Page 113 of Hell Hath No Fury
DOCTOR RIGHT NOW
AMIE KNIGHT
CHAPTER ONE
“I know, Mom.” My eyes rolled so hard I thought they were going to fall right out of my head.
Her deep sigh over the phone told me the same scenario was playing out on her end of the line, too. “Anna Bell, I only want you to be happy.”
And there it was. Guilt. Heavy on my shoulders. “I know, Mom. But I don’t need a man to be happy.”
That was what I was telling myself, anyway. Wasn’t that how we women were supposed to feel? Like we didn’t need anyone but ourselves. I was a thirty-three-year-old successful business owner. Being a makeup blogger hadn’t paid the bills at first, but ten years in and I was making all of the money. I could work whenever I wanted to. From wherever I wanted to. All I needed was a ring light and my phone.
It was, in fact, why I was able to house and dog sit in the gorgeous North Carolina Mountains while my brother and his spouse vacationed in Hawaii. And that was what I intended to do. Sit by the fire. Drink warm drinks. Maybe read a sexy romance novel. It wasn't so often that a city girl like me got to slow down and enjoy the spoils of southern life.
What I wasn't planning on doing was listening to my mom spout the same nonsense I'd been hearing for at least the last five years of my life.
"Come on, sweetie. It's just one date. Your brother has been trying to introduce you two for forever," she huffed into the phone like a petulant teen.
She wasn't wrong, though. My brother and his husband had been trying for over a year to set me up with a friend of theirs. And it wasn't that I didn't think they had fabulous taste. Their gorgeous cabin in the mountains attested to that amazing taste. It was definitely beautiful in here with deep emerald greens, tans, and real wood pieces as furniture. Not to mention the giant windows and textured deep wooden walls that my brother and his husband had all designed and had built. Yeah, my brother was a freaking artiste! It wasn’t him that was keeping me from letting him set me up.
This wasn't easy to admit but it was my stupid pride that kept me from letting my family and friends play matchmaker. I didn't want to look desperate. Even though I probably was at this point. With how busy my job kept me, I didn't have time to frequent local bars or spend my days on dating apps. Ugh. Dating apps. I couldn't fathom trying to make a connection with someone online. I just wasn't that girl. My job was online. I didn’t want to meet a man there, too.
But I'd never voice any of that. My pride was to blame for that, as well.
"Mom, please. I'm good. I have everything a girl could want." And I did. Except a man. I was willing to admit, to myself, that no I didn't need a man to be happy, but it would sure to be nice to have one. But that was a conversation for another day. Because today I was on vacation. And I was done talking about things I didn't have. I wanted to enjoy the things I did. Like a wonderful family. Great boobs. A tiny cabin at the top of the mountain at the moment. "Alright, I'm going to go, Mom. I'll call you later. I think Jax needs to go out."
I glanced over at the old Golden Retriever snuggled up next to the fireplace, not moving a muscle except to raise one eyebrow at me like he didn't approve of me lying to his grandma. I rolled my eyes at him, too.
"I'm never having grandchildren. Am I?" she whispered into the phone like if she said it too loud it might come to fruition.
"Don't be dramatic, Mother." I rubbed my index finger and thumb into my eye sockets, telling myself I didn’t need to poke out my own eyeballs to make this stop "Who knows? Jason and Drew still have you in the running." Yes, I was fully aware that gay men couldn't make babies but they could damn sure adopt them.
She gave a hard sigh. "You know they don't want them."
Well, lookie lookie at her respecting at least one of her children's decisions. "You should call them in Hawaii and talk to them about it." I grinned like the Cheshire cat. She could bother them for a little bit ontheirvacation.
"Maybe I will," she threw back at me and I felt a smidge of guilt about passing her off to my sweet baby brother who was letting me stay at his gorgeous home. "But at least think about meeting E. You will adore him. He's attractive and kind and has a great job." My guilt evaporated in an instant.
"Byeeeeee, Mom!" I said into the phone probably a little too loudly before finally pressing the end button on my cell so she couldn’t hit me with anything else.
I grabbed my giant glass of wine and settled into the lush green sofa and eyed Jax. "What kind of freaking name is E, anyway? Like, does he have a real name or do we just use vowels now to call on mountain men?"
Jax had the audacity to lift up his head and look around like he was searching for this so-called E.
Taking a large gulp of wine, I mulled over this whole E situation. For the last year and a half my brother had talked about this E person. My mom who visited frequently seemed to love him, too. I'd only made it to the mountains twice since my brother had moved here from New York three years ago and every time I’d visited I’d managed to avoid meeting this E. I feltbad about not visiting more but my two million subs on YouTube waited for no one. And if I wasn't constantly posting the latest makeup and cosmetic trends, then I would fall behind and they'd be on to the next beauty guru and I couldn’t have that.
Setting my wine on the end table next to me, I leaned back into the sofa on a deep breath. Thank God I'd worked my ass off the last few months getting ready for this vacation by pre-recording videos and scheduling them to upload so I that I could truly have the time off without worry.
Jax sauntered over and climbed up on the couch with me and laid his head in my lap as I enjoyed the view outside. I scrubbed my hand over the top of his head. Could anything beat a gorgeous view of the Carolina mountains and a sweet pup sprawled out in your lap? I didn't think so.
"I have everything I need right here. Don't I, buddy?" I crooned out in doggy talk. "We don't need no man. Do we?" I finished giving the back of his ears a good scratch.
I ignored the way he raised his eyebrows and stared at me like he knew I was completely full of shit.
And maybe I was.
CHAPTER TWO
