“We wanted to surprise you,” Travis said. “Right?”
I did not freeze up. I did not become “speechless.” I was in command of my body and every situation I’d ever walked into. But at that moment, my throat was the Gobi Desert, and my lungs were empty. In my panic, I gave a helpless shrug to my mother, who then did the unthinkable and raised two eyebrows.
Oh, God, I thought. This was going downhill so incredibly fast, and Travis was just standing there as if it was all going according to his mysterious plan. What the hell did the man even want with me?
“Sit,” my mother said.
Most men weren’t used to getting barked at by a woman like her. I’d seen her set a few straight when they held onto their pride and tried to challenge her. Travis just pulled out a chair for me, winked when my mother wasn’t looking, then sat. I was reminded of the old Bruce Lee quote. To be like water. That’s what Travis was. If he met an obstacle, he didn’t try to flow through it. He just glided past as if he’d been planning to detour all along. The man was at home in chaos, and I had a sinking feeling he brought chaos with him like frost in the winter.
“I’ve been so excited to meet you,” he said. “Elizabeth speaks the world of you, but I’d really love to hear your story myself.”
Mother slid her gaze to me. I could feel the cold calculation there. “I must admit I’m surprised,” she said finally. “I thought Elizabeth was too stuck up to date.”
“Oh, me too,” Travis said.
I just stared at the two of them, mouth hanging open. She thought I was too stuck up to date? I was the one too focused on following her advice to think I was even allowed to date. I’d followed her advice so loyally I hadn’t even believed the words from her own mouth when she told me I needed balance in my life and should find a man. Now she was making it sound like I’d been a crunchy old prude for staying so focused on work.
“But once you soften her up, she’s a big sweetie,” he said.
Mother looked at me. That eyebrow of hers was still raised. “Tell me why I’m only learning of this now, Elizabeth.”
Panic. When it came, panic was like a rogue wave out in the ocean. I usually liked to think of my calm as a giant cargo ship. Too sturdy to be rocked by anything but the most catastrophic moments. But right then, I felt more like a raft of twigs and duct tape facing down a tsunami.
“Well,” I said slowly. “It’s like he said. We wanted it to be a surprise.”
Travis reached over and took my hand in his and held it up so my mother could see our fingers tangled together. The man actually kissed my knuckles, then smiled. “Should we tell her?”
Why were his lips so soft and warm?
“I don’t know, should we?” I asked tightly. Rage was battling with utter disorientationinside my head. I could barely keep it all straight.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll do it. We’re moving in together.”
I gaped.
My mother had seen me fight impossible odds to rise up the ranks at K.M. Glass Designs over the past few years. She’d heard me talk about the gushing praise from my superiors. She watched me manage to juggle a successful athletic career while earning near perfect grades in school. All that and the best I’d ever earned was her not glaring at me in disappointment. There were no smiles or congratulatory hugs. No words of praise. Just cold acceptance and advice on what steps to take next.
So when my mother literally got up from her chair and rushed over to hug me in excitement, I very seriously wondered if I'd died of a heart attack and slipped into the afterlife.
She pulled back, gripping my shoulders. “Moving in?” she asked. “I can’t believe it.”
This wasn’t my mother. I was staring at her face looking for signs of the rubber mask some imposter had put on to play a cruel joke on me. But there she was, all the hard-won wrinkles of her frowns and scowls plain to see.
I had one last chance to fix this. I could just admit I was weak and getting led by a leash to some unknown destination by a man I’d only met yesterday. I could take the bruise to my ego and her approval. But… I’d never seen her look so proud and happy.
I spoke before I knew what I was doing. “Surprise?” I said.
She clapped her dry hands together twice like thunderclaps, then pumped her fist and gave a triumphant grin. She looked like she’d just secured a seven-figure deal.
Travis slipped his arm around my shoulder. I stared at him in disbelief. What could he possibly want? Why would any sane person do what he just did?