Page 120 of Lost in the Moonlight

The doorbell rang, and I didn’t pull my phone from my pocket to open the app and see who it was. I simply left the laughter and chatter of the kitchen to answer it.

The smile was still embedded on my face when I opened the door to find my mother glaring. She shoved her phone at me. “You haven’t responded all day! I’ve heard nothing about theman who was chased down. Nothing about how you’re handling all this!”

The bit of wild in her pale-blue eyes was the only proof of how upset she truly was. The rest of her seemed completely serene. Her cherry-wine hair was perfectly coifed without a hair out of place, and her forest-green suit was pressed straight on her tall frame. Behind her, two of her detail stood with blank faces, their sunglasses shielding their eyes, and suits stretching across wide shoulders. On the curb, two dark SUVs sat with more men inside them.

Mom brushed past me, still waving her phone. “I swear, Lincoln, if I have to ask the Secret Service to ping—”

A burst of laughter from the kitchen cut her off.

She turned wide eyes to me. I reached for her, pulled her to me, and hugged her tight. “Good to see you, Mom.”

At first, the shock held her stiff before she hugged me back and then pushed away. “You have company?”

“Willow and her family are here.”

Mom’s face shuttered. “I see.”

She started toward the kitchen, and I grabbed her elbow and held her back. “I love you.”

She lifted a brow. We knew it—had said it to each other many times—she just hadn’t expected those words to be my lead-in.

“But I’m telling you right now, if you go in there, thinking she’s Sienna, thinking I’m with her because of it, and you upset her, I’m going to ask you to leave.”

She stared at me for a long moment, assessing just how much I meant those words. Finally, she said, “You look tired.”

“I always look tired.”

“You’ve been through a lot. All over again. I don’t like it.”

“That wasn’t her fault. We know now it was more mine than hers,” I said, but the full measure of the guilt that normally surrounded me didn’t follow me today. I was learning to let it go. To live. To be happy. To reach for the joy that existed here. And maybe that was why I’d blocked out Sienna every time she’d appeared since Ryan Jennings had shot at us. I wanted—no, needed—to let her go.

“This wasn’t your fault either. It was Jennings’s fault. Maybe even Felicity’s, but not yours,” Mom said quietly. We let that settle between us before she added, “Introduce me to the woman you love, Lincoln. Let me love her too.”

Those words, her simple request, shot pleasure through me. Pleasure I was reaching out for with both hands. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it after so many years of not letting myself embrace it fully. So, I did the easiest thing, which was to lead her into the kitchen where our appearance in the archway brought silence among the people gathered there.

Willow and Erica had held a small party at the house as a way of celebrating their new life—our new life together. Hector and Shay, other workers from The Tea Spot, Detective Muloney and his family, and some of Erica’s teacher friends had all been there. Willow and Erica hadn’t told anyone but Hector and Shay about witness protection and their former lives, but it was still clear to everyone in attendance they were celebrating new beginnings.

The party had ended early, as everyone had work and school the next day, leaving just Hector, Erica, and Shay behind. Before the doorbell had rung, I’d been itching for our remaining guests to leave so I could be alone with Willow.

I wanted to dance with her in the moonlight and feel her body pressed against mine. I wanted to slowly remove her skirt and T-shirt and run my hands over all that smooth skin until itwas puckered and flushed under my touch. I wanted to bask in the beauty she surrounded me in.

But now, with my mother having arrived, it would be even longer until the two of us were alone.

Everyone at the table scrambled from their seats as if “Hail to the Chief” had played. I made the introductions, and Mom shook hands and greeted everyone with her typical grace until she reached Willow. Instead of a handshake, she pulled Willow into a fierce hug. Willow’s surprised reaction was much the same as mine had been when Erica had done the same thing to me the day we’d met.

Mom let her go, wiped at her eyes, and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”

“We were just finishing up, but there’s plenty of food left. Can I fix you a plate?” Willow asked.

“Thank you, but no. I’m still working off a fundraising luncheon.”

For a moment, an uncomfortable quiet settled over the room as everyone assessed each other. It was Erica who spoke first. “Thank you for arranging to have Dr. Gellar come out next week. You don’t know how much it means to us.”

The two moms eyed each other, and I thought my mother probably had a pretty good clue what it meant. We’d lived through test after test when I’d been a kid as they’d tried to figure out why I couldn’t sleep, and some of the potential diagnoses had been scary.

I was as grateful as Erica that the scientist had called and said she’d be coming out so soon. We’d have the results before the end of the month. Just knowing that seemed to have made Willow’s spirit glow impossibly brighter.

Hector cleared his throat and turned to Erica, saying, “I think it’s time Shay and I head home. I’ll call you later.”