Page 112 of Muddy Messy Love

Mum throws her head back and laughs at the ceiling. “Oh, here we go. I’ve been waiting for it—the inevitable theatrics. It’s like walking on eggshells around you, Avery Lee.” Mum slaps the magazine closed and shoves it away. She squares her shoulders and plants her elbows on the island. “Do you know what your problem is? You think everything is about you. No one can merely make a passing comment without you finding the worst meaning possible.”

I grind my teeth. “You implied my boyfriend is screwing his colleagues and lying to me. Is there a better meaning I missed?”

Mum opens her mouth to speak, but I hold up my hand, itching to slap the smirk from her face with go-go gadget arms. “Don’t. Just don’t. I’m done with this conversation.” Proud of my restraint, I hop off my stool and abandon my dinner to head for the stairs.

If I stay, everything will twist and warp. This is when the swarm of screams, denial, and chaos typically descends to hollow out my heart and fuck with my head. Mum’s spiteful words will brand my brain—a fragment of my soul will be lost. And in the end, I’ll forget how it all started. If it was me or her. How it escalated to take the hellish path it took. I’ll retrace our words in search of sense, but all I’ll find is a pit of tangled razor wire. It’s futile. “I’m going to bed,” I say as I take the first step. “I’ll get the door when Cole comes.”

“No need. It was unlocked.”

Startled, I turn around to find Cole standing in the kitchen doorway, his eyes locked on Mum and blacker than his suit.

Mum visibly gulps, then plasters on a smile. “Cole, I didn’t hear you come in. Lovely to see you.”

His jaw ticks, and he flickers his eyes to mine. “Hey,” I whisper.

How much did he hear?

He forces a tight smile. “I did knock.” Then looks back to Mum. “Sheila, I am not screwing around, and I resent any implication I would.”

Mum jolts from his words as if a cattle prod found her butthole. Her pale face flames Tabasco. “I… I didn’t—”

“I’m not done.” Cole’s sternness samurais the room, and Mum’s mouth flaps shut.

Frozen to the bottom step, I stare on in shock. No one has ever gone to bat for me against Mum before, and it feels like I’ve tripled in size—like I’m made of gold. Is this really happening?

Glowering, Cole continues. “Without direct experience, I’m not surprised you don’t understand the value of hard work. But know this: I will never cheat on your daughter, and I can’t believe you’d put that idea into her head. I suggest you stay the hell out of our business from this point forth. Are we clear?”

Mum shrinks in her seat, but her submission is short-lived. She soon mashes her lips into a hard line, re-straightens her spine, and nudges up her chin. “How dare you speak to me like that, young man. You’re a guest in this house. Don’t forget it.” I wait for the rest of her vitriol, but it never comes. Instead, Mum rises from the stool on slightly wobbly knees and scurries from the room like a scared rabbit.

Guilt snakes around my chest, but I sever its head. No. I refuse to feel bad for her.

Cole doesn’t look away until Mum disappears, but then he drops his chin, closes his eyes, and winces. “Sorry. I just…lost it.”

I unglue my feet from the bottom step and go to him, cupping his cheeks, forcing his eyes to mine. They’re filled with a sickly remorse that curdles my stomach. “Don’t apologise. That was actually the most amazing thing anyone’s ever done for me. And Beth built me a studio—you saved me from juvie—so that’s saying something.”

The tightness in his jaw eases, but a doubtful frown persists. I slide my hand over the back of his and lift it to press over my heart. “For nearly a decade, I’ve dreamt someone would fly in and defend me during an argument with Mum. Not only that, but witness what happens so they can tell me I’m not crazy. You just did that, and it means a lot.” Tears wet my cheeks, and I swipe them away.

God, this man is…everything.

“You know I’d never do that, right? Mess around on you. I’m a lot of things, but a cheater isn’t one of them.” The ferocity in his words washes away Mum’s.

I press my index finger to his lips. “Shhh, I know. I’m sorry she said those things about you.” He kisses my fingertip, then moves my palm to press against his heart. No words are spoken, but silent ones dance in our eyes. Climbing to my tiptoes, I plant a long, tender kiss to his soft mouth and then opt to change the subject. “You’re early.”

“Surprise,” he deadpans.

We both sigh but then laugh. I bury my head against his chest and breathe him in. “It’s so good to see you.”

He leans back, prompting me to look up. Beneath an arched brow, a knowing spark glistens in those pretty green eyes. “Do you have something to tell me?”

I narrow mine. “You already know, don’t you?”

He surrenders his palms to the air. “All I know is I got a call today and saw Gloria’s Jag leave as I arrived.”

The butterflies reawaken in my stomach, and I grin. “My first show is in two and a half weeks.”

“Congratulations. That’s amazing.” Cole’s smile glows snow bright. He lifts me off the ground and spins me in a circle, then slides me down the front of his hard body until my feet find the floor. My mind descends to the gutter. “See, you did it,” he says.

“With your help.”

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