Page 30 of That Reilly Boy
She freezes.
I’m already frozen, so if it wasn’t for Hayden standing up, it would seem as if time had been stopped in the Reilly living room.
I can hear that damn clock ticking again, though. Time’s definitely still moving.
“Hi, Mom,” Hayden says in an upbeat, casual way, as if it’s totally unremarkable that Colleen just came home to find a Gamble sitting on her couch. “I thought you’d be at bingo tonight.”
“Clearly.”
“I found a leash in my shop and thought it might be Penelope’s, and I was going by and stopped to ask Hayden if it was hers and then I was just…petting Penny, I guess.” I know I’m babbling, but I need to say something as I get to my feet. As much as my shot nerves want me to make a run for it, she’s between me and the front door. I’m sure there’s a back door, but I don’t know where it is and this situation won’t be made less awkward by me running around her house trying to find another way out.
When Colleen’s gaze shifts from her son back to me, I can see he got his icy blue eyes from her. She looks at me for what’s probably a few seconds, but feels like months, and if I could look away from her, I’m afraid I’d see frost crawling across the floor and up the walls.
“Somebody didn’t notice they were missing their leash when they left?” she asks finally, and through the corner of my eye, I see Hayden opening his mouth to speak.
“Usually,” I say quickly. “But I remembered that Hayden was carrying Penny, so maybe we wouldn’t have noticed.”
Colleen snorts, but her expression softens as she turns to her son. “Of course Penny wouldn’t have to walk on her own.”
Hayden laughs and walks over to scoop Penny off the couch, managing to brush his hand along my back as he passes behind me. I stiffen and hope Colleen doesn’t notice.
“I’ll touch base with you soon about those details, Cara,” Hayden says, and I wince when Colleen’s eyes narrow.
“I should go home and start calling around to see who’s missing a leash,” I say very quickly, doubling down on my weak excuse for being in her house. “It was nice to see you, Mrs. Reilly.”
She gives me a tight smile and moves out of my way. “Thank you for thinking of Penelope.”
As I do my best not to look like I’m fleeing as I go out the door, it’s not lost on me that she didn’t say it was nice to see me, and she didn’t wish me a good night or anything. After all these years, it must have been quite a shock for her to find a Gamble in her home.
Just wait until she finds out I’m going to be her daughter-in-law.
Chapter Twenty
Cara
I wake up on Wednesday morning an engaged woman.
I’m marrying Hayden Reilly, and while teenage me would have been spinning in circles and squealing with joy, adult me stares at the ceiling and wonders what the hell I’ve done.
Do whatever it takes. There’s my sister’s voice in my head again, but I don’t think this is exactly what Georgia had in mind. I groan and pull the sheet over my head. I have to tell Georgia what I’ve done. I have to tell Mel. I have to tell her parents.
And I have to tell my mother.
Many times over the years, I’ve wished for a tiny kitchenette in my room. Just a Keurig and a mini-fridge so I could have a cup of coffee before facing my mother. Today, I’ve never wished for it more. Coffee wouldn’t make breaking the news any easier, but at least I’d be fully caffeinated.
Pampered Pets has a full schedule today, but the first appointment isn’t until nine. Plenty of time to drink coffee and maybe have some toast while I blow up our lives. The appointment will be a good excuse to escape the emotional rubble for the day.
It also adds a ticking clock element, so I have no choice but to force myself out of bed and get it over with.
Just to make it worse, it’s a Crock-Pot oatmeal morning. I have no idea where Gin got the recipe, so I don’t know if it’s Gin, the recipe creator or our ancient Crock-Pot that’s to blame, but the stuff is nasty. I’d planned to nibble on some toast out of deference to the nerves making a mess of my stomach, but she’s already dumped a ladleful of the slop into a bowl for me. There’s going to be enough fighting without adding a breakfast battle into the mix.
Her bowl is empty and I still have a few spoonfuls hardening into cement in mine when I realize she’s about to leave the table and I can’t put it off anymore. Not if I want a few minutes to hash it out before I have to leave.
“So, Mom,” I say before pausing to clear my throat. Then I have to take a sip of coffee because my mouth’s suddenly dry. “You know I’ve seen Hayden.”
“I thought I made myself clear. I don’t want to hear that Reilly boy’s name in this house again.”
Her tone does the trick, triggering the defiance I need to get through this and save myself. “I’m marrying him.”
