Page 28 of Up All Night

She let go of my hand, a sigh escaping her lips. “I don’t have a rebuttal to that, but I’d hate for Jeremy to be the reason you don’t find happiness with someone else.”

“Or misery,” I mumbled.

She playfully slapped my leg. “Oh, stop. You act like your previous relationships were all bad, but you had lots of good moments in there, too.”

“I know, but what’s the point when it’s going to eventually end?” I grabbed one of the throw pillows and hugged it to my chest. “And I’m the one who’s left brokenhearted.”

Every boyfriend I’d ever had ended up breaking up with me. I was fundamentally flawed, and apparently no guy was willing to deal with my unique kind of messed up. It was easier to be single than to keep putting myself out there.

“Oh, honey.” She pulled me into a hug. “One day you’ll find a guy who treats you right and understands just how special you are.”

Said by my mom, which I appreciated, but that was never going to happen. At least not for me. I’d be single forever, just like my mom. But hopefully with a lot fewer ex-boyfriends than her, and over time become a successful independent woman.

“I don’t know about you, but I’mstarving.” She let go of me and I sat up again. “Let’s go out.”

The mother-daughter moment was gone as fast as it had come.

“Yeah, okay,” I said. “Let me just go ask Kate if we can borrow her car.”

My mom had shown up at my apartment the same time that Kate and I were getting home from the dance studio and had arrived by Uber, so we were both carless.

Kate had been a lifesaver, picking me up from the gym and driving us to the studio. I was hoping that would continue to work for her until I could fix my car.

“You ready?” I asked my mom, grabbing Kate’s car keys. She really was the best friend.

“Almost.” She rummaged through her purse. “Let me put on a fresh coat of lipstick, and I’ll be ready to go.”

After applying her lipstick, she stood. Currently her dark hair was styled in a sleek bob, and she wore loose slacks with a fitted blouse, decked out in jewelry and high heels. She looked every bit the wealthy, put-together woman. If only people knew that everything she owned had been bought for her by some guy at one time or another. But there was no denying she was beautiful. It wasn’t hard to see why men fell for her wherever she went.

I, on the other hand, was still wearing the same matching workout outfit I’d put on this morning. Between training at the gym and teaching dance classes, I didn’t have a reason to wear much else.

“I am dying for a good burger,” my mom said as we walked out the door and headed down the stairs. “Is there a good burger place around here?” But instead of letting me answer, she kept talking. “Are you eating enough?” She took me in from head to toe. “You look thinner than the last time I saw you. It’s important for you to eat, honey.”

Like I didn’t already know that. And yes, I was eating, but sometimes my schedule was crazy, and I didn’t always have time to eat lunch. Like today, for example, I didn’t have my car, so I hadn’t been able to grab food in between jobs.

But I didn’t need to answer her because she was still talking.

We had reached the third floor landing when we almost ran into West.

“Oh, hi,” I said, my voice coming out in a squeak.

I hadn’t expected to see him again today, and the thought of my mom meeting him made my stomach knot up.

“Hello,” he said, stepping up the last stair to join us on the landing.

My mom looked between West and me.

West looked good. He wore a navy suit today and must have just been getting home from work. His dirty blond hair was styled perfectly, swept up and over to the side. And was that a hint of stubble on his jaw? Wow, he looked sexy with a five o’clock shadow.

I blinked a couple of times and hoped he hadn’t noticed me totally checking him out.

“Who is this?” my mom practically purred.

Her voice had me remembering my manners. “Oh, uh, Mom, this is my neighbor, West.”

“It’s lovely to meet you.” She batted her eyelashes and extended her hand.

West glanced between the two of us and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Parker.”

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