Page 47 of Falling for the Single Mom

Chapter Twenty-Two

The clock had struckfive over a half an hour ago, and Sera was still stuck in her chair, staring out the window and thinking of her past. A past full of the constant disappointment she had caused her parents. Nothing she had ever done was good enough for them.

From dance recitals where she hadn’t been able to remember all the moves to getting a B on a report card. She was constantly compared to Juliette, who had died weeks before Seraphina’s own birth in a car accident that had also claimed the life of her young nanny. At three, Juliette was forever perfect in her parent’s eyes, and Seraphina had been a poor substitute. She’d never reach any level of perfection.

Her only saving grace was that she had been born the same day as Kaine, who had been perfect by virtue of just being male. He had also been great at sports and smart in school. He even had a ton of friends, something Sera never had. All her life, she lived in his shadow, barely a blip on her parents’ conscience.

Six years later, they had brought home her replacement: Arabella. Girly and delicate, she was perfect in every way, just like Juliette. From her grace and quiet demeanor, Arabella could do no wrong in her parents’ eyes. Never had, as far as Sera could remember.

By her teen years, they had sent Sera to a boarding school to try and improve her grades. She was averaging a disappointing A- most of the time. The years out of the house and away from her parents had taught Sera not to depend on her family; she had herself. Her siblings had been sent to different private schools, and they had lost any sibling connection that might have had.

When Sera had chosen a state school, that had been another major disappointment for her parents. Kaine had chosen a private school that Gaines had attended years before. It didn’t matter that the school she had selected was known for its business department, and the employment rates were high. State school was state school, and she, a Hawthorne, was supposed to be better than that.

During her sophomore year, when she realized she was pregnant with Emma, she didn’t go to her parents until she already had a solution: to marry Bradford. Her parents had decided that if that was her path, they would let her go and do it without them. At the time, Sera hadn’t been surprised by their reaction. After all, she knew her parents.

When Bradford had left and didn’t come back, she turned to herself and her new kids to make their family work. It was hard and would have been easier to walk away from the five teenagers who’d barely tolerated her for the first months. By the time Emma had been born, they had all been there, and all had pitched in when needed with the new baby.

She hadn’t lied to Harrison when she had said she wouldn’t trade the inheritance she walked away from for her kids. She loved all seven of them and couldn’t see herself not being their mom. Each child had affected her in their own way, and each had made her a better person by knowing them.

Her parents didn’t deserve to know any of her girls because they were all better people than her parents pretended to be.

“Sera?” She heard Harrison’s voice from behind her.

Spinning her chair, she turned to look at him. Though she had seen him earlier, her parents had taken all of her attention. Right now she could analyze him in his black suit and silver tie. The only signs that the day had been long and stressful was that his hair was no longer perfectly styled; it was in slight disarray. “What, Harrison?”

“I was heading out to my mother’s. Did you want to interview her?” His words surprised her. Was he inviting her to actually interview his mother, or just meet his mother? Because whatever happened last week between them was over. She was pretty sure it was over.

“Do you want me to interview your mother?” she questioned. Interviewing the woman hadn’t even crossed her mind. They were a bit biased.

“Maybe you need a character reference for your report.” He shrugged. He wanted her to meet his mother; that was obvious now. Maybe it was because he had met her parents and had seen the disaster that she came from. Could he be trying to take her mind off her own childhood?

“I don’t know if I should,” she hedged. It was the truth.

Her heart told her to jump at the chance to meet her children’s grandmother, the only good one that they would ever have. But then she would have to lie to an old lady. A lie by omission, but a lie just the same. Just like with Harrison.

“Just call it a character reference. Please.” The pleading at the end caught her by surprise. He had never asked her for something like this before.

“Okay, as a character reference.” She grabbed a legal pad and pen, shoved them into her briefcase, and they headed out.

They took Harrison’s car, which was still parked in the same parking lot she always parked in. Since he always teased her about her Jeeps, she let him drive. During the drive, she admitted the person who had taught her to fix cars was actually the maintenance man on their estate, not her father at all. As she grew up, she needed to get out of the house more and more, and found herself in the garage, learning about cars from a man who didn’t have to waste his time with some rich kid. But he had anyway, which was something Sera had always been grateful for when there wasn’t money to fix cars.

Emily Dean lived in a nice little neighborhood. The houses were neither new nor old, and all were taken care of. Though she knew Harrison hadn’t grown up in this house, she could still picture him there, riding his bicycle up and down the sidewalks.

The door opened as Harrison pulled into the driveway, and Sera watched a woman who reminded her of Harrison walk out of the house. After quick introductions, Emily invited them inside for drinks.

The lemonade was tart, and Sera could have gone for a little bit of added alcohol, but she wasn’t about to ask the woman. Sera had secrets to keep, and alcohol loosened her lips.

“Sera, it’s great to finally meet you. Harrison has told me so much about you.” Emily sat down across from her; no lemonade for the older woman.

“I’m at a slight disadvantage. Harrison’s told me little about you,” Sera said, trying not to stare at the woman who shared so many features with Sera’s daughters.

“There isn’t much to know. Born and raised here in the city. I really can’t see myself living elsewhere.” The woman said nothing more, leaving Sera with few details she could share with her children later in life about their paternal grandmother.

“Harrison said you were an artist.” Sera tried again, this time with a detail she would never forget.

“Oh, no. I paint, but since I’ve retired, I can spend more time at it. Are you an artist?”

“No, no, my youngest is the budding artist, and my …” She bit her lip, stopping herself. Then pushed on. “My stepdaughter is an amazing artist. Hasn’t found a way to sell it yet, but one day.”

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