Page 14 of Eternally Yours
I place the note down on the countertop for Emma to read it over. She smiles sweetly at the words before speaking up, trying to lighten the mood. “On the plus side, you now have his number,” she beams enthusiastically, making me chuckle softly at her remark.
“Are you going to have one?” she asks, eyeing the pastries with desire.
“Not right now, but go ahead. Just don’t eat them all!” I tell her, nodding my head in the direction of the box. I swipe the note from the island and start walking backwards. “I’m just going to make a call first,” I say, waving the note.
I turn around and walk off to my room, and just before the door shuts behind me, I hear her call out, “YES GIRL! LOCK THAT MAN DOWN!”
I shake my head and laugh.That’s the plan.
Chapter seven
Silas
Not the time, Mom!
It’s been exactly fifty-seven minutes since I dropped off the baked goods at Cecilia’s door, and I know for a fact she retrieved it five minutes later.Yes, I had Stanley notify me the minute she walked through the door.
Which means she’s had the package in hand for fifty-two minutes, and yet she still hasn’t reached out. Doubt has slowly started creeping through my veins.
What if she doesn’t like it? What if I misread our encounter? What if she hasn’t thought about me like I’ve thought about her every minute of the day? What if she doesn’t feel the same way I do?
I’m currently perched up at the kitchen island in Clay and Morgan’s home, waiting for dinner while they bicker on about how the chicken Alfredo should be cooked. I tap my phone, waking the screen every thirty seconds, hoping a new notification came in that I may have missed. But no, the screen stares blankly back at me.
“She’s going to call, I promise.” Morgan comes to my side and places her hand on my biceps, peering down at my phone as I light it up once more.
“How can you be so sure? What if the gift was too much and I messed this whole thing up?” I ask her dispiritedly.
She grabs me by the chin, pulling my gaze from the screen to her. “Are you kidding me? If a man sent me a gift with so much significance, trust me when I say I’d be leaping into his arms and riding off into the sunset with him,” she says dreamily.
“Um, hello?” Clay waves a hand from the oven in Morgan’s direction. “I’m right here, you know.”
“Yes, yes, baby. I know. We’re talking metaphorically. Don’t worry, you know I love you,” she says, waving a hand dismissively as she rolls her eyes. “Always needing attention, this one. What I’m saying is, she’d be a fool not to call.”
Just as I’m about to answer, my phone comes to life with a call from an UNKNOWN number.Sixty-three minutes.I stare down at the phone, my nervesskyrocketing through the roof, body paralyzed with anxiety.
“Oh God, it’s her! Hurry, answer it!” Morgan shakes me lightly to get me moving.
I wipe my suddenly clammy hands down the front of my jeans before reaching up and taking ahold of my phone. Morgan locks her arm around mine, holding on for dear life and getting as close as possible to me, probably hoping to hear the conversation.
I swipe the green button and clear my throat before speaking. “Cecilia?”
“Cecilia? Who’s Cecilia?”
I internally groan at the sound of my mother’s voice.I love my mom, butthisis not the time.“Hi, Mom.”
“Don’t ignore my question, young man. Who’s this so-called Cecilia?” she says with anger and disappointment in her voice, yet there’s also a hint of excitement.
It’s not that I don’t want to tell my mother about the woman of my dreams. It’s just that I know my mom, and she’s like a bloodhound on a quest, hunting for her next bit of information. She’s relentless. I was hoping to keep her in the dark for a little while longer regarding my love life, but apparently that won’t be happening.
Morgan lets go of my arm and wanders over to Clay, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek, then goes on to plating our meal. I focus my attention back on my mother, who is going on and on with her demands, question after question.
“Mom, why are you calling me from an unknown number?” I ask when the realization hits me.
“Oh, your brother showed me how to block my number so that I could call Suzie Thompson and hang up if her mother picked up the phone instead. Like she wouldn’t know it was me. You know how I feel about that woman. That miserable old lady doesn’t know how to shut up,” she tells me, clearly annoyed.
I don’t blame her. I’ve met that woman twice, and I won’t make the same mistake a third time. Once she has you in her claws, it’s impossible to get out.
“Jesus, Mom. Don’t need to be so rude.”
