“Zoe, I didn’t realize you got home. Where is your car?”
Sitting in a lot in New York City for fifty dollars a day. “It’s a long story, Mama. I missed you.” She set down the lemonade pitcher and took her mom in a tight embrace.
Diane was wearing a soft and flowery green and purple sundress, with a bright-white cardigan hanging off her shoulders. Diane always had a few extra pounds she’d never lost after giving birth to DJ, but now every time she hugged her mother, all Zoe could feel was skin and bones. She kept telling herself that was a normal side effect of the pills, but she knew there was nothing normal about what was happening to her mother. “I thought you were taking a little break from church.”
“Zoe, you know a true Christian can’t really take a break from something like that.”
“Have you looked at any of the other churches?”
“Trust me, all the churches in the area are the same. But none of them have Pastor Bill. You should’ve heard the sermon today. It was so inspiring.”
From all the times Zoe had met Pastor Bill, he seemed like a nice enough fellow, but she couldn’t see how any of his sermons were worth her mother having to deal with those horrible women.
“Let’s stop fussing about me. Tell me about the wedding. Was everyone fabulous? Did you get to eat any of the food? Did you meet any handsome, rich boys?”
Zoe’s blood rushed to her cheeks at her mother’s last remark. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the wedding, and the reason I went. Mama, I lied to you.”
Her mother’s face fell a little bit.
“Do you want some lemonade? I made you some lemonade.”
“I don’t want lemonade. What do you mean you lied?”
“Before you get upset, I want you to know that it’s good news.” God, she was messing this up. She should’ve come right out and said it. “Did you know Wade Maxium used to live here?”
Diane sat down and crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at Zoe. “I’m not that out of touch, Zoe. I know Wade’s father was the old mayor.”
“Yes, but I never told you that I knew Wade.”
“You knew a billionaire and kept it a secret?”
“No. It wasn’t like that. He would come in to work and I would wait on him. At first, it was just a casual thing but then he would start asking for my table.” She was making it up on the fly, but she had to admit, it wasn’t that bad of a love story. “So when I got the job as temporary help for the wedding, it wasn’t just to make some extra cash. It was to see Wade one more time before he got married.”
Diane’s face fell. “Tell me you didn’t, Zoe.”
“He wasn’t happy, Mama. And when I told him I loved him, he told me he loved me too.”
“This is wrong. You know that’s wrong.”
It was tough to not bring up the fact that Tara cheated first, but she was the one who decided it would be best if her mother believed that she and Wade were in love. This was the price she was going to have to pay for that. “I couldn’t think about right or wrong, Mama. I just couldn’t imagine never being with him. We never crossed a line, I promise. There was never a kiss or touch that was out of place. But we talked for hours, and I couldn’t get him out of my mind. Wouldn’t the real sin be to never explore what could happen?”
“The real sin is stealing another woman’s man and you know that.”
“Well, he’s mine now. We got married this weekend, Mama.”
She didn’t know what to expect. Screaming? Anger? Surprise? Sadness? Instead, she got silence.
Diane finally picked up the glass of lemonade and took a few deep gulps.
“Mama, I—”
“I’m feeling a little tired. If you don’t mind, I’m going to lie down for a few minutes.”
“Can we talk about this more? There’s so much—”
“Zoe, I said I’m tired. Allow me to rest.”
She’d been backed into a corner. She was already putting enough on her mother without also denying her sleep. But Zoe knew her mother well enough to know she wasn’t going to be getting any rest. She was going to be tossing and turning and worrying about Zoe when the whole point of this was supposed to be to take stress off her mother.
“I don’t want to stop talking until I say what I need to say.” Zoe followed her mother to her room.
Diane got through the doorway and turned around. “I assume he’s here?”
“He? Wade? He’s not here. He’s at his old house.”
“Well then, why don’t you bring him by for supper tomorrow? I’d like to meet him and ask him a few questions.”
“Questions?”
“I assume he’s all right meeting a frail old woman.”
Zoe let out a sigh. “You’re not old.”
“But you don’t deny I’m frail.”
For the love of— “Stop trying to trap me.”
“All right. Then tomorrow we can all have an open and honest talk and you don’t have to keep living this secret life.”
“I didn’t have a secret life! There was no point in telling you before anything happened!” Zoe immediately saw the hurt pass over her mother’s face and regretted her choice of words. “I mean—”
But Diane just took a deep breath and looked over Zoe with unabashed disappointment. “I’ll see you for dinner.” She closed the door right in Zoe’s face.
Zoe let her head fall forward and hit the door, not flinching at the pain. She deserved pain at this point. How had she muddled this up so badly? Maybe there was no right way to do it. Maybe it was going to get muddled no matter what.
And now that Diane had fully retreated, Zoe didn’t have much of a choice. She would come back tomorrow with Wade and get a front row seat to see the shit hit the fan.
“You can’t wear that tie.”
Wade didn’t remember the last time a woman had criticized his style choices. Even Tara, who was especially opinionated when it came to fashion, had been especially pleased with his impeccable taste. But now this little waitress was scowling at him as she crossed the room to start loosening the tie.
