“He’s older than your father,” she whispers. “He’s too old for you and even if he wasn’t. He’s married.”
“They’re divorcing.”
“Because of my daughter, the homewrecker,” she snaps.
It’s then that I know Landry has overheard, because he rips the phone from my grasp and puts it up to his ear. “Helen, It’s Landry.” There is a moment of pause, he grunts, then continues. “I had the divorce paperwork drawn up months before I ever met Tennessee. We’ve been living apart for years. Please know that I care for her very much and will always treat her with respect, but Tennessee is not the reason my marriage fell apart.”
He hands the phone back to me, and I place it against my ear, so curious as to what my mom is going to say next. “Hello?” I whisper.
“I am going to go on record saying that I think this is a really bad decision. Just the age difference alone is a reason not to get into a relationship with one another. You don’t have anything in common, you won’t be able to grow old together, you have zero future ahead of yourselves.”
She ends the call. My heart cracks from her words and I set the phone down on the table. I shouldn’t be upset, but I am. I knew that this would happen, but part of me still wanted my mom to be excited that I found someone.
Landry’s arms wrap around me and he pulls me against his body, holding me close. A few moments later Holden climbs up onto my lap and the three of us just hug. It’s perfect. It’s exactly what I need and after a couple of calming breaths, I shake off the bad vibes.
“How about some coffee and donuts?” I ask.
Holden cries out a yes, and scrambles down before he runs back to his seat. I start to stand, but Landry hugs me one more time, his muscles flexing. His lips touch my temple and he inhales a deep breath through his nose.
When he lifts his head, his hand slides up my back and his fingers grip my hair. He turns my head to face him. His eyes search mine for a moment and I can tell that he’s trying to gauge my reaction to my mother’s call.
“Don’t stress, honey. People don’t think that we’re going to make it, but we are and we will. Give them time, all of them. It’s a shock.”
Nodding my head, I lick my lips and give him a shaky smile. “Yeah,” I exhale.
“Donuts and coffee,” he says with a grin.
“Donuts and coffee,” I agree.
He releases me, and I sit at the small table with him and Holden. It’s just a little card table and chairs, but right now, it’s perfect. This is exactly what I need, right here. My baby and this man who is everything I never thought I needed.
LANDRY
I had planned on checking out a couple buildings that are for sale for my new office, but I decide after last night, Tennessee’s confession and the way her mother reacted this morning, that I’m going to spend the day with her and Holden.
“How about we go furniture shopping?” I suggest.
Tennessee wrinkles her nose, her gaze flicking up to meet mine from over the top of her coffee cup. My lips twitch into a small smile. I watch her for a moment, then lick my bottom lip and shake my head once.
“Do you not want to buy the furniture for this place?”
She looks around, then shifts her gaze to meet mine. “I’m intimidated.”
My brows lift in surprise. “Intimidated?”
I can’t help but think about Susan and although I don’t particularly like her style, she’s been more than happy to decorate and buy furniture and everything else she could possibly purchase since we were married.
“I don’t really like to shop, this whole house is empty, even the kitchen. I don’t know what you want and honestly, I’ve never had to put a house together before. I don’t have much in my apartment, just the basics and only because my mom came and helped me.”
She glances down to her lap, then lifts her gaze up to meet mine. “Maybe my mom is right. Maybe this is too much, and I’m way too young. I can’t give you what you want, Landry.”
I can hear the ache in her voice and as much as I want to tell her to shut the fuck up, that she’s wrong, it’s not the