“Do you think there’s a shifter wolf somewhere here for me?”
My eyes darted to hers.
She went on, “I wonder what Nellie-Belly did for me and my love life. Her letter said something was coming for me, too.”
“God, who knows?”
“I can’t wait.” Her eyes got all dreamy.
I gave Mom a poignant stare. If she were in my and Ivy’s shoes right now, she’d be all over this adventure like a dirty shirt.
“I’m moving here,” Mom then announced. “I’m gonna sell the house, rent something nearby for a bit and bank the money and invest some. Your… Rick was trying to get me to invest with him. I’m glad I held off now that you two are broken up. Wouldn’t want any unnecessary connections. Oh, and if you need help, you just say so.”
“Help with what?”
“Money.”
I’m really not all that okay financially. And I’ve paid half the bills at Rick’s since I moved in with him and it was cheaper to live on my own. His overhead is crazy-high. And he talked me into my car loan. I love my car, but I was perfectly happy with my last one, which was payment-free because I’d had it for eight years. But Rick kept saying it was a shit box, and that I deserved better. I think he just preferred that nobody saw his fiancé driving something that wasn’t new.
I’ve put a lot of stuff on my credit card for this wedding. Wedding favors. The flowers. The disc jockey. My dress I bought with savings, and it was crazy-expensive. Some of the other deposits went on my credit card, too. Rick put the money down on the venue and the catering, though. And that’d be the biggest expense, but it still has been a stretch for me to pull all this off.
And now? I guess I’ll move in with Ivy or Mom to save money for a bit and I’ll take overtime at work, I’ll get my debts paid off. I guess I’ll need to pull my investments with Rick from the sale of my condo.
“I could see Rick trying to make you pay the nonrefundable deposits since you called off the wedding,” Mom said, “And I’m more than happy to cover those as my non-wedding wedding gift to you.”
“Non-wedding?”
“Well, non-wedding to Rick and wedding to Mason. Will you be having a wedding? And Mason’s last name? I know Tyson’s is Savage.”
“Quinn. But Mom, I’m not-”
“Amelia Quinn. I like it.”
Ignoring my protests. Yup. A sign of things to come? Mason was already ignoring my protests. Mom, too?
“And how did Rick take it? How did you end it?”
“That’s really sweet Mom. Um… the wedding money offer. But the thing with Rick… it’s a long story. I’m totally pooped, so can we talk about all that later? Later, when we start figuring out how to undo-”
“You’ll give him back the ring, right? That ring really wasn’t you; you know? I didn’t want to say it, but it wasn’t your style.” Her voice dropped. “Neither was Rick.”
She was right about Rick not being my style. I rubbed my thumb across my ring finger and flexed it, noting how much lighter my hand felt.
“Mason threw it across the room at his place and I can’t find it.”
“He threw it?”
“Yep. He was having sex with me despite that I told him I was engaged.”
Her eyes bulged and she looked alarm.
“Holy crap, Amie. Are you… did he… um…”
I shook my head, knowing what she must be thinking.
“It took two to tango and I was definitely tangoing, Mom – though I did try to verbally protest, but I was also being…” I shook it off.
A wanton whore? A slut? Just mesmerized by magic?
“Seduced by a gorgeous man?” she tried.
“You know what Auntie Nelle did,” I went on, “I keep saying I don’t think I had a choice. Mason neither. But I’m still feeling guilty about it.”
“Of course you are. You’re a good person, Amie. You’re loyal even when someone isn’t necessarily deserving.”
“Anyway… I told him I was engaged, and he pulled it off my finger and tossed it saying, ‘not anymore you’re not’ and I was distracted by… what he was doing to me. I’ll look again when I go back there. Mason’s house is huge, and I have no idea where it landed, but it’s there somewhere.”
Mom watched my explanation with her eyes bulging.
“I want to tell you to start at the beginning and tell me everything that happened from the minute you got here, but…” She covered her mouth and tried to stifle a yawn. “I haven’t slept much the past two nights. I’m beginning to fade.”
“I’ll tell you later. I don’t even wanna see how excited you get about the pulsing knot.”
“The what what?”
I said nothing until she whole-named me.
“Amelia Penelope Brennan, if you don’t spill –”
“Never mind for now, Mom. I really don’t have the energy.”