Page 62 of The Last Thing
Her face morphs into a wicked grin, then she runs her finger down my chest. “That can be arranged.”
My gut istight as I pull into my mom’s driveway.
Mom is one of the most supportive people on the planet, but she also has opinions and isn’t afraid to share them. Fuck, I’m still the mama’s boy who doesn’t want to upset her. I want her to be happy about this.
It’s hard falling for Hallie when I feel like I’m trying to convince her to fall for me. Though I see glimpses of it, I don’t fully understand why she’s afraid to let someone in. Her parents are still together. Her sister and cousin are both in happy relationships. And she makes it sound like she’s never been in love. So who or what hurt her?
That’s not a question I can answer tonight.
Running a hand through my hair, I climb out of the car. I texted Mom right as I left the job site that I’d be stopping by, but didn’t mention why.
She swings the door open as I walk up the front steps.
“Well, what did I do to earn a visit from my son with no Sophia?”
I wrap her in a hug. “Just wanted to say hi.”
She pushes out of my arms and gives me that mom look that tells me she’s on to my bullshit.
“Fine. I need to talk to you about something.”
She waves me inside, and I close the door behind me.
“Good something or you killed someone and don’t know what to do with the body something?”
“Mom, I work construction. There are literally so many holes to put a body in.”
She rolls her eyes as she heads for the kitchen. That tends to be the gathering space in this house more than the living room.
“I take it that means something good, then?”
I blow out a breath. “I think it’s good.”
She leans against the kitchen island and gives me her very serious expression. “Stop being cryptic. I’m too old for that shit.”
“Okay. You remember when I went down to the city for the wedding? And before I left, you implied I should have some fun—of sorts—while I was there.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But finally a smile comes through.
“Well, I took your advice, and I met an amazing woman and spent the evening with her. It was Hallie.” I hold my hand up before she can say anything. “But we didn’t know that at the time. We only exchanged nicknames. Nothing else. Frannie and Mark weren’t with her that night, and I had no idea she had any ties to Ida. She didn’t know where I lived. Then she showed up atmy door as the new nanny. Neither of us had any idea. Frannie didn’t either. It was completely random.”
Mom tilts her head slightly. “You know what your father would’ve said. It’s fate.”
I swallow hard, emotion socking me in the gut.
The idealistic, romantic side of me, I mostly got from my dad. Whether it was the outcome of a football game, the timing of an important moment, or the people who come into our lives, he always believed it was fate.
I miss my dad. I hate that he never got to meet Sophia, and that I’ve had to raise her without him. I’ve wished I could ask his advice so many times over the years. He was the best.
“I hope it is. Maybe it’s Dad looking out for me. And Soph. Sophia adores her.”
Mom squeezes my arm. “And so do you.”
I sniff, trying to keep the overwhelming emotions at bay. “I do. I have since the moment we met. And now she’s here and… Mom, she’s pregnant. With my baby, from that night we spent together.”
She grabs my other arm too, her eyes filling with tears, and I stop trying to sniff back my own.
“Oh, honey. That’s…”
