Page 17 of Chosen By Love

6

Rebecca

The Next Week

Hey sweetheart. I’m happy you could meet me for lunch,” my mom said as I joined her at one of our favorite restaurants, called Souls Kitchen.

I planted a kiss against my mom’s fragrant brown cheek. She smiled up at me before I took a seat directly across from her.

“Well you look radiant and happy,” mom’s gaze gave me the once over. I hadn’t talked to mom about my boss Brett yet. We had talked about everything else whenever we got together but since Brett and I had been dating over a month I decided to tell her.

“How is dad?” I asked mom.

“Your daddy is well. He’s gone out on the boat with his friend Henry. He said he will catch us a mess of catfish to cook over the weekend.”

I knew only too well how much dad liked to fish. He always tried to teach me to fish when I was a kid but I hated it. I hated the yucky sticky feeling of the worms on my hand when trying to bait the hook.

“Will he have hush puppies and his famous beer battered fries on the side?” I asked, my belly grumbling with hunger at the thought.

“Of course! I’m making your favorite dessert—” my mom started to say but I jumped in to finish her sentence.

“A banana pudding!”

Mom laughed from my excitement.

Mom and I had ordered lunch, and I was sipping on my iced tea before I finally broached up the subject about Brett, but before I could tell her she spoke.

“Becca, I started to not tell you but your father ran into Shawn the other day. He said Shawn asked about you and wanted to know how you were getting along.”

My stomach felt like someone had punched me in it. “Why is Shawn in town, and why on earth would he be asking about me? Did he have his family with him?” I couldn’t help but be curious.

“Your dad said Shawn told him that he divorced his wife last year. Something about the children he had by her not being his. He had a health scare with one of his sons and found out that their blood didn’t match. He got the other one tested and found out that wasn’t his child as well. Come to find out, Shawn is infertile.”

Karma really was a bitch,I thought to myself.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said chastising myself pushing away my bitter thought. “I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone—not even Shawn.”

“I’m proud of you honey for taking the high road. Shawn did you dirty, but like I said, everything always happens for a reason. Bad things have to leave your life for good things to come in.”

Mom had no idea how right she was. It may have taken me some years to get over Shawn, and the pain he caused me, but I did get over it. Completely.

“You’re right mom. I’m finally dating again!” I blurted out.

Mom’s hand flew to her mouth. “Who is it? Is it anyone I know?”

I nodded and cleared my throat. “I’m dating Brett Collins, my boss.”

Mom’s eyes widened.

“You should invite him to Sunday dinner tomorrow. Your dad and I would be happy to have him.”

“I don’t know mom. Brett just got back from a conference he attended in Las Vegas. I haven’t really talked to him since he flew in last night.”

I missed Brett. I had been so busy around the office that it wasn’t so bad during the day. But at night when I laid in bed I thought about the sound of his voice, the caress of his fingers against my skin, and the feel of his erection buried so deep inside me that sometimes I forgot how to breathe.

It was almost as if Brett had become a part of me, and I had to admit sometimes that scared the shit out of me.

My cell phone took that moment to chime an alert for an incoming text.

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