Page 56 of Chasing Storm

“Um, I know she’s your mom, and if you really want her to come—”

“Hell no! My mother never cared about me my whole life. You heard her say that I’ve been a disappointment since birth. If I’m such a disappointment, why bother calling me?”

Her messages only upset me. I’ve been so happy today, gardening and thinking about Rosie, who treated me like I was special, and now my mother poisons the day.

Joey places his cheek against mine. “Hey, don’t let her get in your head.”

Again, the tears. I swipe my fingers under my eyes. “I can’t help it. She’s so…”

“She’s so irrelevant.”

I let out a breath. “That she is.”

“Why don’t you call Leo to find out what’s going on?”

My head nods and I pat his hand, telling him I will. I grab a glass of water to calm down.

Joey opens the fridge and asks, “How about steaks today?”

“Oh shit! I forgot.” My head whips around for the clock. “Elijah is picking me up in an hour.”

He slams the door and turns to face me. It doesn’t matter if Elijah plans on marrying my best friend, Joey’s jealousy is a weed. I can remove it for a short time, but the root is still there.

“Where are you going with Elijah?”

I lie my chest across the kitchen island, smile, and say, “Ah, the green-eyed monster is back.”

“Not funny, Tea. Where? And why didn’t you tell me?”

I curl my finger for him to come closer. He’s on the other side of the island, so I hook my fingers in the hoops of his jeans and pull myself all the way onto the counter. My legs swing to the side until I’m straddling his waist.

Slipping my hands under his shirt, tenderly swirling them around, I say, “I did tell you, Love.” I kiss behind his ear, and he abruptly exhales. “When we were naked, and you were balls deep inside me, I mentioned going to look at houses with Elijah.” My lips pepper kisses along his jaw. “He wants to get my input for a house since I’m Erin’s best friend.” I look at his beautiful mint green eyes, kiss his lips, and add, “And I knew you wouldn’t mind since he’s our friend, and he’s going to propose to my best friend soon.”

I smile, and he grabs my jaw, taking my mouth like a fiend. Rough and demanding. His tongue forces my mouth open and lashes out at mine. He breaks the kiss, pulls my shirt and bra down, taking my nipple in his mouth. Joey’s hunger is never-ending, but I’m not complaining. My hands cradle his head while he sucks, bites, and licks each nipple. It’s when his hand moves to my shorts that I stop him.

“No, no, Mr. Sex God.” His eyebrow snakes up, followed by a devilish grin. “Yeah, you’re my sex God. Mine. And I’m yours.” I cup his face and say, “Please don’t get upset that I’m going with Elijah.”

He kisses my nose. “Fine. But later…” He bobs his eyebrows.

“What a surprise?”

I jump off the counter, and he smacks my ass while I call Leo.

“Hey, Monkey.”

“Hey. Guess who called me?”

“Hmm, Mom.”

My hip braces against the couch. “You’re her favorite. What did she do?”

He’s yelling to Isabella that it’s me and she shouts a hello. I shout back the same. From the sound of it, he’s walking to another room, because it gets quieter.

“I wanted to take Isabella out for a nice dinner, and we made the worst decision by asking her to watch Maya. I’ve told you to ignore her comments, but this one takes the cake. She’s all about acting the role of grandma. Halfway through dinner, Isabella started feeling sick, so we headed home. I open the door to our slut of a mother, fucking some guy on our couch, and I hear Maya crying upstairs in her bedroom. Not only did Maya have a dirty diaper, she was also hungry. Turns out the guy mom fucked was your ex-boyfriend, Ashton. She picked him up at some high-end bar in Lincoln Park.”

“What the hell is wrong with that woman?”

“She’s fucked in the head. No one’s going to treat my child like that, especially her grandmother. I threw her ass out and told her she’s no longer welcome.”

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