Page 25 of Unravel You

“My husband, bless him, grew up in this house. If it’d been up to him, he would’ve sold it years ago. But Derek saved it.” Mom gave me a warm smile.

My plan to get back on her good side by letting her take over the renovations had worked. We’d kept in touch weekly. Even if all we did was talk about the projects, we were at least on speaking terms again.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked.

“He’s in Virginia. At a neonatal conference. He’ll be home in a few days. Don’t worry. He’ll have plenty of time to meet your girlfriend.”

“Fiancée.”

“Of course.” Mom waved her hand in dismissal and continued on to the kitchen, where she had a massive charcuterie board waiting for us. “I thought you might be hungry for a little something. We still have a couple of hours before dinner is ready. Eat. I’ll get Iris.”

“Who?”

“I took the liberty of hiring staff on. I’m going to need help with a full house.” She patted my arm, then turned to Valentina on her way out of the kitchen. “Eat.”

Valentina was either too shy or too afraid to say no to Mom. Even though she’d said she wasn’t hungry before, she sat at one of the counter stools and served herself a single slice of baguette and prosciutto. I took the seat next to her and popped an olive in my mouth.

“No Savannah honey this time.” The reminder had the desired effect and made Valentina blush. I wouldn’t mind licking honey off her back again tonight. “How about some wine?”

“Yes, please.” She let out a breath. “Your mom seems nice.”

“She moves fast. You’ll get used to it.” I grabbed a bottle of wine from the wine cellar lining the far end wall. It was an addition Mom thought would save us extra trips to the twelve-hundred-bottle cellar downstairs.

“I didn’t realize she was going to already be here. Looks like she’s moved in.”

“I guess she did.” I chuckled. Mom had been dying to spend some time in the house.

“And get the new girl to take my son’s luggage up to the master bedroom. His girlfriend’s too.” Mom returned with a woman on her heels. She was around Em’s age—early sixties would be my guess—short, dark hair, and pale skin. She had a way about her that felt military-esque.

“Derek, meet Iris. She’s our new housekeeper. She’s an excellent cook too.”

“Welcome, Mr. Cole.” Iris nodded to me and then to Valentina.

“Just Derek, please. This is Valentina, my fiancée.” By the quick glance she slanted to Mom, I had to guess Mom hadn’t mentioned Valentina and I were getting married.

“Nice to meet you.” Valentina stood and shook Iris’s hand.

“Of course. I keep forgetting.” Mom patted Valentina’s arm. “With the divorce and everything else, I still can’t keep it all straight. And if I’m being honest, I can’t believe Derek is feeling inclined to marry again.”

“Sometimes, I can’t believe it either.” Valentina took a glass of wine off the counter and drank a big gulp.

“Which reminds me. You’ll never guess who’s back.” Mom’s face lit up. She looked so much younger when she smiled.

“I don’t know. Matt? I haven’t heard from him in a while.”

Both my brothers Wesley and Matt had been sent to Venezuela on some special ops mission. Wesley returned about six months ago, but Matt hadn’t. That’d hurt Mom’s feelings. Even if Matt wasn’t her own blood, she considered him a son. I couldn’t remember a time when Matt wasn’t my brother. I’d reached out to him, but his number had been disconnected. I was about to hire a PI to find him when Wesley told us Matt had found a job in New Orleans.

“Oh, I took care of that. I sent your brother Tyler to New Orleans with strict orders not to leave until Matt agreed to come home for a few weeks.” She placed a hand over her heart. “But no, I was talking about Anabelle Copenhaver. She decided to take up residence in her parents’ home next door. You should go see her later.”

Next to me, Valentina took another swig of her wine. I placed an arm around her to include her in the conservation. All this talk about people she didn’t know probably made her feel left out. This was one of the reasons we were here, so she could get to know the people who were important in my life.

“You’ll love Ana. She’s a friend. Her brother used to come over to the house all the time when we were visiting Grams over the summer.”

“Sweet Ana would always spend time with me in the kitchen helping out. She’s like the daughter I never had.” Mom grabbed a cocktail napkin and placed Valentina’s glass on it before she grabbed a glass of wine for herself and sipped. “If I remember correctly, she had the biggest crush on you.”

I chuckled. “No, Mom. You’re thinking of Zack. Is he coming too?”

“Yes.” There was that face of complete contentment again. All her boys under one roof was like Christmas in August for Mom. “At least one good thing came out of this. Don’t you think? Zack is flying all the way from South Africa.”

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