Page 8 of Anchored Love
Everly
Good Mothers Let You Lick The Beaters. Great Moms Turn Them Off First
I’d barely gottenthrough the front door when Mooch, my pug, came snorting through the living room. Placing my bag on the cushion of the armchair, I crouched to give him a scratch behind the ears. “Were you a good boy today?” I cooed at him and reminded myself I needed to make arrangements for his care while I’d be away for the cruise to St. Thomas. My fur baby got along with Samantha, and she owed me after the stunt she pulled with Mason in the office earlier. She was going to have a house guest for a while.
Kicking off my black spiked heels, I went straight to my bedroom to my walk-in closet to put them away. I was a bit of what people might call a shoe whore. My net worth could be tallied by my extensive shoe collection. I had enough pairs to wear a different pair each day of the week for months. Such was the life of a shoe addict.
I changed out of my work clothes, trading them for a comfy pair of sweatpants and a scoop neck crop top sweatshirt with a tank underneath.
In the kitchen, I rinsed Moocher’s food bowl and refilled it while he danced around my feet.
Buzz.Buzz. My cell phone sounded from my bag in the living room. With Mooch eating, I went in search of my bag.
Pulling my phone out, I glanced at the screen and saw my mother’s name flashing with her smiling picture. If I didn’t accept the call, she would only keep calling until I picked up. Or worse, show up unannounced. I wanted to relax and not deal with uninvited company. Knowing her, she’d bring some creep she hoped to set me up with. It wouldn’t have been the first time she ambushed me.
“Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“We didn’t get to finish our talk over Christmas about this new man you’re seeing. I want details.”
Shit. Double shit. I thought she’d dropped that. We’d talked several times since Christmas, and she hadn’t brought it up. “Oh, well, you know I’ve been busy getting caught up at work after the holiday and all. Work has been so crazy. You know how things get at the office.”
“So do I get a name?” I should have seen this coming. So stupid. Why did I lie? Oh, that’s right. My mother was a crazy meddler who thought she was a matchmaker, but in reality, she was like a damn tornado who wreaked havoc on my nonexistent love life.
“Um…” I bit my top lip, not wanting to give her any information, but also knowing she wouldn’t let it go. She was a dog with a bone. “Mason,” I said the first name that popped into my head and mentally kicked myself. I’d lost my mind. Completely and totally.
“And where did you two meet?” she pushed.
“It was a work-related thing. So I don’t know, Mom. It’s new, and we aren’t ready to be public. I don’t want it to cause either of us issues. You know, company fraternization and whatnot.” Another semi-lie rolled off my tongue. While this was true in a sense, it had nothing to do with Mason because that wasn’t happening. I prayed she wouldn’t put two and two together and realize I was describing the Mason she knew as being friends with Drake. This was a disaster. What was I doing?
I hated lying and had never been particularly good at doing so, but in the moment, they filled my head. Mason had been on my mind, and I slipped him into the role of my fake boyfriend, giving details that I knew to be true and fluffing the rest with white lies to keep my story going.
My stomach swam and churned, and I grabbed a pack of acid reducers from my purse, chewing them quickly and swallowing them down with water. Sweat beaded across my forehead, and my palms were all clammy and gross. I didn’t want to disappoint her. I sought my mother’s approval in so many aspects of my life.
She sounded so pleased like somehow my having a man made her proud of me. Which I’d admit seemed silly in itself, but still, I heard the smile in her responses. Out of her three children, I was the only one who hadn’t found that special someone. Not that being in a relationship defined me, but part of me did want to meet the man who’d sweep me off my feet. I’d been on my share of terrible first dates over the years and even dated a couple men seriously, but in the end none of them were Mr. Right. They were simply Mr. Right Now.
My first serious boyfriend in college had screwed me over with my so-called best friend during a time when I needed them both the most. I had recently lost my father, and the last thing I needed in that time of my life was walking in on the two of them screwing. After that, I swore men off for a while, focusing on graduating and finding a job after school.
Then there were my rebound dates. The ones I used to warm me up for getting back in the dating game. Bryce had been nice enough, but there were no fireworks between us.
When I stopped seeing him, I’d met Jonathon, a recently divorced single father who was desperately hung up on his ex and not ready to date. I moved on from him quickly.
Trevor had been great in bed and handsome. He also had a wandering eye. I didn’t need that drama in my life again. I knew he wasn’t serious about me. He’d call, and I’d either go to his place or he'd come to mine, but neither of us ever slept over, and we never went on dates. It was definitely a friends with benefits relationship that wouldn’t go anywhere.
“What’s he look like? I bet he’s handsome.”
“He is. Mason’s tall, dark, and sexy. You’ll like him.” She did like him. She already knew him, but I wasn’t about to admit my lies.
“I’m sure he’s wonderful if he fell for you, my darling girl. Have you invited him on the cruise and made sure he has his passport?”
“I’ve got it under control. He’s been so busy lately, so the trip is kind of perfect timing really. I haven’t had a chance to ask him. But I will when I see him again. He’s been out of town visiting his family. A ski trip. He’s just always on the go. We don’t get to see each other as often as either of us would like. We date through video chats and text messages. Sometimes emails. It depends on his schedule, but I’m sure he can get time off for this.” Man, I was rambling and just knew she was going to call me out on my bullshit.
“What’s he do that is so important? Does he make a great salary? I want to know everything. It’s been so long since you’ve had a man, Everly. You deserve to be happy.”
I rolled my eyes, palms sweating as my mountain of lies continued to grow. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Mhmm.”Yeah, me too. I ended the call wondering how I would get out of this. Mason Jones had no idea the mess I’d just dragged him into unwillingly. I’d find a way out of this mess somehow.
Back in the kitchen I grabbed a skillet for one of those freezer bag meals and dialed Sam, hoping she would have a plan that didn't include Mason.
