Page 129 of Matchmaking the CEO

"It does look very soothing."

She was always posting yoga classes with a backdrop of lush green scenery. Sometimes I was so relaxed by the view and the sound of birds chirping and water flowing nearby that I forgot to do the routine altogether.

"Natalie, we can'tnottalk about Jake."

"I know, but not tonight. I know I'll lose him, so I don't think I can talk about it at all." My body was physically rejecting the idea. My stomach cramped, my heart was heavy, and my throat was itchy.

"Okay. Then I'm going to talk about something else," Larissa said. "I'm going on a date tonight."

"Tell me all the details. Wait a second. My phone is beeping. Mom is calling," I said, surprised. She was usually asleep at this time. "Sorry, I need to answer so I can make sure nothing's wrong, okay?"

"Sure. We’ll talk another time. I have to go film a class anyway."

“Okay. Bye.” I switched calls, putting the phone back to my ear. "Hey, Mom. Is something wrong? Why are you up?"

"We’re having a party. And, darling, I have to say, it's quite a doozy."

My parents were partying at... what was it now? Two o'clock in the morning on the other side of the ocean. I chuckled. "Good for you. I'm glad."

"I figured I'd give you a call. I know it's late for you, but I just had this feeling."

She always said she had a sixth sense when it came to her daughters needing her. That had always proved to be true.

"Mom, you’re really good at this."

"Darling, tell me everything."

I hesitated because I hadn't told them about Vince showing up last week either. But I had to brace myself and fess up. I didn't like to have secrets, not with my parents or anyone. Look what happened with Jake.

Mom listened carefully, the way she always did.

"Oh, baby girl," she said when I'd finished. "I'm so sorry we're far away from you. Dad and I can book the fastest flight back we can afford and be with you."

"No, Mom. Don't do that, okay? My sister needs you more than I do." Right now I wasn't sure that was particularly true, but I couldn't be so selfish. I'd get back on my feet, whereas my sister had a colicky baby to deal with. She definitely needed my parents more.

"There's nothing you can do about Jake and Maddox. Don't blame yourself."

"You don't know them, Mom. They just recently found a balance."

"If it's so precarious that one fight was all it took for it to destabilize, then it wasn't very good to begin with."

I disagreed with Mom but didn't tell her so. I didn't want to hurt her feelings. She was only trying to help.

"Natalie, you’ve always tried to fix stuff without anyone interfering. If you had trouble at school, you didn't want anyone involved. Not your sisters, or your dad, or me. I respected that we're all different. I knew you'd always love us because we were family. I know how you feel about Jake, but don't let him doubt it, okay?"

"Thanks, Mom."

She was right. But the truth was I didn't know if it would make a difference. But I loved him to the moon and back, and I wanted to make sure he knew that without a doubt.

---