Page 64 of My Merry Mistake
And with that, he walks out of the room.
Chapter Sixteen
Raya
“I’m fine, Mom, I promise. You don’t have to stay.”
It’s later that night, and I’m home, but as I predicted—Mom is hovering. And I hate the line of worry etched in her forehead.
“I do have to stay because if I don’t, you won’t take it easy.” Mom puts her hands on my shoulders, turns me around, and walks me over to the couch. “Sit, will you?” She gives me a little push, and I plop onto the sofa.
She sits down next to me. “Poppy is almost here with the food. You look tired.”
“It’s the migraine. It wiped me out,” I say. “I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”
“And a few days off,” she says. “You’re taking tomorrow off, right?”
“I wish I could, but I can’t,” I say. “The team just got two new players. There are contracts to go over, and I’m going over paperwork with them tomorrow. Intake packets and?—”
“Someone else can do that,” she says, with more authority than she has.
“Denim and Diamonds is next month,” I say. “It’s a huge event—and I’m practically in charge of the whole thing.”
“Raya.” She reaches over and rests a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay to slow down a little.”
“This is my job,” I say firmly. “And I haven’t been with the team for that long, I can’t?—”
I’m cut off mid-sentence when the door flings open, and both Poppy and Eloise barrel their way into my house, followed by our dad. They’re each carrying a box.
“I hope you like soup,” Poppy says. “Because I have enough here to feed a small country.”
I stand, and Mom grabs my hand and pulls me back down.
I glare at her.
I’m not going to like this one little bit.
Stop worrying about me. Stop holding my hand. Stop with all of this “making sure” and “are you okay” and “let me get that for you.”
I just want to lie down, but for some reason I cannot let them know for a single second that I’m exhausted.
I love that my family loves me. But the attention is too much. I’m much more comfortable being the one taking care of everyone else. This role reversal has me on edge—and I can still feel the dull ache of this afternoon’s events weighing on my head like I’m balancing a sandbag there.
Poppy looks at my parents and asks them to help set the table and serve the food. Dad signs a quick, “Yes, please, put me to work,” and takes a stack of bowls to my small kitchen table.
I pick up my phone and see that I missed a text from Finn.
Finn
I’m still annoyed with you, but I’m checking in anyway.
Are you okay?
Raya
Yes. I’m good.
Finn
