Page 85 of Safe With Me

A laugh slipped out of me when she waggled her eyebrows.

“Yes, it does.”

That word from any woman before her would have made my blood run cold, but I wanted to be connected to Lila in every way possible. I wasn’t a possessive or even a jealous type of guy, but every time I looked at Lila, one word always echoed in my mind.

Mine.

We ambled through the parking lot, and the crunch of gravel under my feet with every step toward the door had me already tense enough to want to jump back into my truck and go, but I couldn’t do that.

I was a grown man, yet when it came to my mother, I’d never stopped feeling so damn helpless.

“Mike,” my mother called when she noticed me, rushing from her table to throw her arms around my neck. “I missed you so much,” she whispered in my ear, her voice cracking.

I hugged her back because, in my own way, I’d missed her too. I’d miss the short moments like this when I had a mother who was happy to see me.

But the nice moments were always short, followed by her pointing out the many ways I was a disappointment.

“Mom, this is Lila.” I draped my arm around Lila’s shoulders as I watched my mother look her over from head to toe. “Lila, this is my mother, Eileen.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lila said, extending her hand.

Mom let it linger for a rude minute before she took it, pushing a fake smile across her red lips.

My mother’s blond hair was almost white, her pale skin highlighting the dark circles under her eyes as she searched Lila’s face. She looked tired and unhappy, but that was a constant from when I was a kid.

“Yes, it was a surprise when Mike said he was bringing someone. I managed to get a table for three, so come sit.”

Lila snuck me a look as we followed my mother to the table.

“I have to plan these surprise trips because my son never wants to come see me.”

Mom smiled, but it was tight and forced. “So, Lila, what brought you to Kelly Lakes all the way from Philly?”

There went those fake-pleasant twenty minutes.

“I was laid off from my job and wanted a change. My cousin’s cousin-in-law moved there from Brooklyn and loved it, so she helped me get set up with a job and an apartment. It’s been an adjustment, but Kelly Lakes grew on me pretty quickly.”

Mom bobbed her head in a slow nod as the waiter came over with our menus.

“I just find it a little strange that someone would travel from a big city like Philly to work a dinky little job in a small town.”

“I wouldn’t call it dinky. I love my job,” Lila said, unfazed. “After working in corporate for so long, it’s a wonderful change of pace.”

Lila grinned at my mother before taking a sip from her water glass.

“So you moved there after working a corporate job? Where do you work?”

I sucked in a breath as I braced for impact.

“Russo’s Contracting. I’m Jake’s office manager slash in-house accountant.”

My mother’s brows shot up to her hairline.

“I see. And who is your cousin’s cousin-in-law? Peyton?”

“Close. Peyton’s friend Claudia. In fact, that’s how I first met Mike.” She stretched her arm across my shoulder. “I went to Claudia’s bar when I first got into town, and after a long drive from Philly without any coffee or breakfast, I almost fainted on the street.”

She rubbed my back as she shot me a gorgeous smile wide enough to uncoil some of the tension in my gut.

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