“Ready?” Parker asked when he wore his coat again. I grabbed mine and nodded.
“Ready.”
He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer, planting a kiss on my cheek, before we left my office and walked out the glass front doors together.
16
EMILY
“Comeon,Ryan,”Isaid. “You can’t avoid her forever. She’s still your mom. And I’m getting sick of her asking me what’s going on in your life.”
Ryan clenched his jaw.
“This shouldn’t be my responsibility, on top of everything else,” I added. “Give me at least that. I’m already paying for everything. The least you can do, if you’re not planning to help me, is to see her once in a while so she stops bugging me.”
Ryan groaned. “Fine. But I can’t promise it won’t be a strained day.”
“Strained is fine,” I said. “Just try.”
Ryan nodded. It had been almost two years since my parents had divorced, and Ryan had seen Mom a total of three times since then.
“You set up whatever it is you want to do, and I’ll swing by,” Ryan said. “But I won’t be there for long.”
“Anything is fine,” I said. “I’ll take it.”
Ryan nodded, and I turned away from him to call Mom and make arrangements before my brother changed his mind. I was relieved he finally agreed to see her. I was sick of being the messenger between the two, like two elementary school kids fighting, talking through me. They were both adults, and after all this time of drama, Ryan could step up and fight his own battles.
He was mad about what she had done, and I understood that. But he could at least be a decent human being about it instead of ignoring her and running away from our collective issues.
Because that was exactly what he’d been doing all this time.
“One o’clock, tomorrow,” I said when I got off the phone with Mom. “Nothing too serious, just a light lunch.”
“At a restaurant?”
“Oregano,” I said. “The café on Fourth.”
“Right,” Ryan said. “That will stop her from causing a scene.”
“Right,” I agreed. The last thing my mom wanted was a scene in public when her image could be brought into question. Making sure we went somewhere public protected Ryan from whatever she might have wanted to say to him in private that would cause trouble.
“Thank you for this,” I said even though I didn’t have to thank him for fulfilling his duty as her son. I was glad Ryan had finally agreed.
“Sure,” Ryan grumbled. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m meeting Parker for a gym session, and I need it.”
I smiled and nodded. I didn’t ask him to tell Parker hi from me. He would have thought it weird. I could just text Parker and tell him myself.
It had been three glorious weeks since he’d come to my office, and everything about being with him was incredible. He was kind and caring, and he went out of his way to spoil me.
When I drove home, I called Parker in the car.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said and I could hear him smile.
“Ryan agreed to see my mom,” I said. “It took a lot of begging, but we’re there.”
“I’m glad,” Parker said. “It will be fine; you’ll see.”
“I hope so. The last thing I want is for my mom to make such a fuss about it that he doesn’t want to go again.”