“Yeah, my two brothers and I bought three sets of duplexes, and we offer them out to people who lose their homes.”

My mom is now looking at Damon like he’s a complete saint. Maybe now she realizes why I’m falling in love with this man and how much he means to me and the community as well.

“Wow, that’s really nice of you. How long have you been doing that?”

He looks at Liam and shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. We closed on them about a week after Tessa and Emily moved in with me.”

“So instead of moving into a duplex, she continued to live with you?”

Geez, Mom.I really want to give her the what the hell look but she is too busy staring out the window. There are reasons why we aren’t living in that duplex, and frankly it’s none of her business. Why is she being so judgy? I mean, can’t she just be happy I found a man like him?

“Chris showed up the day after we moved into the duplex. Then the next day kidnapped Emily. So that’s why we never went back. We would never feel safe there after that and Damon’s house was our safe haven.”

Damon looks over at me and I can tell he knows something is wrong. It isn’t anything against him. My mom can be hard to deal with sometimes. She is stuck in her ways. Yet we are stuck with her; she is family after all.

Before the conversation can go on any longer, I thank Liam and head back to the house. Maybe she will chill out once we get there and stop being rude. It just seems like she’s trying to find a reason not to like him, and that’s not fair. He’s done nothing but be kind to her, and even flew her out here to visit us. Why can’t she just be thankful?

When we get there, I put my mom and Emily in the living room and Damon and I cook dinner.

“Your mom seems different today,” Damon states.

I know he wants to say more, but he bites his tongue. “Yeah. She didn’t exactly have a great experience at the spa today. I don’t know why, but she seems kind of mad about me living with you. I’m not worried about it.”

Damon just wants her to like him and there’s no reason she shouldn’t. Once she gets over her preconceived notions, she will see the man I’m falling in love with, and everything else will fade away.

“It’s important that she like me. What can I do?” he asks, rubbing his forehead.

“That’s not it. There’s nothing wrong with you. She’s just... her.”

If things didn’t start going better, I’ll have to sit down and have a serious conversation with her about this. Damon doesn’t deserve to feel the way he does right now, and all because she can’t get past the fact that we are living with him. It’s my life, not hers. Get the hell over it.


Tags: Ashley Zakrzewski Rough Edges Romance