Page 34 of Secret Submission

Granted, her mom hadn’t reached out since then, either, probably waiting for Julie to cool off. Sometimes, Julie wondered if her mom thought Julie would forget everything if she let a few days pass, even though it had definitely never worked that way before. Just thinking about making the call had her feeling uncomfortable, but it was necessary.

If she didn’t call back today, it would be even worse the next time they talked.

Sitting down at her desk, Julie closed her eyes and leaned back. Counting to four as she breathed in, she held the breath for another four beats, then slowly let it out as she counted to four again. As she did, she focused on trying to imagine the numbers in her head, clearing the rest of her mind as she calmed her nerves.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four.

Good. Now, she didn’t feel quite so jittery.

Box breathing didn’t always help, but often it did. Taking a walk and doing it usually helped even more, but she only had fifteen minutes until her next client. It was probably a good time to call her mom back… after she wrote a few notes about her discussion with Tristan.

By the time she was done, there were only ten minutes until her next appointment, which was perfect. She had a good reason to keep the call short. If she waited until after this appointment, she’d have all evening to talk. It was better to do it now.

Listening to the phone ring, she wasn’t sure whether she was hoping her mom would pick up so she could get the call over with or hoping her mom wouldn’t pick up so she could just leave a message and feel like she’d done her duty. It ended up being a moot point after two rings.

“Hello?” It didn’t matter that her mom had caller ID on her phone. She always answered as if she wasn’t sure who would be on the other line.

“Hello, Mom.” She did her best to keep her voice neutral and not to sound like she was bracing for her mom’s response. “I saw you called and wanted to call you back. I only have a few minutes before my next appointment, though.”

Her mom made hmphing noise but didn’t protest.

“Your father and I want to meet your new… boyfriend.” She said the word like it was dirty. “Bring him to the family cookout next weekend.”

“What?” Julie froze. That was the last thing she’d expected to come out of her mother’s mouth. An admonishment for the way she’d left, sure. A series of questions about Connor, absolutely at some point. But an invitation for him to come meet the family?

“This… man… he is important to you, yes? So he should come meet everyone. Unless, of course, he is not important to you.” Or does not exist. There was more than a little challenge in her mother’s words.

Either Connor was made up, or he wasn’t actually important enough to invite to a family event. The problem was, Julie did think he was important… at least, he could be important. So much potential was there for something amazing between them. But her family could be a lot.

Especially the whole family. All at once.

With her parents there watching his every move and mentally comparing him to John.

Talk about pressure.

“His name is Connor. I can ask him, but it’s kind of short notice. He might already have plans.” If he was smart, he’d already have ‘plans.’ Julie rubbed her forehead, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the desk. Just like her mom to know how to give her a headache in two minutes flat.

Her mom sniffed.

“John always made time for family.”

“That is a complete rewrite of history,” Julie said flatly. “Should I be worried about memory loss, Mom? Do I need to talk to your doctor?”

“Do not be disrespectful, Julie. No matter how old you are, I am still your mother,” her mom scolded, neatly avoiding answering the question. Uh-huh. “If not this one, then the next one. Your aunties want to meet him, too.”

“You told the aunts?” She didn’t know why she was asking. Of course, her mom had told her sisters, Julie’s aunts. Her entire family was terrifyingly codependent. Some small part of her had hoped her mom wouldn’t tell the aunts, though, if only because it might break the illusion that she and John would one day get back together.

If her mom had told the aunts, that meant she was serious about meeting Connor as soon as possible, and she was gathering allies. Crap.

That also meant all of her cousins were going to know, too. If she didn’t bring Connor, she’d be getting the full-court press.

“Of course, I told them.” Her mom sniffed again. “This is the first man you’ve dated since John. At least, the first that you’ve felt was important enough to tell me about.”

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