Page 91 of It Must Be Love

Naya

"Idon't think so, Mrs. Westbrook." I hid my trembling and sat down on the couch. Hell no. I wasn't going to let Ann, or this woman chase me away from Amias. I owed him that. I owed myself that.

"This is my son's apartment." Vivianna's eyes were focused on my bare legs. Horror swam in her eyes. I wanted badly to wrap a blanket across them. After hiding them from everyone, here they were on display in front of two women who loathed me.

"And mine," I added. Well, he'd asked me to move in and said that I could decide when. I just did. It was now.

"Yours?" Ann all but screeched.

"Yes. I live here."

Vivianna pulled out her phone and immediately we all heard a phone ring. Amias stepped into his apartment, phone in hand.

"Hello, mother. Looks like you're calling me." He shut the door behind him and set down his suitcase. "Hey, baby."

I got up on trembling legs and went to him. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. "I'm so proud of you, Little Warrior," he whispered in my ear.

"Are you living with this woman?" my mother hissed.

"Yes." Amias was smiling from ear to ear. "This is Naya Donovan. Naya, this is my mother, and you already know Ann."

"What's wrong with her legs?" my mother demanded, folding her arms.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with her legs," Amias countered.

Chapter 35

Amias

"Iwas in a car accident when I was eighteen," Naya explained, "There was a fire."

My mother's eyes shifted between me and Naya. I knew my mother. She'd already lost my brother Leander when she'd driven his first wife away and made sure he married someone she approved. He wasn't happy. His new wife wasn't happy. Their kids were not happy. The person who was happiest was my brother's ex-wife.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Still, you should put on more clothes."

"My t-shirt that Naya is wearing is longer than Ann's dress, Mother." I walked Naya into the living room. "Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Sit, Amias. You just got back," Naya told me.

I dropped a kiss on her mouth. "Thanks, darling. But I can do this. Mother? Ann?"

My mother sat down on an armchair next to the sofa where Naya was sitting, uncomfortable as hell at being half naked, but I knew she wasn't going to budge. I knew it when she'd announced to my mother and Ann that she lived here with me. If I'd known having my mother challenging her would get her to move in with me, I'd have orchestrated this meeting weeks ago.

"I'll have a glass of white wine if you have anything open," Mrs. Westbrook said.

"Ah, there's an open bottle of a Meursault in the fridge," Naya told me, and I grinned. She wasn't showing off; she was being genuine, but I knew my mother would be surprised that Naya, who she probably thought was some ditz, knew her wine.

"That will be fine," my mother announced.

Ann sat down on an armchair across from my mother. "Ah…I'm fine."

"Naya?"

She picked up a glass of red wine sitting on the coffee table next to her laptop. "I'm good."

I walked up to the bar in the nook between the living and the dining room. I poured my mother a glass of wine, myself a scotch, and nothing for Ann.

I sat down next to Naya and wrapped an arm around her. "Well, this is a surprise."

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