Page 37 of If You Loved Me

“Bye, y’all. I’ll see you both soon.”

They both tossed me a smile before heading through the doors and without a second to breathe or take in the fact that my first wedding cake tasting had gone incredibly well, Stephanie barrelled through the doors with a stricken look on her face.

I immediately stood upright, ready for whatever pastry catastrophe was likely waiting for me out front. “What is it?”

She swallowed. “It’s your mom. She’s here.”

Well, I definitely wasn’t ready for this. I couldn’t recall the last time my mother had been inside my bakery. Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure she’d ever come to see what I’d made of myself.

The sigh that blew past my lips revealed the exhaustion I already felt and I hadn’t even spoken to her yet.

“Can you send her back here? I really don’t want the patrons seeing an HBO special of Daughters with Overbearing Narcissistic Mothers.”

Stephanie nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

The door closed and I stole a few deep breaths, trying to steel my nerves. It was one thing to talk to my mother over the phone. There was power in that bright red button that could end a call. Not that I’d ever hung up on her before, but knowing I could made me feel a lot better than being trapped in the small space of my work kitchen with only one exit. I also hadn’t responded to her messages over the weekend, so she was likely going to come in with guns blazing.

The moment I saw her face when she came through the doors, I knew I was in deep trouble.

Great.

“Hey, mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart.” She drew out the last word as she took in the mess of my work kitchen. If I’d known she was going to show up I would have scrubbed it from top to bottom if only to prevent the disdain that showed on her perfectly made-up face.

A quiet voice in my mind told me I was being ridiculous. It was the middle of my work day with three dozen cupcakes in the oven. Any bakery kitchen would look the way mine did right now with splotches of flour everywhere and drips of icing along the island counter. But that stronger voice—the one that had been ridiculed by the woman before me—was chastising. Telling me that I should be better.

I fidgeted with the tie of my apron, not knowing what to say. I was alone, cornered, and I didn’t have my big brother or anyone else to help defend me.

Thankfully she broke the silence. “I’m sure you remember my dear friend, Mrs. Campbell.”

I nodded, keeping my face pleasantly neutral.Where is she going with this?

“Well, her son Jones is moving to town. He’s going to be taking over his father’s real estate business. I think it would be good for the two of you to meet.”

I stifled the groan building in my throat. Southern propriety took the wind from my sails once again.

“I don’t k?—”

She held up a hand and my lips immediately zipped shut. With a small sigh and a flicker of her eyes, I knew I wasalready testing her patience and I’d barely gotten more than a few words out.

“You’ve been obstinant since you were a young child. Always chasing after frivolous dreams and leaving important traditions behind. Your father and I have tried our best to take a step back and let you sew your wild oats, but there has to come a time when you grow up and start making adult-like decisions, Sarah.”

Every inch of my body felt cold and hot all at once. I was frozen. Unable to move when my body was screaming to run away. To not allow her to drive me to that place of quiet darkness. And yet, I was flaming on the inside as anger flushed my cheeks.

I hated that she did this to me. I hated that I couldn’t have a normal relationship with my mother because she refused to give me freedom, even as a grown adult.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tried to calm myself down. Allowing her to frustrate me wouldn’t end well and I had too much to do today to get to that point.

“Mom, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but I’m perfectly fine on my own.” There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to tell her about Ranger right now. Not when she had an agenda.

Her long delicate fingers graced the side of her hips, her lips pursed and I swallowed hard. “I’ll throw in a little sweetener for you since you’ve clearly refused to shed even an ounce of your obstinance. If you go on a date with this young man and give him a fair shot, your father and I will endorse your bakery.”

I crossed my arms. She took her shot and it hit me in the only weak spot I had. “You and dad would seriously do that?”

A subtle lift of her chin. “Yes. But I want to see a real effort from you, Sarah. Time is ticking and you won’t be this young forever.”

There it was. The truth behind her mission. Theo and I were getting older which meant her chances of having biological grandchildren were becoming less and less in her favor. It was just another thing for her to dictate. Another area of my life she wanted to control.

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