Page 54 of Doing It for Love

“I thought you weren’t coming till next week.”

“My last open house fell through, so I caught an earlier flight.”

I pull her inside so we’re not shouting over the rain, and then I hug her again. She smells like home. Like lemon meringue pie. Man I could go for a slice of that.

“Uh, Liz?” Alec asks as he looks at his freshly mopped floor that my mom and I just puddled.

“Oh, sorry! I’ll clean it up.” I walk around him to the mop bucket. “Alec, this is my mom. Mom, this is Alec. He’s Landon’s best man.”

They shake hands, and then Mom fixes her blond wavy hair under her hood. Her cheeks splash pink and I laugh under my breath. Yes, Alec is adorably hot. Dirty blond hair, lean and tall, and one dimple in his cheek.

And yes, that is Mom’s type, even if she is twenty-five years his senior andmarried.

“You’ve known Landon and Liz awhile?” she asks awkwardly. I push her foot with the mop and she bats at me.

“I met Liz when Landon introduced us a few years ago. Landon I’ve known since I was four.”

“They grew up across the street from each other,” I add, nudging Alec with the mop now. “Alec hired me when I was basically living on Theresa’s couch.”

“I’m also her personal chauffeur right now.” He winks to let me know he’s not really bothered by giving me a ride to and from work every day. “So I’d let her off early if she had a way to get you both home. Unless you want to use your cab?” He nods out the window.

I can’t afford a cab, and I’d hate for Mom to pay. But Landon’s last check was stretched to its limit, and we’re living on mac and cheese and SpaghettiOs.

And chocolate for me, which I need to stop. My jeans have been a bit snug of late due to the frosting, candy bars, chocolate chips, instant brownies, and fudge bingeing nearly every night before Landon and I go to sleep. Or I should say, before we go tobed. Both of us are still tossing and turning, and Landon’s pillow is so beaten up the feathers are starting to poke out.

“We can take my cab,” Mom says, already holding a finger up to the cabdriver. “If you’re sure you don’t need her to stay and close up.”

Alec shakes his head, and I hand him the mop. “Sweet. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“You’re not coming to Jace’s party?”

“I’m going to hang out with my momma.” I give Mom another squeeze and get my side soaked. “Landon might stop by, though.”

“ ’Kay. Head out there before your driver takes off. I’ll clock out for you.”

I tell him thanks, and Mom gets all flustered again as she waves goodbye. I’m laughing as we run through the downpour and slide into the backseat.

“Where’s Dad?” I ask after we tell the driver my address.

“It’s just me this time around. He thought he’d save his visit for Christmas.”

I raise my eyebrows. “What about meeting Landon?”

“Apparently…he’s already met him.”

“What?”

“Landon called your father about a week after your engagement. They spoke on the phone for nearly an hour.”

“About what?”

“He apologized for not asking Dad for your hand, then he officially asked, and then they talked about the horror stories from working at a call center…who are you talking to?”

“I’m texting Landon a death threat. He doesn’t tell me anything!”

Mom chuckles as she watches me type:You’re in trouble.Then I add a flaming red-faced emoticon and hit send.

We catch up on the rest of the drive. Mom’s client list is so packed she hardly has any time to herself anymore, but she loves putting people in new homes, and they’ve been thinking about buying property and building their own house. I frown a little at her because that means they’ll sell the one I grew up in, and she grabs my lip and says, “I’ll put a hook in it,” just like she always does when I give her the pout.

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