Page 7 of The Honeymoon Hack
“She did. And she’s going to visit tomorrow.”
Her gaze drifted out the window, and her brow worked up and down, as though she were trying to grasp something. “I haven’t seen her in… it’s been so long.”
“It’s been—” I started, but Will’s hand landed on my thigh. Three quick taps.
The Reynolds emergency signal.
Stop, he was saying silently.
Thiswas what he’d warned me about. She was growing confused.
“It doesn’t matter how long it’s been,” Will said. “She’s excited to see you.”
“They have a photography club here,” Diane said, her face brightening. She reached for one of the framed photos and ran a hand over the image. “Photography is like memory. We capture moments, preserve them, but they’re never quite the same as experiencing them firsthand.”
Will stood, grabbing a glass from the small table next to his mother. “Would you like some water, Mum? Or I could make tea?”
“Water is fine, dear.” She put the photo back and watched Will fill her glass from a pitcher in the fridge. “You were always good at taking care of people.”
“Heisgood at it.” I smiled at him. The water was obviously a diversion—a smooth one.
“But you work too hard.” She was looking at Will, but something in her eyes had gone somewhere else. “Always worrying about everyone but yourself.”
Will turned slowly with the glass of water. “Mum?—”
“Will’s exactly like you in that respect, George.” She reached out and accepted the drink from him. “I worry about him. He’salways taking care of everyone else. When was the last time he let someone take care of him? The girl he was seeing… what was her name?”
My throat went tight watching Will’s face. He didn’t correct her. Didn’t pull away.
“He hasn’t dated anyone in a while,” Will said quietly.
Because he’d been too busy looking after his mother. Although it had been a while since his last girlfriend. Maybe a year before he moved?
“At least he has Brie.” Diane smiled, but it was distant, as if she were remembering something from long ago. Apparently, friends and strangers weren’t the only ones who didn’t understand our friendship. “Remember how inseparable they were? They were always building things in your workshop.”
“They’re still a good team.” Will sat next to me on the couch, giving me a tight-lipped smile that said,‘Warned you.’
“As they should be.” She laughed softly at Will—seeing her husband—and it slowly broke my heart in two. But then she chuckled. “Do you remember when I practically walked in on them that morning when they were still in university? They said they’d fallen asleep working, but we knew better.”
Oh shit.I suddenly didn’t know where to look. She was talking about something I hadn’t said out loud in ten years.
Memories of that one morning, so long ago, flooded back. Will and I had crossed a line and almost destroyed our friendship. Visions of sitting at breakfast with his family flipped through my brain. They’d served me pancakes while I was trying not to run.
They knew. They’d never given any indication they knew.
“Mum.” Will’s voice was gentle but firm. “It’s Will. I’m Will, not Dad.”
“And you.” Diane’s kind eyes turned to me. “You raised such a beautiful woman.”
What was I supposed to say? “Thanks?”
“I told you.” She scrunched her nose and pointed at me, a conspiratorial smile on her face. “Do you remember? After the first day they met, I told you our kids were perfect for each other.”
She thought I was my mother.
My stomach churned. I shouldn’t have come. Shouldn’t be here.
Should have left the memories of Diane neatly tucked away where they were.
