Page 100 of She Was Made for Me

“Hi, honey!” Mom grins at me through the screen and my eyes instantly prick with tears.

Shit.

I clear my throat roughly. “Hi, Mom. Where’s Dad?”

She gives an affectionate chuckle. “He’s in his study, as usual. How are things with you? Have you settled in okay?”

I let my gaze drift around my office. I’ve settled in more than okay. I’m back to where I was before visiting New York, working all hours of the day and neglecting every other aspect of my life, only now with my own office and a bigger salary.

And a broken heart.

A sob escapes me before I can stop it, and Mom’s face softens.

“Oh, Violet, what’s wrong?”

I glance at the door to my office to make sure it’s closed, trying to compose myself. Where would I even begin? With the job I never should have taken, or the man I never should have fallen in love with?

As if reading my mind, Mom says, “It’s Kyle, isn’t it?”

Surprise makes me jolt in my seat. “How do you know?”

“Your father told me.”

My stomach plummets. “Told you… told you what?”

“That you and Kyle were together while working on the house.”

I open and close my mouth, my pulse whipping through me. “Heknows?”

She nods, gazing at me as I process this.

Dad knows? Did Kyle tell him? Why didn’t Dad call me? Well, he did try to call me, didn’t he? It was me who asked him not to.

My head spins with so many thoughts I don’t even know where to start.

“So it’s true, then?” Mom asks gently. “You and Kyle?”

I blink as more tears spring to my eyes. I have no reason to hide, no reason to lie if they already know. Besides, I might have moved across the country, but that doesn’t mean things with Kyle are over, because they aren’t, not in my heart. I’m more in love with him than ever.

“Yes,” I whisper. “I fell in love with him.”

Mom gives me a small, knowing smile. “I can see why. He’s a lovely man.”

I stare at her in shock. I don’t know what I was expecting her to say, but it wasn’t that.

“He is.” I swallow, my belly knotting as I wonder what Dad must think. “Did Dad—”

“I’ll deal with your father, don’t worry.” Mom sighs. “But you should probably talk to him.”

That is the absolute last thing I want to do, but Mom’s right. I need to talk to him. I’ve hidden away, using my new job as an excuse, for long enough.

“Okay,” I say shakily.

Mom leans away from the screen. “Rich! Violet’s on the phone, come say hello.”

I listen as he shouts a response in the background, a rock sitting heavy in my gut. God knows what he’s going to say to me.

But when he appears on the screen, he’s smiling. “Hi, Sweetpea. How are you?”

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