Page 50 of Mine To Break
“Unless I dreamed it all in the hospital, yes. She actually sort of proposed to me first.”
Mama laughed. “That’s my girl. If she saw something she wanted, she took it. Even if it was a pie I’d promised to someone else.”
Speaking of dessert… “Ma’am—”
“I’m sure she likes you being all polite with her, but I’d rather you just call me Mama, or Alice. Either is fine with me.”
“Miss Alice, could you teach me how to make your famous cream brûlée?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Now I know you’re perfect for each other. That always was her favorite dessert, even if she couldn’t ever make it.” Standing up, she grabbed the cup and came around the bar into the kitchen. “All right, young man, let’s see how well you take instructions.”
Walking into her house and finding Colby in the kitchen was always a nice surprise. Realizing that her mother was in the kitchen too…
Oh shit. Here it comes.
She’d been making plans all week for a small, impromptu ceremony with a justice of peace. She didn’t need or want all the fancy ceremony with an overblown reception and massive guest list. She didn’t even care if their friends were actually there for the ceremony. She just wanted him to belong to her.
But she needed to tell Mama, and she’d been putting it off. Anything else in her life, she would have tackled it head on and already kicked its ass or wrestled it to the ground. But Mama? She didn’t want to lose her, and this might be the very thing to send Mama out of her life for good.
“There’s my girl.” Mama wiped her hands on a towel and came to give her a hug, kissing both her cheeks.
“What a nice surprise. Where are you headed, Mama?”
Mama gave her a knowing look. “I thought I’d stay a few days, and then I’m headed to New York City with Patty and Rhonda. We’ve got tickets toHamilton.”
“Nice.” A few days. Crap. It was one thing to arrive at her daughter’s house during the day and find a man. But to see him there day and night… She’d start asking questions. Questions Mal didn’t want to fight over.
“Sit down, we’ve got everything ready.”
She had to admit that it was something special to see the two people she loved most in the world sitting at her table. Together. It actually made her throat tighten when he took her hand and they said grace before plowing into fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Mama’s specialty was usually dessert, but no Southern woman would survive long without knowing how to make good fried chicken. “Sure is good, Mama.”
“Don’t compliment me. Colby made it.”
He flashed that killer grin at her. “With help. But I think I can make it again.”
She had no expectation that he slave in the kitchen for her, but that he was making the effort definitely made her cold Mistress heart flood with warmth. Too bad he was in no shape for her to show him exactly how grateful she was that he was willing to do things around the house without her ever having to make the request. Most men expected someone else to take care of the house and food as a matter of privilege, never thinking that he lived there too. That by ignoring the basic everyday chores, he was dumping all that responsibility on his partner. Even as a Mistress, she’d typically had to give theorderto clean or cook.
Colby had taken it upon himself to help. Even injured.
“You’ll want to save some room for dessert,” Mama said, though no reminder was necessary. With her in the house, dessert was expected and hotly anticipated.
Colby cleared their plates and returned with small pots of cream brûlée. Now she’d definitely died and gone to heaven. She’d plowed through half of it before sensing his eyes on her. She looked up, meeting his smoky gaze. Ah, he was definitely feeling better. He hadn’t had that look in his eyes since before he’d been shot.
“How is it?”
“Perfect.”
He smiled at Mama and excused himself from the table. “I’m going to take a quick shower, if that’s all right. I didn’t have the chance this earlier.”
“Of course.”
It didn’t escape her notice—even with a few delicious bites of custard melting on her tongue—that he washed off their plates and put them in the dishwasher first. Now that was definitely a man she wanted to keep. For good.
When he went into the bathroom, she braced for the inevitable questions. The anger. The old familiar arguments.
“You are going to keep him, aren’t you?”
Shocked, she twitched so hard she almost flipped a spoonful of custard out of her spoon onto the table. She looked at Mama, who smiled back at her.
