Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
I finish getting dressed, grab my book, a historical romance novel that I’m getting into much more than I care to admit, and go downstairs. First, I go to the kitchen and pour myself a coffee, then I head out for the balcony. I open the gate and move down towards the pool. Viktor has said he will teach me to swim, but until then I give the water a wide berth, choosing one of the loungers on the grass further away from the pool than the ones that line it. Almost drowning has given me a newfound respect for water.
I take a sip of my coffee and open my book. Lady Katherine, the heroine, is just about to kiss her prince for the first time when I hear the buzzing sound of the intercom. Great. Just as things were getting interesting.
I debate ignoring the buzzer, but it could be a delivery and I know the maids are at the back of the house, and it will take them far longer to get to the door than me. Viktor probably won’t be impressed if I answer the door to a stranger, but it’s not like I won’t be able to see who it is on the screen before I open the door. Plus, they’ve already been vetted by the security staff manning the gates anyway.
I get up and hurry back towards the house. At the front door I check the screen to see who is there. My heart slams harder in my chest when I see my mom standing on the doorstep. As I stand staring at the screen, hardly believing my eyes, she reaches up and presses the buzzer again.
What the hell is she even doing here? How does she even know where I am?
For a second an evil little voice in my head tells me not to open the door. She chose Dan over me after he had tried to rape me. But my heart cries out for her. She is still my mom, and despite her faults when it comes to men, we’ve some good, happy times when she was between boyfriends, and she worked her ass off to keep me when I was a kid. For her to have tracked me down and turned up here, something must be wrong. At the very least, I should hear her out.
I tell myself I’m just curious as to why she’s here as I take a step closer to the door, but the truth is, there’s a part of me, the part of me that’s still the little girl my mom used to tuck into bed at night and read a story to, that wants her to have seen the error of her ways. That part of me wants her to apologize to me, to say she’s seen Dan for the pervert he is and tell me she loves me more than she ever loved him.
I pull open the door and my mother smiles too brightly at me.
I don’t return her smile because I already know from her false smile, she is going to disappoint me. “What are you doing here, Mom?”
“Is that any way to greet your mother, Amelia?” she answers cheerfully.
“I’m just a little surprised to see you here, that's all,” I say.
“We need to talk. Can I come in?”
I nod. “What did you tell security at the gates?”
“I told them I was your mom, of course.” She sighs and rolls her eyes. “I had to show them ID. This guy you’re dating seems like a pretty big deal. Now can I come in or not?”
If I don’t let her in now, she’s only going to keep coming back if she’s set her mind on us having whatever conversation she plans on having with me. And this would be much more awkward and uncomfortable if Viktor was here.
I step back and pull the door open wider, letting my mom step past me. She stops in the hallway and looks around, letting out a low whistle. “You sure fell on your feet with this one. Maybe you should teach me how to pick a good one,” she says with a nervous laugh.
“Do you want some coffee?” I ask, ignoring her insinuation that I’m only here for the lifestyle Viktor is offering me. That’s the least attractive thing to me about Viktor. I’m not my mom, and I never will be.
She nods and I lead her through to the kitchen. I pour her some coffee and pour myself a fresh one. My coffee outside must be cold by now. I gesture to the table and we sit down.
“So, what brings you here, Mom?”
“What? I need a reason to come and see you? Can’t a mom pop in to see her daughter without it being a federal case these days?”
“Well, I’m sure in normal families it can work that way, but let’s be honest, we’re far from normal, and after the way we left things, I wasn’t exactly expecting regular coffee mornings with you.”