Page 74 of Call Me Mrs. Taylor

“So y’all don’t talk at all?”

I conjure up some tears, even managing to sound choked up.

“I used to call her all the time, but she never answered. She was busy with her new family, so…” I trail off, adding a sniffle.

“Damn.” He shakes his head. “Alright, so we hate her, then?”

I hide my smile.

This man gets it. Bae fuckinggets it.

It’s us against the world. My mama. His mama. We can hate them all as long as we got each other.

Here’s the truth, though. I stopped being mad at my mama a long time ago. She’s a selfish bitch, but she imparted a priceless lesson in self-preservation.

If you’re not happy, if you’re backed into a corner, if you’re in danger, you can stand your ground and fight. But you can also run. Leave the whole fucking world behind and start over. Her ass moved to Ohio and met some weak beta bitch named Larry, got him to marry her, and popped out two more crotch goblins to keep him on the hook.

Smart woman.

Do I like the fact that she treated me like a liability? Of course not. But I made my peace with it. Probably would have done the same thing if I had to. I can’t even hate the player, because that ruthless bitch taught me the game.

He glances over at me. “I appreciate you sharing that with me.”

I nod pitifully.

He goes to speak again, then stops. I think he’s unsure of what to say to me about this. I know what I wanna hear—I’ll never leave you, baby. I’ll die before I ever let you go—but I have to accept that it might be a while before he says it to me.

His phone buzzes.

Right in front of me, the name ‘Pop’ appears on the screen. For some reason, Ace disconnects bluetooth and lifts the phone to his ear.

Risking a ticket.

For what?

Now I’m irritated.

“Hey, Pop. What’s goin’ on?”

I keep my face neutral, staring straight ahead, but my ears are wide open. To no avail, of course, because I can only hear one side. But what I hear is enough.

“Okay…yeah. Hilton Head…”

This is about me.

Ace’s nostrils flare. “I don’t know…so?…well what did Mama say?”

His face falls.

“Look, I’m driving…I know. I heard you…we’ll talk about it when I get back…alright.”

Silence.

The orcas are circling.

But they won’t find my blood in the water.

“Your family doesn’t like me, right?”

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