Page 56 of The Love Scam
“Uh-oh.”
“—how did your mom die?”
“Hit-and-run. And nobody figured out who did it.”
“Oh.” But Donna had made arrangements of a sort—she must have; otherwise, Delaney wouldn’t have learned of her estranged friend’s death.
As if reading his mind, she added, “My friend Jim’s family took care of me until Delaney came. We used to play at each other’s houses all the time, before. His mom said we were practically siblings anyway.”
“Yeah?” He kneaded more disgusting dough, hoping that a lack of eye contact would keep her talking. “Did you mind? Being an only child?”
“… No.”
“Because I kind of envy you.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“So it was just you and your mom? The whole time?”
“Sure.”
“Did she ever talk about me?”
“Sure.”
“She did?” He stopped with the dough and looked up. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lillith was working on her own smaller pile of disgusting dough, but now she looked up and smiled. “She said meeting you changed everything.”
He hadn’t expected to feel pleased. “Really?”
“Sure! She said when she found out she was pregnant, she knew she couldn’t waste any more time scamming pretty boys, she had to grow up and be a responsible human being.”
“Oh.”
“You were responsible for her one-eighty. She always gave you credit for that.”
“Great.”
“Why haven’t you asked about the DNA test?”
“Uh.”Wasn’t expecting that from the kiddo. Delaney, yes. Not Lillith.“I’m not sure that’s something we should—”
“We’re friends, remember?”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s right. And friends don’t lie, so I’ll tell you the truth—I haven’t asked because I’m not sure what’s going on. And I’m curious. Because I thought all I wanted was my money and my life back, but… I just don’t want to walk out of the theater until I know how the movie ends. And…”
“And you’re wondering why Delaney hasn’t brought it up, either.”
“Yeah.” He surrendered, reminding himself he was in the presence of a mind quicker and less cluttered than his.
“It’s limbo, kind of. The in-between. No one’s in a rush to get to the next stage of—of whatever this is.”
He nodded.
“Which is curious.” She was fixing him with that dark gaze again. “Don’t you think? I mean, I know whyI’min no rush. And you know why you are. But what’s motivating Delaney?”
“You’re…” He tried to think of the word. Settled for a poor substitute. “Extraordinary.”
