Page 113 of From This Moment (After We Fall 4)
A drink sounded pretty damn good. “I guess I could.”
“Fabulous,” she cooed. “It’s called With a Twist. I’m right up front at the bar. You can’t miss me.”
“Okay, see you in a few.” I hung up and drove downtown, thinking it was a little curious, since I’d never known her to frequent bars on her own before, but then again, I’d been gone for the better part of ten years. She might have developed all kinds of new habits I hadn’t seen in the last month because I’d been so preoccupied with Hannah.
Still. I was slightly wary as I walked into With a Twist, which was located in an old storefront. It was dark inside, but I spotted her right away—and the pretty, well-dressed blond in the chair beside her.
Fuck me. She didn’t.
She saw me before I could escape. “Wes, darling!” My mother motioned me over and I grudgingly obeyed. When I got close enough, she grabbed my arm, like she was afraid I might try to make a run for it. “Wes, this is Becca, my friend Mary’s granddaughter, the one I’ve been telling you about. Becca, this is my son, Wes.”
Becca smiled beguilingly and held out her hand. She was young, probably mid-twenties, and wore lots of makeup. “Hi, Wes.”
“Hello.” I shook her hand and gave my mother a murderous look that she ignored.
“This is such a delightful coincidence, because I’ve been wanting to introduce y’all.”
A coincidence. Right.
“Sit down, darling. Here, take my seat.” She vacated the barstool next to Becca. “I actually have to run, but you two should stay and chat.”
I was fuming. I did not want to have a drink with Becca, but I didn’t see a way out of it without being rude. When I got home I was going to throttle my mother.
“Stay,” Becca coaxed, giving me a flirty look. “I’ll buy you a drink. You look like you could use one.”
“You have no idea.” Feeling outmanned and outmaneuvered and really fucking thirsty for some whiskey, I dropped onto the barstool next to her.
My mother beamed. “No rush to get home, Wes.”
“What time is dinner?” I asked her.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I can make you a plate any time. Y’all enjoy yourselves.”
“Bye, Lenore,” said Becca. “Thanks for the drink.”
I ordered some whiskey on the rocks, Becca ordered another Cosmo, and while we waited for them, I stewed about my mother. I couldn’t believe how she’d tricked me into this. However, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe this would help my case. My mother thought I was hung up on Hannah because I didn’t give anyone else a chance. If I played along with her little matchmaking game for twenty minutes or so, I could go home and report there was absolutely zero chemistry with Becca, I was madly in love with Hannah and always would be. Maybe then she’d believe me. At least she wouldn’t be able to say that I hadn’t looked at anyone else.
“Bad day?” Becca angled her body toward me and tilted her head. Her legs were crossed in my direction, her hands clasped over one knee. She had very good posture, or else she was trying to put her breasts on display, because her back was ramrod straight, almost arched. She was big-chested, and her breasts strained at the buttons of her blouse, which was already low-cut.
Okay, yes, I noticed them, but after that, I kept my eyes above her neck. And they didn’t do anything for me.
“Not really. Just tired.”
“Me too. I’ve been working a lot of hours. It’s so nice to relax and unwind.” She put one elbow on the bar and propped her head in her hand.
“Yeah.” What did she do again? I tried to recall what my mom had said. “You’re in sales?”
She nodded. “Pharmaceuticals. I used to come to your office a lot, but then my territory got switched. I knew your brother.”
“Oh.”
“I was really sorry to hear what happened. He was such a great guy.”
“Thanks.”
Our drinks arrived, and I took a healthy swallow.
“So you just bought a house, I hear?”
