The Boy Who Has No Belief - Victoria Quinn Page 0,16
him as they are for us. I just want him to interact with Lizzie in the right way, when he’s ready to do that, when I’m ready to do that.”
“He seemed fine just now.”
“Yes, I was shocked. But I knew he did that for me because he doesn’t want to lose me. Mom, he really cares about me. He wants to be with me, no matter what. So, let us grow this relationship on our own terms. Don’t provoke him or disrespect him like he’s a teenage boy who knocked me up. This is a grown-ass man.”
Her eyes instantly became subdued.
“I know you don’t want me to get hurt again, Mom. I understand. But Derek is not someone who’s going to knock me up and leave. He’s the best man I’ve ever known besides Dad. You’ll love him. I promise you. Just…be patient.”
She inhaled a deep breath, looking guilty for her previous behavior. “I’m sorry. I just… All of that feels like it happened yesterday, even though I look at my twelve-year-old granddaughter every day and see her age. I know how hurt you were, and I …can’t go through that again.”
“I know, Mom.” I came closer to her then wrapped my arms around her. “But Derek won’t hurt me. I’m not just some random woman to him. He loves me.”
She pulled away and looked at me. “He said that to you?”
Not exactly. “No, but I know how he feels.”
5
Derek
My weekend was the same as all the others.
Just worked.
Now that I didn’t go out with the guys anymore, I stayed home most of the time. They were all single and looking to go out and hook up, and since I wasn’t interested in that anymore, I just didn’t fit.
And women just made passes at me the whole time, and it got really annoying. I wondered if I wore a wedding ring if they would leave me alone, but I suspected that still wouldn’t deter them.
Because people fucking sucked.
It was Sunday when my mom texted me. Hey, honey. What are you doing today?
Working. I was just like Dad. That was all I ever did.
I thought you would say that. Your father is at the hospital all day. Thought we could get lunch.
I had so much shit to do, but I would never say no to my mother, especially when my only excuse was working. If she knew I was doing something fun, she wouldn’t ask me. But the only person I wanted to do fun things with was with her daughter on the weekends. Sure. Tell me where to meet you.
Whenever my dad wasn’t around, we always went to hole-in-the-wall kind of places so we didn’t have to accommodate his pickiness. She picked a sandwich shop, and she always picked because I let her.
We sat across from each other in the booth and ate while we caught up on life. She told me it was about to get really busy because of the holidays, so she would have to decorate most of the penthouses to the level of a magazine photo. “What’s going on with you?”
“I finished my rocket prototype and sent it to the appliance team so they can build it.”
“Great. So, what are you working on now?”
“The new rover for Mars. It’s hard for me to start a new project when I don’t have closure on the first one.”
“I’m sure it’s fine, Derek.”
“Won’t know until we test it. And even then, there’s always that risk.”
“You’re doing the best you can. And I’m sure the best you can is literally the best.”
I didn’t take her praise seriously because she was biased. I could do no wrong in her eyes.
“And how are things with Emerson?”
“Good.” She was the light of my life, despite the tense run-in with her mother.
“Is that all you’re going to give me?” she asked. “Come on, we adore her. We want to hear about her life as much as yours.” She wrapped up the other half of her sandwich and then opened her bag of chips.
Now that I had a serious woman in my life, my parents were even more involved, probably because they wanted me to get married and give them grandchildren, to have a finite ending to my story. “She met Ryan and Camille the other night.”
“Oh good. How did that go?”
“Well. They loved her.”
“Of course they did. What’s not to love?” She smiled then kept eating.
“Ryan and Camille are engaged.”
“Aww, that’s so wonderful. They aren’t even high school sweethearts. They’re like first-grade sweethearts.”