Page 51 of Otter Heart
The connection ended and I let the phone drop to my lap. Boy was she gonna be surprised when she found out that I’d figured out literally nothing and that I’d spent my entire summer so far just lusting after some dude that wanted nothing to do with me.
Talk about a waste of time and energy on my part.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Adam
Mom waved at me from inside the store as I parked the car and headed to the entrance. I put on a fake smile, but there was enough anxiety in my chest to drown a man. I wanted to avoid talking about Mateo, but I had a feeling it would be impossible with Mom. She had a tendency to pull information from me whether I wanted to give it to her or not. The woman was relentless.
But maybe that’s exactly what I needed. Some motherly advice. Clearly, I wasn’t doing a good job by myself. Rowan and James’ advice had only led me to more heartache like I thought it might. But Mom had a completely different perspective. Maybe she could finally point me in the right direction because I sure as fuck was doing a poor job of it by myself.
I stepped inside, the door ringing over my head in a far too cheerful tone.
“Hey honey,” Mom called, waving me over to stand next to her in line. Thankfully there wasn’t anyone behind her. “It’s good to see you!”
I gave her a big hug, doing my best to keep a smile on my face. She pulled back, holding me by the shoulders and giving me a good once over.
“You look skinny,” she said, furrowing her brows.
“You always say that.”
“And you look sad.”
“I’m… fine.”
“Wow,” she nodded. “That was almost believable.”
I let out a long sigh. “Can we just get coffee and food please? I’m starving.” I glanced at the people in front of us and another couple that was pulling up to the back of the line. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Sure, sure. You know me, honey. I’d rather give my right arm than go meddling in your business.”
“If that were true you wouldn’t have any limbs left.”
The lady in line in front of us snickered and I could help a grin.
“Adam Matthew! You take that back!”
“Sorry. I don’t tell lies.”
“Well, webothknow that’s not true.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “I guess we both have our quirks then, huh?”
“You are in a mood today.”
“Yep.”
“Well, I know some iced coffee and a little food will help at least a little bit. You always did have a hangry streak, even as a child.”
I sighed again. “I know…” I gave her a small smile. “I am happy to see you though.”
“Happy to see you too, honey.”
It only took a few minutes to get through the line and get our order. While we waited, Mom chatted my ear off about her hotel and the view and how she was hoping to find a Latino lover for the week just to blow off some steam. That last part was just to make me laugh or embarrass me in front of the other customers. Either way, it accomplished both.
“But in all seriousness,” she said as we headed for an open booth. “I have been seeing a guy.”
“Oh?” I took my seat, the sandwich in front of me calling my name far too loudly for me to say much else. “How’s thatgoing?”
“Good actually.” She took her seat across from me, putting her purse on the edge of the table. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while, actually.”
