Page 34 of Mic Drop

I take in everything he’s telling me. He was the father. Her obsession over her body contributed to her miscarriage. Still, it’s his word against hers. Unless. “Do you have any proof of this?”

He looks straight at the camera. “That’s what prompted me to reach out to you.”

Chapter 10

Jenna

Ibusy myself making tea while I wait for Ma to wake, my mind on everything I have to do today. First up is the interview with Jeremy Davis. I need to convey to him that I’m all in at At Your Service PT, even though I’ve been touring with UC for the past months. Downplay the Black Widow bull while extolling our physical therapists. Discuss our upcoming new clinic yet keep Bennett’s proposal on the down-low. Easy peasey.

Despite it all, I can’t stop dwelling on the fact that Bennett asked me to marry him. Even more amazing was his confession that Ma gave him her blessing. By the time I got home yesterday from preparing with Court, she was already in bed. I need to ask her what changed her mind about him.

I check my texts. He sent me a photo of him blowing me a kiss, saying he can’t wait to do this in person again. I sigh. Me neither.

“That’s a big sigh.” Ma walks into the kitchen, stopping to hold on to the back of the chair.

How is it she seems to deteriorate every twenty-four hour period?

“Here,” I leap to my feet. “Let me help you.”

She waves. “I’m good. You can pour me some orange juice, though.”

“On it.” I move to the fridge, keeping an eye on her as she settles into her chair. I place the glass on the table in front of her.

“What’s on your agenda for today?”

“We had a reporter reach out. He writes for a magazine in the record industry and wants details about the whole Black Widow thing.” I sit next to her.

Ma snorts. “Send him my way. I’ll tell him it’s all a load of crap.”

“We both know that. It’s my job today to convince him of it so he can write a good article.”

“What does Bennett say about this interview?”

Since when does she ask me about other people’s opinions? Whatever my fiancé—I silently scream at his new position in my life—and she discussed must have been huge. “He says it’s a reputable magazine. Now tell me, what switched your opinion about him? Last we talked, you preferred Darren to him by a mile.” I lean back in my chair.

She picks up her glass and takes a slow sip. She replaces it on the table and looks at me. “I remember what I told you before.” She shrugs. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“You don’t change your mind. Remember when I was in high school and begged you to buy me a black dress for prom. Even when all my friends were wearing black to the dance, you refused. I wore pink.” My arms cross.

Her shoulder lifts again. “You stood out. No use being a lemming.”

“Talk to me. What made you give him permission to marry me?”

She gasps. “He told you?”

“He asked me to be his wife,” I correct.

“Oh, honey!” She opens her arms, and I move to fall into them. How won’t I be receiving her amazing hugs this time next year? I close my eyes as realization sinks in that I’ll be missing more than her hugs all too soon. “Tell me all about it.”

Needing to share something happy with her, I return to my chair and start from our fight and my snide remark about his mother.

Ma interrupts. “He’s not close with her, right?”

“Ma, she’s terrible. He told me about their strained relationship, but I didn’t believe him. I mean, what mother on earth would blame her only child for killing his twinin utero?”

Ma’s hand flies in front of her open mouth. “Oh my God. That’s awful.”

I nod. “They were IVF babies. She was pregnant with twins, but only Bennett survived. Ever since, the woman’s claimed the twin was a girl and makes all sorts of comments to him like, ‘if your sister were here...’”

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