exact thing she had just done. I would think she was a gold digger, for sure, even if she wasn’t. And I would more than likely hate her on principle for working magical vagina powers on my sweet, innocent child.
That’s exactly what would happen.
But at the same time, I didn’t give enough of a shit about what this lady could possibly think of me. Because I knew the truth. And Jonah knew the truth.
But…
She was going to be in my life for a long time. And she was just worried about him even though he was a grown man. Would I ever stop worrying or caring about Mo even when she was old enough?
Probably not.
“I’d like for you to apologize to her,” Jonah said, still using that hard-ass voice that got me going. Then he added “Please,” and I swear my ovaries just about exploded.
Well, it wasn’t like I didn’t know I had issues.
No one said anything for about three seconds too long, and I could feel the tension coming off him, until finally, his mom sniffed, sat up even straighter, and said very carefully, “My apologies for what I said, Elena.”
We were going with Elena then. How the hell had she even found out my real name?
The man beside me groaned, more than likely, for the same reason.
I decided to be nice because that would be more annoying. “Apology accepted,” I told her, keeping myself from smiling because that was a little much. “I know you’re just watching out for him to make sure I’m not taking advantage of him.”
That was definitely a groan from the man beside me, and if Sarah’s eyes went a little wide… too bad.
“But I’m not,” I told her, giving her a smile then and making sure not to break eye contact. “I had no idea who he was when we met. He made it seem like he was on vacation for the first few days after we met, but even if I had known who he was, it wouldn’t have mattered because I don’t know anything about rugby. And I don’t need his money. Kids really had never been in my life plan, even with this much of a stud muffin.“
Jonah choked right then, but I was on a roll and didn’t want this awkward shit hanging over us, so I needed his mom to understand me. I just wanted her to suffer a little when I called her baby boy a stud muffin.
“I know I’m not that pretty, and I’m not fancy or that well-educated, but”—I looked right at her; I wanted her to know I meant the words coming out of my mouth—“I’m a decent person, and Jonah could have had a baby with someone a lot worse than me.”
The other woman stared, and beside me, Jonah was still trying to stop choking.
I smiled at her even more sweetly. “Some people might even say I’m a catch. My grandfather won four world championships in boxing. My dad won a gold medal and a silver medal in boxing in the Olympics. I don’t really know about my mom or her family because I never met her and my grandpa barely knew her, but I am….” I swallowed that word and blinked. “I was… a world champion judoka. I was undefeated for years in this country, and when I did lose, it was because I was injured. I’ve won multiple national championships in the junior and senior levels. I’ve won more Pan-American games than any other woman. The only reason I didn’t compete in the Olympics was because I was injured each time, but I’ve beat the players who did win. And, most importantly, because none of that really matters anymore, I will work my ass off to be a good mom to your granddaughter. I don’t know how to not try my best at anything, Sarah, so….”
I raised my eyebrows at her as I folded my hands on top of the table and gave her a long look.
And she…
She didn’t say anything.
My job was done.
I peeked to my right and found that Sarah wasn’t the only one watching me silently. The difference was, I winked at the one to my right, all exaggerated and everything. Goddamn, Grandpa Gus would be proud. I was going to have to tell him everything later. Maybe.
That was my cue to pee. I stood up and patted Jonah on the shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
That definitely could have gone better, but it definitely could have gone worse.
I