Page 47 of One Wrong Move

“It is. It’s much more exciting than the position I had in New York.”

“Mm-hmm.” Her voice is laden with unspoken thoughts, but I know them all, and I don’t want to hear them. My mother is amazing. She’s supportive. She also shows her love through actions rather than words, and right now, there’s no action she can take. So she’s left with no way to express her caring nature.

It’s taken me years to understand that tendency in her.

“I’m fine. I promise. The only thing I’m sorry about is how fast the change happened.” I reach the dairy section in the store and search for the new kind of yogurt I’d discovered last week. It goes straight into my basket. “I know it took you and Greg by surprise.”

“Surprise,” she repeats. “Yes, well, it certainly did. We had no idea you were anything but set on Dean.”

“I didn’t know myself for a long time, not consciously.”

“Mm-hmm,” she says again. It’s more thoughtful this time. “And is your apartment still good? The landlord fixed the window issue?”

“They did, yes. The place is turning out really nice,” I say. It’s a total lie. The second I walked into the place where I lived before, I knew I couldn’t show it to my parents. They’d never understand.

“Good, good. You know Greg and I would love to come visit you.”

I smile. It warms my heart, even if it’s predictable. Showing support by actions. “Maybe in a month or two, when I’m fully settled.”

“Let us know when, and we’ll book,” she says. There’s a brief silence on the line. I reach for a box of basmati rice and await the words that will come.

“Dean called this weekend.”

Her words shock me, even though I braced myself for something in that span of dead air.

I close my eyes. “He did?”

“Yes. I think he just wanted to check in, to be honest. But he did mention one thing… Honey, you won’t let him handle the cancellation fees?”

“No. I’m going to pay my half.”

“He was the one who insisted on a big wedding,” Mom says. “It’s only fair if he?—”

“I’m paying my half,” I say. My voice sounds firm, and I know I’m being stubborn, too, but I can’t imagine owing Dean anything. Not anymore. I won’t have him using that as an excuse to call, to pester, to nag, to guilt. I want to remove myself entirely from his influence.

And now that I told him no… he’s gone to my mom instead. He knows, just as well as I do, that the cancellation charges for the wedding are the last screws he has in me.

“Okay,” Mom says with a sigh. “I won’t pretend to understand, but I don’t want you to overexert yourself, either. All right?”

“I know, Mom. I’m not.”

She sighs again. It’s a softer sound. “Doesn’t his friend live in London, too? That rich heir Dean spoke about; the one who came to your Christmas party, once? What was his name…? Greg searched his family on the internet when we got back home, after the party.”

I grab a package of chicken breasts. Look down at the price tag and give Mom what she’s looking for. “Nate Connovan.”

“That’s it. Isn’t he in London?”

“I think he is, yes.”

Mom chuckles. “Maybe you’ll bump into him. Think he’d recognize you on the street?”

“Considering I dated one of his closest college friends for four years, I suspect the answer is yes.”

“Yes, well, you know the sort. Dean was like that, too. But that guy, he had an even bigger bank account to back up that kind of arrogance. No, I think you need to leave that type of men behind.”

“I think I need to be single for a while.”

“Of course, honey. That might be a great idea right now. But when you’re not… you know, I have plenty of teaching assistants who are?—”

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