Page 85 of The Hero + Vegas = No Regrets

“Mom! You can’t buy this for nonexistent grandchildren.”

“I can do anything I want. I’m grown. My kids have flown the nest, my husband is shacked up with another woman, andfinallyI can do what I please. And Ipleaseto prepare for my future grandchildren.”

She makes a compelling point. I might feel betrayed by my mom, but she did what she did for the right reasons. She was trying to protect me—to do her job as a mother. I scan the shelves for the train station and pull it out of the rack. “You want this?”

“Who wouldn’t want a Christmas train station, Sophia?”

I grin twitches at the corner of my mouth and I pile the box on top of the other two.

“We’re going to need another cart,” she says. “And while we’re doing this, you’re going to tell me about Worth. That’s his name, right?”

I nod and swallow. “I get that you were trying to protect us,” I say, snaking an arm around my mom’s waist. She pulls me in for a hug.

“I just did the best I could at the time.” Her voice wobbles at the end of the sentence and I squeeze her tighter.

“Worth thinks it’s his job to protect everyone. Especially the people he loves. I don’t know if the man would be capable of telling me the truth if it meant he hurt me.”

“Have you tried talking to him? If he wants to avoid hurting you, and he knows lying to you would hurt you worst of all, then wouldn’t he tell the truth at all costs?”

I’d never thought about it like that. I can’t imagine asking anything of Worth that he wasn’t prepared to give me if he were able.

“How do I trust that he’s as good a man as I think he is?”

“Well,” she says, “you bring him around your family. You meet his family and friends. You see what they say about him, what his quirks are. And you see if it all aligns with what your heart is telling you. After that, it’s a leap of faith, Sophia. Just like most of life is.”

She makes it sound so simple, so obvious. But if I’ve learned anything over these last few weeks, it’s that nothing is simple.

We fill another cart with the rest of the model village. Mom circles back to the display to make sure we’ve got everything.

“Do we have it all?” she asks. “I’m going to be disappointed if I’ve missed something, because I’ll come back next week and this will be a fly-fishing display. Christmas Town will be sold out.”

“Let’s check.” I methodically scan the shelves to ensure we have one of everything. “Oh, there’s the tree. But that’s not on the display.”

“Let me see.”

I pull the box out and she gets her readers on to check the picture.

“This is beautiful,” she says. “And they didn’t put it out.”

I look back at the shelf. “Looks like it’s the only one left,” I say. “Maybe they didn’t see it.”

There’s genuine excitement in her eyes. “It will be the center of the entire town. Oh, sweetheart, I’m so glad you came today. It’s been a while since we went shopping together.”

“You’re right, Mom. It has been a while. And hopefully we won’t come Christmas Town shopping again anytime soon.”

“Who knows? This time next year, I might want to expand.” She’s grinning ear to ear. I don’t know if it’s because she’s decided to spend way too much money on a Christmas village, or if it’s because she’s happy to have me home.

We wheel the carts over to the cash registers. As we wait in line, Mom scoops up my hand. “Worth isn’t your father, Sophia. Don’t let the actions of one man taint your view of the world. You’ll rob yourself of the joy of living. I’m not proud of much in my life, but I have three healthy, funny kids. Now I get to find out what’s in store for me in the next chapter of my life. I’m determined to make the most of it. I want to ride a horse—I’ve never done that. I want to learn how to surf. And I’m going to date.”

I almost choke on my own tongue. Date?

“I deserve a good life, Sophia. And so do you.”

“And the cherry on the sundae is your Costco Christmas Town.”

“That too,” she says, bumping me with her hip.

“You really think you could trust a man again?”

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