Page 27 of Broken Rules

“My mother is a piece of work.”She sighed.“You remember in college how often she called me?”

He nodded.“I remember being surprised you were living in an apartment near campus on your own.”

“Yeah, I wanted to pretend my mother didn’t exist because college meant freedom.”

“I’m sorry.”He’d been too self-absorbed with school and everything to think about why she didn’t talk about her mother.

“After you left, the calls got more frequent.When I graduated, she insisted I move back home.”

“And did you?”He wanted her to keep talking.

She crossed her arms over her stomach, and her features tightened.Did she even realize how much she was telling him with her body?

Probably not.

“For a while.I knew it was a mistake, but I needed to build my resume first.”She tightened her arms around her waist.

Tyler almost stood to pull her into his lap and cradle her close.Her closed expression and the way she held herself told him whatever had happened wasn’t good.

“My mother has always been controlling.”

“What about your father?”She’d never mentioned him.

We should have talked more in college.

“I don’t know.All my mother would ever say was that he wasn’t around.”

It hit Tyler right then.She saidmy mother,notmy mom.“I’m sorry.”

She gave him a little smile.“After I moved back home, Mother became even more obsessed with controlling every aspect of my life.”

“That couldn’t have been easy.You’d been on your own for four years in college.”

“It wasn’t.As my mother said, I’d grown an attitude.”

“I bet.”He couldn’t see Becca kowtowing to anyone.

“At least, that’s what she would tell me.Anyway, without my knowledge, she arranged a job for me.”Becca snorted; there was no other way for him to describe it.“I should have realized there was no way a person like me, straight out of college with only a bachelor’s degree and no experience, should have landed that job as head of catering at the Franco Hotel.”

Tyler whistled.That was one of the premier hotels in San Francisco.“You were excited.”

“Yes, and afraid.But my excitement overrode the fear, and things were fine until…”

He waited.He was starting to get the picture, and he was sure he wouldn’t like where this was going.“Until?”he prompted.

“Until Randall.”

“Randall, not Alan?”

“Yeah, he was before Alan.”Another sigh escaped her.“I was so stupid, Tyler.So damn naïve.After you left, I wasn’t really interested in being with another man.”

“This Randall entered your life.”He fought his own jealousy.He’d had other lovers during their time apart.Why shouldn’t she?

“Yes.He was older, and I couldn’t believe he was interested in me.”

“How much older?”

“Ten years.”

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