Minutes after Tinsley’sannouncement, Caroline Constantine enters the restaurant, and like magic, things happen. People stare at her as if she’s a celebrity while the employees surround her. Someone takes her coat. The hostess leads her to our table. The server is waiting for her, eager to take her drink order. By the time the three of us are left alone at our table, I’m watching my mother-in-law in wonder.
I forgot how much influence she has. The Constantine family is a formidable bunch, and their matriarch is the most formidable of them all, with Winston a very close second. Most people tremble in their presence, unsure of how they’re going to react or what they might say.
Not me. I’m a Lancaster. In status, our family is higher on the social ladder. All of that generational, old money wealth is hard to rise above. In our intimate circles, Lancasters conquer all. Constantines are new money.
But Caroline Constantine is a bit of a legend, and at this particular restaurant, they know it.
“Such a fuss,” Tinsley says to her mother, shaking her head.
Caroline leans over to drop a kiss on my cheek and give me a one-armed side hug before she settles into the booth seat next to her daughter. “You know I don’t ask for that kind of treatment.”
“Please. You love it,” Tinsley teases, glancing over at me. “She’ll pretend it’s too much, but if they completely ignored her, she’d be angry.”
“That is not true,” Caroline admonishes, then immediately laughs. “Actually, it is true.”
All I can do is smile. My mother-in-law loves attention, while I prefer to hide in the shadows. I always have, even when I was a kid. Out of the four of us, I was the quiet one. The one who didn’t want to be noticed. I preferred it that way.
Until I didn’t. And then attention only got me in trouble.
Not anymore though. I bask in Perry’s adoration.
“Did you already order?” Caroline asks once she’s settled, reaching for Tinsley’s glass of water and taking a quick sip.
“Yes,” Tinsley answers. “But I know the waiter will rush back to take your order, so hold tight.”
Caroline contemplates me, her gaze assessing as it roves over my face before dropping. As if she’s trying to examine me with her eyes. “You look well. Better than you did at Thanksgiving.”
Tinsley jabs Caroline in the side with her elbow. “Mother! Stop being mean.”
“What? It’s the truth. I was worried for you, Charlotte. You were so pale and thin. Now you’re practically glowing.” Her tone is full of approval.
There’s that glowing word again. I totally agree. I feel like I’m glowing. And at Thanksgiving, I did look pale and thin. Caroline isn’t trying to be hurtful. She’s just stating facts.
“After what happened…” I let my voice drift and both Tinsley and Caroline give me sympathetic looks. “I had a difficult time bouncing back.”
“Perry is very patient,” Caroline says. “I’m sure he took good care of you during your time of need.”
“He did,” I say.
“Most likely to the point of hovering a bit too much,” she continues.
I can’t help but smile. “He was… overbearing sometimes.”
“The Constantine men can be.”
The server arrives and takes Caroline’s order before leaving us alone once again.
“Tell me, darling. I’m curious.” Caroline leans back against the seat, her lips curled into a small smile. “How long were you involved with Seamus McTiernan?”
I go quiet. So does Tinsley. I don’t want to talk about my ex-lover with my mother-in-law, but I’m sure Caroline isn’t going to give me much of a choice in avoiding the conversation.
“Not very long,” I finally say.
“Mother,” Tinsley says in warning, sending me a sympathetic look.
“What exactly does that mean? A couple of days? Weeks? Months?” Caroline’s brows shoot up as she waits for my reply.
I’m going to have to choose my words carefully. I don’t want to say the wrong thing, or give too much information. This is a topic my husband and I don’t discuss often. And when we do, he doesn’t want to hear the dirty details.