Page 30 of Tall, Dark and Handsome Neighbor

“Your father is very disappointed in you, young lady.”

I didn't blame him. I totally ignored the meetings and went and did what I wanted. It was not how he had taught me to be, and I knew that he was not going to take any excuse that I had.

She said that he was furious. I embarrassed him, which was pretty much the worst thing I could do.

“I really didn't mean for it to happen. I got sidetracked and I wasn't supposed to be gone that long.”

“You know that he is not going to want to hear any of that.”

I agreed and told her that I wouldn't give any excuses. It did me no good.

“Do you know where he's at?”

“Maybe he's in his office. Just make sure he's not on the phone already. He has been having a long morning and he has been on the phone, apologizing to all of those people you had meetings with. Maybe it wouldn't be the best idea for you to go in there right now. Why don't you give your father a little space and come shopping with me? You can tell me what you were doing out this morning that has you looking that way now.”

Even though she had framed it as a question, I was not stupid enough to believe that's what it was. I obviously did not have an option, and the cool and calm offer was actually mandatory.

“That sounds good. What are we shopping for?”

My mother started to bubble up. She loved shopping, and it was obvious that she was trying to distract me and maybe herself, too. I didn’t take near as much pleasure out of it, but I was willing to try anything, if it was going to help me stop thinking about Nick.

“A little bit of this and a little bit of that. You know I never know until I find it. Does it really matter?”

I told her that it didn't. I wasn't too much into all of that, but I needed a clear mind. I would feel better when I had to fight with dad later. If I had mom on my side, it would be a lot easier. She would be the one to calm his anger toward me.

I actually foundthat I was rather enjoying myself with mom. She was in a really good mood, and I forgot how funny she could be when she wanted to be. No matter how much I tried to find fault in the day, I really couldn't. It was just the thing that I needed. My mind was going a mile a minute and she was able to help me think about something other than the mess that had just happened with Nick.

That is, until she asked me what was going on, and there was nothing I could do but spill it all out to her. I needed another opinion anyway, because I really didn’t have much of any experience with boyfriends and men. I’d steered clear of them because of this moment, the one when they found out that they weren’t going to get sex from me. The one where Nick freaked out as well.

“Let's just say that things are complicated.”

“Things are always complicated. What is complicated now?”

“Nick.”

“Aww, that’s a shame. I really liked him.”

“I like him, too, but I don't think that I am the type of girl that he's looking for.”

She looked at me little strangely and asked me what that meant.

It occurred to me then, that my mom didn't really know much about my love life. Obviously, that was my fault, but it would have been helpful if she knew already that I was a virgin. I think that her reaction wasn’t going to be much better than Nick’s.

After I told her, mom was looking at me incredulously. Of course, I didn't want to repeat it and I didn't have to. She was just taking her time processing it. I could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears.

When she finally did say something, it was not at all what I had expected. She was almost nonchalant about it, which really set me at ease. That was something that my mom rarely did, especially when it came to boys.

“So, what did he do when he found out?”

I sighed and told her that he looked at me about the same way that she was.

“Why is it so hard to believe?”

What she said next kind of floored me, because I hadn't thought about it and it was really one of the sweetest things she had ever said to me. She was a bit self-absorbed, and when she said that I was too beautiful for that to be an option, it just threw me off.

Anna did not throw out compliments and certainly not ones like that. Beauty in the eyes of my mother was literally one of the most important things to strive for. So for her, that was another level of compliment that she just didn't use usually. I didn't know what to say, and I felt a little awkward about it.

“I thought that you would be happy about it. You are always the one that tells me I should know my worth.”

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