I eye him suspiciously, because he seems even more arrogant than usual. Walking over to him, I ask, “Why so smug?”
“I have my reasons.” He holds up his glass then takes a sip.
“Is Logan coming tonight?”
He grins. “I’m not allowed to say anything.”
“This is a Bennett-wide conspiracy, isn’t it? The kidnapping, Logan’s trip?”
He doesn’t reply, just winks.
The bell at the door rings again, alerting me that new guests have arrived. I swirl on my heels, intending to head to the door and greet them, but I freeze in place. Mom and Brian are inside my store. I told them about the opening, of course, but the notice was too short for them to be able to take time off from work, and the plane tickets were expensive. What is going on?
They wave at me from the doorway, as though they’re unsure if it’s okay to come in. I hurry to them.
“Mom, Brian, what are you doing here?”
“We’ve come to support our daughter at her opening party,” Brian says. Speechless, I kiss both of them on their cheeks. Mom pulls me into a tight hug. After letting me go, she looks around with wide eyes.
“This place is so fancy,” she whispers, as if she can’t quite believe it.
“I’m so happy you’re here. I can show you around. We still have a bit of time until the rest of the guests arrive.”
The tour takes longer than I anticipate because Mom touches every shelf and decor piece. Once or twice, she makes a grab for a dress, and then quickly retracts her hand, as if she’s afraid she’ll damage it.
“You did this all by yourself?” Mom asks.
“The Bennett family helped me a lot. I’ll introduce you to them as soon as we finish the tour.”
“Oh, we met Logan,” Brian says casually.
“What? When?”
“He came to our house to talk to us,” Mom explains, and the pieces in the Bennett conspiracy start falling into place. “He’s a very nice man, and he loves you. He said you’ll be having important people here tonight, but what would make you truly happy would be if we were here too.”
I swallow hard, my eyes watering. “He’s right.”
“He also explained to us how hard you worked and how far you’ve come,” Brian says.
“We’re very proud of you, dear,” Mom continues.
“I... Wow. I still can’t believe you’re here. ”
“That young man seemed to be ready to do anything to see you happy, including dragging us here if we said no.” Brian winks at me.
Mom chuckles. “He didn’t say that last part out loud, but it was very apparent from his body language how fiercely he feels about you. I have no idea what he said to our bosses, but neither of them objected when we said we needed to take a few days off.” Taking my hands in hers, Mom leads me a few feet away from everyone. “Nadine, hon, I want to thank you.”
“For what?” I ask, not really following.
“For taking care of me all those years. I’ve never said this out loud, so thank you, and I’m sorry I never did take care of you the way I should have. You’ve always been strong, Nadine. But even the strongest can’t do it all alone.”
“Mom—”
“I’m happy you ran into this family and their wonderful son.”
“Me too.”
She pulls me into a tight hug, and I welcome her warmth, patting her hair. I love her perfume. She smells like oranges. As a kid, I longed for her hugs, but between her illness and our hardships, they were hard to come by. Still, she was always Mom. Pippa said being around her mom makes her feel like she’s sixteen again, but I feel like I’m six. I’ll never be too old for a hug.