I rolled up to prop myself on an elbow. “Or…you could come with?”
“Sure. It’d be great to hang with Wendy again. Is this what was bothering you last night? Did you think your mom would scare me off?”
What a fabulous excuse. “Kind of. I like you.” Before I found out you were a disingenuous man who was out for what—a revenge fuck?
Greatest sex of my life. Got me good, asshole.
“Of course I don’t mind. It’s refreshing to be around a mom who… acts like a mom.”
I tried to keep the pity out of my look. “Really?”
His lopsided smile softened my heart. “Was it a ploy to get me to go away?”
“No. It was a real invite. I have one other question. Do you play rummy?”
Wes
I was on my third hand of rummy.
It was fun.
Mara’s mom was just as pleasant as before and had been delighted when I’d walked in. What would it be like to grow up with a mom like that?
“Wendy, I do believe you’ve won this round again.”
Wendy chuckled, her brown eyes lighting up. I didn’t think I could say anything wrong around her. I just enjoyed the conversation.
How would my mom behave around Mara?
Easy—atrociously. My mom would demean and condescend, and nitpick Mara’s appearance and weight. All before she found out about Mara’s relationship with Sam. Then no holds barred, get your gloves out, fight club only has one rule.
Mara gathered the cards and shuffled them. “Do you need me to bring anything on Tuesday when I swing by?”
“Whenever you have time to make a library run, I’d appreciate it. More audiobooks, please. Cards are easier to hold, but books can wear my hands out.”
“Sure. I’ll grab some tonight and bring ’em.” Mara packed up our stuff and we stood to leave.
“Thank you.” Wendy smiled at me and waved. “Nice to see you again, Sam.”
“I never pass up the chance to visit a lady who can whip me at cards.”
She giggled and it took twenty years off her tired features.
When I turned, I was struck by Mara’s look of awe.
I nudged her with an elbow as we walked through the narrow corridors. “You’re looking all shocked that I can charm your mother.”
“I expected you to be a little uncomfortable with, you know, the environment. Comic-Con’s a little different than hanging out in a nursing home.”
I shrugged. It was surprisingly homey in the place.
Mara grabbed my hand. “Do you mind stopping at the library with me? They don’t close for a couple of hours.”
“If I get lost, will you find me?”
She chuckled, but I wasn’t joking. I’d never been in a public library.
Chapter 14
Mara
I kissed Wes at the door as I was leaving for work Monday morning. He’d stayed over again and another supreme night of amazing sex had firmed my resolve to show him that I was a decent person.
“When do I get to see your place?”
His brows rose in surprise. “Uh…my place isn’t the best for entertaining.”
I swept my arm around my living room. “And my humble abode is magnificent?”
“It’s homier than mine.” Probably not a lie. “My place is large and obnoxious. I don’t know why I bought it.”
“Condo?”
“House.”
Oh. A mansion. Did he have staff? Would they see me and wonder why he’d ever bring a girl like me around?
“I’d better get to work. Lock up when you leave?”
“Always.” He clasped my wrist as I stepped away. “Wednesday night?”
“I don’t know. Are you going to keep me up all night again?”
“Probably.”
My body celebrated. Geez, I should feel guilty. But the sex. My body craved it more the longer we were together like he was an addiction.
I went through the day in a daze of sorting, marking down the last of my stock for clearance, and explaining the situation to customers who hadn’t yet heard. After a busier weekend than normal and the added stress of Wes, I was lagging by the end of the day.
The sign was turned to officially closed when Chris spoke up. “I talked to my friend. She’s been looking into it, double-checking all the permits are filed correctly. Wes Robson hasn’t been her favorite person since he made them jump through hoops to expedite the approval process for the outlet mall, then switched his plans to St. Paul.”
“It won’t be in time to stop the store from closing. He owns the building.”
“But like you said, we can be a burr in his backside. Guys like him don’t understand what they do to us when they swing their power and money around.”
The Wes who’d been so considerate and charming with my mother contradicted the man who was shutting me down.
“I don’t know. I feel like I should just drop it.” I hadn’t told Chris my new man was really Wes.
Chris punched into the register to count the money. “It’s out of our hands now. It’s not you if that makes you feel better. My friend got an ulcer from the stress he put her through. The whole office hates him. Except for the young women.”
“Thank you for thinking of the store.” Wes seemed so untouchable, I doubted Chris’s contact would have any luck.
My phone rang. “Hey, Ephraim.”
“Mara, can you swing by the office so we can get your signatures on some papers?”
Spend Friday through Sunday with Wes, launch legal action against him by Monday. Who had I turned into? I knew who he was, I shouldn’t play along, and I wasn’t that person. I wasn’t him. But…he shouldn’t get away with it. He didn’t get to play with my emotions, string me along, all the while knowing he was responsible for shutting down my dream and driving me into a financial corner. My resolve was strengthened. I’d pretend ignorance and date “Sam.”
My store closed later than regular businesses, so traffic wasn’t bad on the way to Ephraim’s firm.
He was the only one there, to my relief. We went through and I signed and initialed and got my own stack of copies.
Ephraim walked me
