Page 65 of Handle Me

I wasn’t about to tell her how much more, especially since Lola was probably having an aneurysm right now. “Can we talk about this later?”

“Only if you promise to bring her home to meet me.”

“It’s not really like that,” I hedged.

“You’ve met her family, right?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll make you both dinner when you’re back in town.”

There was no point in arguing with her. She would just wear me down with guilt until I agreed. “Fine. Look, I need to go. There’s traffic.”

“Drive safely,” she said, switching on her worried voice, “and don’t take phone calls in the car! I love you.”

There was no point in reminding her that she had known I was driving this whole time. “Love you, Mum.”

As soon as I hung up, the reality of her news hit me, and I found the car slowing. A blast on the horn from another driver shook me free from the daze.

I’d known from the first time I kissed Lola that this was inevitable, but I’d fooled myself into thinking we would have more time before the shit hit the fan. Ignoring my mother’s demand, I dialed the newest number on my phone.

It rang once before Brex answered. “Everything okay?”

“Change of plans,” I told him. “Do you know where Lola Bishop lives?”

There was a pause before he answered with a heavy “yes.”

“We need to go there right now.” I waited for him to ask why.

Instead, he sighed over the car’s speakers, sounding exhausted when he said, “Follow me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

LOLA

“What were you thinking?”

The lecture had been going on since I’d walked through the door. There’d been no point in denying I was involved with Anders when she had photographic evidence. Plus, I’d been caught doing the walk of shame. I’d barely convinced her to let me change. As it was, she’d followed me to my room and yelled at me through my entire shower.

“I can handle this,” I told her.

My mother paused her pacing to sigh deeply, her favorite guilt trip. “The last time one of my children told me that I was attending a royal wedding a few months later.”

“What a burden,” I said flatly. “It’s like you don’t even remember how thrilled you were when they got married.” I remembered. I’d been dragged hat shopping for weeks.

“It’s not the same.”

Of course, it wasn’t. It never was when it came to Clara and me. “What’s the problem? He’s not a prince? Or is it that he’s not in line to the throne?”

She stopped muttering under her breath and lifted horrified eyes to mine. “Is that what you think?”

“I don’t know what to think,” I admitted. “Believe me, this thing with Anders caught me off-guard, too.”

So much for being discreet. Despite all my rules and caution, it had taken days before we got caught.

“So, there is something between you two,” she whispered.

I dropped my head back, letting the sofa cushions cradle it, and tried to decide how to answer. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have denied it. Now? “I don’t know. Maybe.”