Page 57 of Liberating Love

I turn to Jovany beside me. “Is it your goal in life to embarrass me?”

He laughs. “No, but maybe it should be.”

“You’re damn good at it.”

He nudges me with his elbow and barks out another laugh. As he and Jameson strike up a conversation, Drix nudges my foot with his to get my attention. When I lift a brow at him, he asks, “Is everything still going okay with you and Delaney?”

At first I assume he’s about to make fun of me some more, but then I realize he’s being sincere, so I grin and answer, “Yeah, it’s great.”

“Good, A. I’m happy for you.”

“You’re just glad you don’t have to keep my secret anymore,” I tease.

He chuckles. “That too.”

With a snort, I say, “Gav informed me this morning that he and Holds are taking me to lunch on Saturday.”

He nods. “Oh yeah, I was told to find something to do with Jameson.”

Jameson chimes in. “Holds said they haven’t finished interrogating you yet.”

My eyes widen.

Drix points at me and says with a laugh, “Look at his face; he’s terrified.”

I stare at Drix, saying, “Your twin is a scary man.”

They all chuckle, and I join in before Jack brings over our lunches and we all dig in. I can hardly believe how easy going they’re all being about this, and thank god. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if they’d been angry at me because there was no way I could ever give up Delaney, and I never wanted to give up these men that have become so important in my life.

Jovany elbows me gently in the ribs and says, “You alright, man?”

I nod and send him a smile he returns. “I’m good.” Better than, really.

Jameson asks, “Is your mom doing alright?”

With a sigh, I nod and lift a shoulder. “Yeah, I guess. She, uh… she made me promise years ago not to tell people that she has Alzheimer’s because she gets embarrassed by her confusion. That’s why I never really told you guys.”

Drix waves me off. “Don’t worry about us. We just want to know she’s okay.”

I offer a half-smile. “She’s… as good as she can be right now, thanks.”

They all nod, and Jovany says, “Let us know if there’s something we can do to help.”

I can tell by his expression that he means it, so I smile softly and say, “Thank you, guys. Really.”

They nod, and the conversation slowly turns away from me, so I pull out my phone and type out a text.

Me: Will you come over for dinner and stay the night tonight?

I only have to wait a couple of minutes for a response, and of course it makes me smile widely.

Delaney: I’d love to, Freckles.

* * *

As I makethe last turn toward home, I notice someone walking on the sidewalk. At first I don’t give it a second thought, but then I do a double-take and gasp, hitting the breaks. “Holy shit,” I mutter as I pull the car over, put it in park, and hop out. “Mom!” I yell.

She stops walking and turns her head from side to side, but doesn’t see me and takes a few more steps.

---