“Whoa.” He pushed her hands away. “If you ever start undressing me again, it had better be because you have plans to lick what’s underneath,” he muttered as he took the rest of the tie off himself. He knew Zoe was serious, because she didn’t even blush at his comment. “What’s wrong with this tie anyway? This is one of my good ties.”
“It’s too red.”
He looked down at his white button-up shirt and jet-black jacket and pants. “Since when do red, white, and black not go together?”
“It’s not a matter of going together. It’s the message that it’s sending.”
“The message that this is a perfectly fine color combination?”
“You can’t meet my mother wearing something aggressive. Where are the rest of your ties?”
He pointed toward his black leather bag next to the bed. “If you want to pick out an outfit for me, my entire travel wardrobe is right there.”
Even though he’d been sarcastic, she didn’t hesitate before she went to the bag and started pulling things out. “No. No. No. Why is everything you own so... mean?”
“Okay, that’s it. My clothes aren’t mean.”
“You’re all sharp angles and graphic colors. Don’t you own anything pastel?”
“Do you really want me to own things that are pastel?”
“It’s trendy! Men who are comfortable in their own masculinity wear pastel colors all the time.”
“You really want me to prove how comfortable I am with my masculinity?” All of a sudden he was taking off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt. If she really wanted him to prove the point, he would....
“Stop!” Her hands moved to cover her face.
Not exactly the reaction he was expecting.
After a moment, she slowly lowered her hands before crossing over to him and straightening his collar, pressing it down a bit. “You look so much more relaxed and
... human now. Less like a monster about to swallow me whole.”
“Please don’t call me a monster,” he muttered.
“Not literally.”
She started to turn away, but he caught her hand and abruptly brought it to his mouth, taking the pad of her thumb between his teeth and pressing down just enough to make her wince. “If I wanted to devour you whole, I would’ve done it by now,” he threatened, making sure she could feel his breath against her skin.
She stared at him wordlessly for a few long seconds before tugging her hand away as though she only belatedly realized that was an option. “I thought you were going to ask my permission first.”
“I think we can safely say you deserved that. You know I can be charming, right? I’m sure your mom will be my number one fan by the end of the night.”
“She’s not like most women. She’s not going to be swayed by your money and charm. Just don’t let her question your morals.”
She said the word like an accusation. In some ways, he couldn’t blame her. He knew he didn’t have the best reputation. Scratch that; it was a great reputation for what he needed it for. For getting shit done. For making sure people took him at his word. However, it wasn’t the best reputation for convincing mothers that he was marriage material.
“It’s not like we need her approval,” he reminded Zoe. “The license is already signed. It’s already been done.”
“You might not need her approval, but I would like to periodically speak to my mother over the next two years. I don’t need any decade-long rifts forming in our relationship. Just go, play nice, and if any questionable topic comes up, just mention that you love Jesus.”
“Oh, come on. Have you mentioned that I would be covering all of her medical bills?”
Zoe frowned at him. “On second thought, just try to not speak at all.”
She seemed to be taking her nonthreatening advice to heart. She was dressed in a pastel purple dress that stopped right above her knees. The short sleeves and V-neck showed exactly zero cleavage, but the dress was tight enough to nicely fit along the curves of her body, showing just enough to make his mouth water a little. The dress might not be sexy, but she sure as hell was.
Wade backed out of the room, figuring it was best to leave Zoe alone as she finished getting ready. He wasn’t nervous. Of all the different meetings he’d had, schmoozing Zoe’s mother wouldn’t be that difficult. There were so many ways that being with him could improve her life. Her mother had to be able to see that, right?
A few minutes later, Zoe’s footsteps sounded down the stairs, the noise padded by the ballet flats she was wearing. “What are you waiting for?” she snapped at him as she walked right by and out the front door.
Wade gritted his teeth. He swore to God....
He didn’t let himself finish the thought, too afraid he’d actually carry through the threat. She started going toward the Charger, but he held up a different set of keys. “Don’t you want to arrive in style?” He headed toward the Lexus.
Thankfully she didn’t argue with him this time, but he did hear her mutter something about aggressive under her voice.
The drive to her mother’s was short. Only about three miles separated them. Wade knew that she, being about five years younger than him, had never gone to the same schools or hung out with the same crowds. It wasn’t really surprising that he never knew her before. But still.... Three miles was so short.
Zoe didn’t seem to be pondering the short distance between the two of them. Instead, she clenched and unclenched her fingers, the nerves very obviously taking their toll on her. He almost put a hand on her knee, but then figured it wouldn’t be safe if she punched his lights out while he was driving. “You doing okay there? I’d kiss you, but I doubt you’d give me your permission right now.”
“Fine is relative, isn’t it? I mean, I will be fine. This can’t go that bad, can it? So why do I feel like I’m about to walk the plank?”
Walk the plank? Interesting pirate reference. He filed that away in case that information would be useful later. “I take it you and your mother have a good relationship, if you’re so worried about this ruining it?”
