Page 68 of Kandi's Crush: A BWWM Sweet Billionaire Romance

After a few minutes, she had leaned her head on my shoulder. She whispered, “I’m sorry C. I don’t know what came over me. This shit with my mom is getting to me. I feel like I’m all over the place around here. The last thing I want is to take this out on you. Please forgive me?”

Of course, I would forgive the love of my life.

I was beyond fed up with my mother-in-law’s behavior. The mother-daughter feud mired the happiest moments of our marriage.

It was time to put an end to this nonsense. We couldn’t keep jeopardizing Kandace’s mental health and well-being.

Taking matters into my own hands, I pulled out my cell phone and called Celeste. I explained that we needed to talk about Kandace and suggested we meet at a local brewery, Harper’s. I felt a modicum of accomplishment when she agreed to meet me. In my mind, Celeste and I would meet, and then she would make up with Kandace. All would be well.

I would keep my role in their reconciliation quiet. It would be better if Sweets didn’t know I’d had a hand in getting them together. She needed to think this was all Celeste’s doing.

Three days later, I sat in the center of Harper’s Bar and Grill, sipping on iced tea as I spectated the buzz of activity in the restaurant.

Celeste was almost twenty minutes late and hadn’t text messaged her whereabouts. I expected that she would arrive spouting a litany of apologies and excuses. I found it hard to believe she would miss an important discussion about her daughter’s well-being.

Firing off a text message to Celeste, I waited for an answer of when she would arrive. I stared at the phone obsessively, waiting for it to ring or chime. Each second that ticked by added to my irritation.

I thought my mother-in-law would be more mature. The Celeste from my childhood would have encouraged me to sit down and talk through my feelings. She would have inspired me to be the better person. It seemed hypocritical that she didn’t live up to the standards she set for others.

I reviewed the menu for the third time and started on my second glass of tea, but after thirty minutes of waiting, it was clear she had stood me up. I left a bundle of bills on the table for the waitress and made my way to the parking lot.

I sped to the strip mall the location of the Scrub-A-Dub office. I drove too fast through the parking lot and pulled into a space in front of the store, next to Celeste’s SUV.

Being ignored and stood up had stung, so I could only imagine what my wife was going through.

I exhaled a deep breath and hopped out of the Jeep. When I stormed into the office, it surprised me to see Celeste and Marie-Therese were eating lunch and chatting. The door chime alerted them to my presence, interrupting their shared laughter, and they both turned to face me. Marie-Therese greeted me with a bright smile, but Celeste appeared cool and unaffected.

“Celeste, may I speak with you? In private?” I asked, walking past Marie and heading to Celeste’s desk.

“Well, hello to you, too.” She was downright indignant, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why she thought she was qualified to admonish anyone on manners. “Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of Marie.”

Marie threw up her hands and began packing up her salad. “Celeste, I’m not involved in this. Stop acting like an ass and talk to your son. Chadwick, do you want anything? Water? Coffee?”

“I’m fine. I just drank two glasses of sweet tea at Harper’s.” I turned to face Celeste. She expressed no hint of remorse about standing me up. Game on. “Thank you.”

Marie-Therese patted me on the shoulder before she walked into the back room.

I sat in the chair directly in front of Celeste, and she stared back at me. The stress of this ordeal clearly weighed on her face. Her skin was ashen, and she had dark circles underneath her eyes.

Growing up, Celeste had been the only one of my parents’ employees who saw through all of my shenanigans. I’d always felt like she knew my thoughts before I even opened my mouth to say the words.

She stared back at me now as if she could still see through me. Celeste always knew when I was nervous or lying, and it scared me. I regressed back to my teenaged years. But this time, I wasn’t lying about my relationship with someone’s daughter—I was telling the truth about hers.

She closed the lid of her MacBook, and her hazel eyes met mine in challenge. She was ready for a fight.

“Celeste, this has gone on long enough. Kandace isn’t doing well. You aren’t doing well. Call your daughter and invite her out to talk. You two need each other.”

Celeste’s brows furrowed in concern. The movement was almost undetectable. Her eyes left mine to stare at the wall behind me. She straightened her spine and then returned to my gaze.

“I’ve raised my kid. You’re her husband. Don’t pile your responsibility onto me. You take care of her,” she said. She gave me a shit-eating grin. “What is it? For better, for worse? She’s all yours.”

“Grow up Celeste,” I said. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. I didn’t mean to lose my patience with her, but she was behaving like a child.

I sat in silence while my anger subsided, when I spoke, I chose my words carefully. Celeste was my mother-in-law, and I planned to remain married to her daughter for the rest of my life.

“Celeste, I had hoped you would be mature about this. Kandace is your only child. She needs you.”

“She should have thought about that the last time I saw her. You would not believe the level of disrespect she lobbed my way. She raised her voice and stormed out that door.” She pointed to the glass door leading to the parking lot. “I didn’t raise my child to have a smart mouth. Especially after I supported her throughout college and gave her a job.”

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