Page 14 of A Kiss to Remember
She mimicked the eyebrow gesture. “That reminds me. James Holland lost your number. But he wanted me to pass along the message that he would be glad to take care of your lawn like he does mine.”
“Freaking blabbermouth,” Declan muttered, dropping the crayons into the goody bag. No sense of male solidarity at all.
“Hi, Declan.” Tara strolled up to them, smiling widely. “This is so cute.” She turned, waving a hand in the direction of the larger area set up with game stations, the story circle and tables of books. “When Janet told me she was stopping by, I had to tag along. All this time I’ve lived here, and I can’t believe I’ve never made it to this charming little event.”
“It’s only the second time the library has held it. Remi started it last year,” he said, pride for Remi and the staff’s hard work evident in his voice. He didn’t even try to conceal it.
He’d only witnessed the tail end of their labor, helping set up and put up decorations, but more than one person had regaled him about all the time and effort she put into the event. And when his mother’s gaze narrowed on him, he met it. There was nothing wrong with being proud of a friend’s achievements.
Fuck, he was a terrible liar. Even to himself.
His mother and Tara glanced at one another, then Janet hooked an arm through Tara’s, clearly telegraphing where her allegiance lay. “Well, that’s nice. I just remembered you mentioning you were spending Halloween here, so I thought we’d come over and see if we can convince you to join us for coffee afterward.”
We.
He didn’t bother looking at Tara, but kept his attention focused on his mother. “I’m sorry. Remi and I already have plans after this wraps up.” Technically, they didn’t, and he hated fibbing to his mother, but if he had to take Remi to Sunnyside Grille for a late dinner to make the lie true, he would. “But thanks for supporting the event.”
His mother’s smile tightened around the edges, and she turned to Tara. “Honey, would you mind giving me a moment with Declan?”
“Not at all,” Tara said. He ignored her and the smug note in her voice.
If she expected him to bow to his mother’s coercion on her behalf, then neither woman really knew him.
“Son—”
“Mom, I love you, and I would never intentionally disrespect you.” He interrupted her before she could get on a roll. He flattened his palms on the table and leaned forward, lowering his voice, not desiring an audience for this long-overdue conversation that he would’ve preferred to have in private. “But that—” he dipped his head in the direction Tara had disappeared “—is not going to happen. There has neverbeenany chance of it happening. Something I made very clear to Tara even if she decided not to hear me. I only took her out those few times because it made you happy to see me with her. Or with someone.”
He stretched an arm out, clasped his mother’s hand in his, squeezed. “I love you, Mom. You’re the most important person in the world to me. And I would hate to see our relationship damaged in any way by you choosing this hill to die on. Tara’s not for me.”
“And this new woman is? A woman you haven’t brought around and introduced to me, I might add?”
True. And he’d purposefully avoided doing so. His and Remi’s relationship was fake; having her meet his mother smacked too much of “real.” It crossed a boundary into territory he hadn’t been prepared to enter. But Janet arriving here tonight might snatch that choice out of his hands.
Especially since Remi was headed their way.
He straightened, his gaze shifting from his mother and over her shoulder to the sexy, stunning woman walking toward them. How could she make a simple long-sleeved, V-necked shirt, a dark pair of high-waisted skinny jeans and ankle boots so hot?
Lust rippled through him, and he clenched his teeth against the primal pounding of it in his veins... In his cock.
Goddamn.
Kittens batting balls of yarn. Dad’s old baseball mitt that smelled like Bengay and sweat. Grandma Eileen’s dentures in a glass on the bathroom sink.
Thinking of anything that would prevent him from springing an erection in front of his mother and all these kids. But most of all his mother.
“Oh.” His mother hummed. “That’s the way of it.”
Declan didn’t tear his gaze from Remi. Couldn’t. But if by some small miracle he could, yeah, he still wouldn’t. Disquiet scurried beneath the throb of need. And he didn’t want to glimpse the acknowledgment of that disquiet in his mother’s eyes.
“Hey.” Remi smiled, glancing down at the table packed with goody bags. “Thank you, Declan. So much. First you saved me with the pie contest and now with this. When my volunteer called out, I thought I was going to have a bunch of screaming kids on my hands.” She laughed and turned to his mother. “We’ve met before, Mrs. Howard, but it’s nice to see you again. Thank you for coming tonight.”
“Nice to see you, too, Ms. Donovan. Or is it okay to call you Remi, since rumor has it you’re dating my son?”
The pointed and faintly accusatory tone wasn’t lost on Declan, and apparently not on Remi either, since pink tinged the elegant slant of her cheekbones. But to her credit, she didn’t back down.
“Rumors in a small town?” Her lips curled into a rueful twist. “If only we could monetize it, we could single-handedly support our economy. And yes—” she nodded “—I would be honored if you would call me Remi.”
Declan smothered a bark of laughter.Nice side step.“Remi, my mother’s not new to a library. When I was a kid, she used to take me there often and let me pick out any book I wanted, then let me participate in the scavenger hunts or watch afternoon movies. And she even volunteered at our school library sometimes. Or maybe she just wanted to keep an eye on me,” he teased.
