Page 105 of Not In The Proposal

“Then you should know that a lot of people don’t do it just for fun,” she continued. “And Portuguese isn’t exactly straightforward. So…?”

“So?”

“Ai, Mia!” she groaned. “She learned Portuguese foryou.”

Her words slowly dropped into my mind like stones in a pond. One. At. A. Time.

I turned back to Mom, her face expectant. “Oh.”

“Oh,” she repeated, swearing under her breath. “This is what all that overtime does to you. Makes your wit dull. We’re okay now, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

She sighed and walked over to the stove, gently nudging me out of the way.

“I mean,” she said patiently, turning to me with a smile. She pressed her palm to my cheek. “That it’s okay for you to take care of yourself for once. You’ve done enough for this family, and I want you to go and find your own happiness.”

I lay a hand over hers, my eyes stinging a little. Maybe it was because everything was still so fresh after my impromptu confession, but her words soothed an old wound I didn’t even know existed.

When I left a few hours later, I felt a little lighter.

I stared at Reid’s hotel room door, wondering if she was back from whatever she’d had to do. I’d mulled over Mom’s words on the way back, my thoughts full of what this new sense of freedom meant for me.

I knocked on the door, deciding that it meant listening to my heart for once. Even if it was just this once. But all the bravery I’d mustered up to knock on the door vanished immediately when the door handle jiggled.

The door opened to reveal Reid, who’d already changed into her comfy clothes, her feet bare on the tiles. She held a glass of wine in her free hand.

“You’re back early,” she said.

I shrugged. “There’s only so much of Mom’s coddling I can take in a single day,” I lied.

Reid smiled like she knew it was a lie and opened the door wider. “Want to come in?” she offered and turned around to walk back inside.

The offer hung in the air, and for a moment, all I could do was stare at the open door. If I walked in, there would be no escaping the conversation we’d need to have. But avoiding it would only delay it, and I wasn’t sure I could handle the suspense any longer.

I followed Reid back to her living room and spotted the book that lay face down on the large sofa.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting,” I said a little awkwardly.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she said, sitting back down and pulling her feet under her. “How was your day?”

How was your day?Such an innocuous question. It could be small talk, or it could be something more.

“It was okay,” I answered. “Mom asked where you were.”

“How is she?”

“She’s doing okay.”

So many okays…

I cleared my throat, picking at the hem of my T-shirt. “How was your day?” I asked hesitantly.

“Pretty good,” she hummed with a smirk. “I saw Donnie.”

Chapter 34

Nothing Left Unsaid

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