

“Of course he doesn’t care.” My mother set her fork down slowly. “Like-minded men.” She rolled her eyes.

“Dad is determined to get us back together for some reason,” I added. “Do you know why?”

“I was afraid of this.”

Something in her tone made me look up. Really look at her.

“I should have protected you better,” she said quietly. “Both of you. You and Max.”

The words knocked the air from my lungs.

“For years,” she went on, her eyes fixed on the tabletop, “I told myself that keeping the peace was the same as keeping the family together. Gerald… cheated on me, over and over. I don’t think that was ever a secret. At least I always knew.” She gave a humorless laugh. “I just didn’t want to be the one who blew everything up.”

My chest ached. “Mom…”

“I stayed, at first, because you two were so young. I kept telling myself that it would be easier for you both,” she admitted. “And because the world told me I should stay. Because I thought sacrificing my happiness was the price of stability.” Her gaze lifted to mine, sharp and clear. “I won’t do that anymore. And I won’t dare ask you to either. Levi is a snake. He always has been and always will be, just like Gerald.”

Tears burned, sudden and unwelcome. I blinked them back. “Dad makes me feel like my happiness doesn’t matter. Like it’s… collateral damage.”

Her jaw tightened. “It’s not. And it never was, or never should have been.” She reached across and lightly took my hand, squeezing it and letting it go quickly. “Don’t listen to a thing that man says. He’s growing desperate now that his bank account is suffering.”