“My mother’s the best. I know people say that, but my mom really is. She’s worked so hard her whole life to give me and my brother a chance. She’s had to do it alone and she’s never complained and she’s never snapped at us. She’s the type of mom who would make other moms jealous. She’s always been there for me, and I let her down over and over and over again. I just don’t want her to think that this is another letdown.”
Wade had been called a lot nicer things than a letdown, but he knew this wasn’t about him.
“If you don’t mind me asking, was your father ever in the picture?”
“Here and there. It was always a fight to get child support from him. Anytime he saw us, I was pretty sure it was his mother, our grandmother, forcing him to see his kids. Eventually he got married and had a real family. After that, we started seeing him less and less. After the child support stopped coming, we found out he died. Got hit by a drunk driver. His wife hadn’t even bothered to let us know. I don’t think he told her very good stories about us. It was hard to feel sad about it, you know? Like, he was my father. It should’ve tore me up, but in a way it was just a relief that he couldn’t cause us any more pain.”
Wade certainly knew what it was like to not grieve for a parent’s passing, but now wasn’t the right time to bring up his father, especially considering what Zoe already suspected about his death.
But if Zoe’s mother really was all she had, he could understand the importance of making a good impression. He rolled his head over his shoulders, cracking his neck. His little way of getting himself ready for battle. “What about your brother? Is there anything interesting I should know there?”
Zoe was still staring intently out the window and not looking at him. “DJ is at that weird age. It’s hard to judge if he’s going to be overjoyed that I’m leaving or accuse me of abandoning him.”
“You know you’re not leaving them, right? You’re moving away. You can come back and visit pretty much as often as you like.” He was sure that as things progressed further, she would be able to spend more time away from him if she wanted.
“You don’t have anyone who you’re worried about telling?” she asked, probably trying to change the subject.
“I’m not known for being reasonable and predictable.” In truth, he didn’t know how his sister was going to react. She was usually so calm and collected under pressure, but he’d seen her lose her shit before. He wasn’t looking forward to being on the wrong end of that. Maybe she would just be happy that he didn’t end up with Tara. He knew she and Sarah had never been best friends.
“It’s the third house on the right,” said Zoe as he pulled onto one of the shoddier streets in town.
Maybe he should’ve taken one of the older cars, he thought. Let’s be honest—anything he owned would stand out in this neighborhood. Because the tiny driveway already had a car that was probably about as old as he was taking up most of the space, he had to chance parking it on the street.
He made sure none of his discomfort showed on his face, because he was sure Zoe was just looking for a reason to call him a privileged elitist. Rolling his neck once more, he stepped out of the car and walked around to get Zoe’s door.
Of course she didn’t wait for him, instead pushing her door open before he could reach it and charging toward the front door on her own. Wade knew exactly how important first impressions were. Zoe’s nerves were making her want to rush through getting this over, but that wouldn’t get her what she wanted.
He took extra-long strides and cut along over the front yard as he caught up to her and interlinked his arm with hers. She gasped and jumped at the contact, one more sign of her nerves as he pulled her arm in closer. “It’s okay, I got you,” he whispered as he led the way to the door at a much calmer and steadier pace. She blinked a few times but didn’t
argue or try to pull her arm away. As soon as they got to the front door, it was pulled open and Wade found himself confronting what must be Zoe’s younger brother, DJ.
The kid’s skin was a little darker than Zoe’s, but he definitely looked like he was her brother. He had long, thick hair that was falling down over his eyes. He pushed it back and stared at the two of them, a whole lot of unspoken questions hanging in the air. “So you’re the rich dude my sister bagged?” he asked.
“DJ, you little—”
Wade held up a hand. “It’s okay. I think being bagged by you is one of the luckiest things that ever happened to me,” he said smoothly, giving Zoe an adoring look. It wasn’t really a lie. He did think he was damn lucky to meet Zoe when he did and get her to go along with this. And dammit if she didn’t look sexy in that dress....
“Nice save, Mr. Maxium,” said a woman’s voice. A second later, Zoe’s mother appeared behind DJ, setting her hands protectively on her son’s shoulders as though he needed to be protected from Wade. “I hope you can forgive him. We’re all a little... shell-shocked today.”
“Nothing to forgive,” promised Wade. “I understand more than most how important it is to protect what we love.”
“Hi, Mama. You look lovely.”
The woman smiled at Zoe, but it was obvious that the smile didn’t meet her eyes. Wade stepped forward and held out his hand to the woman. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Young. I’m Wade Maxium.”
She eyed his hand questioningly before she met it in a weak handshake. “Please call me Diane.”
Her hand felt cold to the touch, and her skin was tight against her cheekbones and collarbones. He wondered what she looked like before she got sick. Although he could see the physical signs, she didn’t seem to be any more weary for it. If anything, he was starting to understand Zoe’s trepidation about this meeting a little more.
Her skin was very pale, and her light-brown hair was pulled back from her face. Zoe and DJ seemed to take after their father a lot more than Diane, but it sounded as if looks were the only thing they got from the man, based off the stories Zoe had told him earlier. “Whatever you’re cooking, it smells amazing,” he offered.
Lucky Liar (Lucky Alphas Book 1) Page 5
