Dad’s leaving did to you. I’ve lived my life trying to avoid that sort of pain happening to me.”
“I know. And you’ve been so much more sensible than I ever was. You’ve made your own life and made great choices. Look at you, Frankie—” her mother waved her hand “—you’re so independent. You have a great apartment, a fabulous job, friends who love you and no romantic attachments.”
“I’m in love with Matt.”
“I—” Her mother gaped at her. “What did you just say?”
“I’m in love with Matt.” Saying it felt so easy. So real. So right.
There was nothing holding her back now. Nothing.
Her mother’s eyes widened. “The Matt? Sexy Matt?”
“Yes, sexy Matt, but I’d appreciate it from now on if you’d just call him Matt. No innuendos. No squeezing his butt. No behaving in an inappropriate fashion. I want to see you, Mom. I want to start fresh, but I don’t want to dread every visit in case you embarrass me.”
Her mother was still gaping. “But—I thought you were living in his apartment because that girl—”
“Roxy.”
“Because Roxy needed a place to stay and had moved into your home.”
“I’m living there because I want to be with Matt. My home is wherever he is.”
“It’s that serious?”
“Couldn’t be more serious.” Except that she felt like smiling. Never before had something so serious made her want to smile so much.
“Has he proposed to you?”
“The details are my business.”
“That means he hasn’t.” Her mother’s eyes lit with anxiety. “It might just be sex, Frankie. He might hurt you. He might not want—”
“It isn’t just sex, Mom, and I know what he wants because I want the same thing. And Matt would never intentionally hurt me.” But she’d hurt him. Badly. She felt a flicker of trepidation. What if she’d hurt him so badly he wouldn’t want to take a risk on her? No. That wouldn’t happen. She trusted what they had and no one, especially not her mother, was going to put doubt in her mind. “I don’t need your help with my relationships. I don’t want it. It’s time to take my own risks and make my own mistakes. But this isn’t one of them. Nothing I do with Matt could ever be a mistake. I’m going to find him to tell him, but first I wanted to talk to you.”
“Well—” Her mother was silent for a moment and then breathed deeply. “I guess we should talk about something else, then. I got a job. Not a fancy job like yours, but it’s still a job. I’ll be working in a deli.”
“That’s great, Mom.”
“And Brad is taking me to dinner tonight.”
“Right.” Frankie wondered how long Brad would last, and then decided it wasn’t her business. Her mother was an adult and it was up to her how she lived her life.
And Frankie was going to live hers. Really live it, not do what felt safe.
“You should be going. We can have a longer chat another time, but right now you have more important things to do.” Her mother reached for her purse. “I’ve got this.”
Frankie hid her surprise. “Thanks, Mom.”
Gina Cole stood up. “If you feel like texting me later to let me know how things went, then do that. And if you want to talk—or anything—” she breathed “—I’m not giving you any advice. Just carry on doing what you’re doing. You do it so much better than I do, anyway.”
Frankie hesitated and then leaned forward and gave her mother a hug. It felt tense and a little awkward, but it was still a hug. “I love you, Mom.”
Her mother held her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. “I love you, too. Now go.”
* * *
BEFORE GOING HOME Frankie paid a visit to one of Eva’s favorite stores and bought herself a dress in a beautiful shade of green. She paid, ignoring the cost, and wore it right away. It showed more leg than she’d ever shown in her life before and it felt strange, wearing a dress, but it also made her feel oddly confident.
With the rest of her clothes stuffed into a bag, she rode the subway home, her palms clammy.
The closer she got to Brooklyn, the more nervous she became.
What if Matt had lost patience with her insecurities?
No. No, that wasn’t going to happen.
All the same, she was desperate to put things right and she virtually ran the distance from the subway to their brownstone. She was about to head straight up to Matt’s apartment when she saw that the door