“May be?” Gram demanded.
“Yes, he may be,” Mom returned. “We don’t know him all that well and these are emotional times.”
“Um, were you not present when I explained what happened with James and his brother?” Belle asked incredulously.
“And were you temporarily blind when your daughter poured out her story through fits of tears?” Gram snapped.
“And do you not hear the reporters’ rude questions shouted at me practically every day?” Belle didn’t let up.
“I hear them, Bellerina. Still, I can’t help but like him,” Mom replied softly.
“She thinks he’s sexy,” Gram said on an annoyed sigh. “Her brain always gets addled around sexy men.”
This, unfortunately, was true.
“Well, he is sexy,” Mom admitted.
This, unfortunately, was true too.
“But that’s not it,” Mom continued.
“What is it, then?” Gram demanded to know.
“I don’t know. I have a theory,” Mom replied and Belle rolled her eyes and turned away.
Her mother had a lot of theories and they were usually daft at best, preposterous at worst and they were mostly at worst.
“Would you like to share your theory?” Gram asked, sounding like she’d rather not hear it but curiosity was getting the better of her.
For her part, Belle didn’t want to know.
She didn’t want to think of James at all.
Pretty soon, she’d be living in his house and therefore likely having to think about him all the time.
Then she’d have their baby and she’d have to see him far more than she wanted to.
For the rest of her life.
Therefore, she would have preferred a brief respite from James Bennett.
And she always preferred a respite from her mother’s theories.
“I don’t want to share it, not yet. It isn’t fully formed,” Mom said and Belle sighed in relief.
Finally, something went her way.
“I still can’t help but like him,” Mom muttered stubbornly.
Well, not entirely her way.
“Can we stop talking about this?” Belle asked.
“Of course, Bellerina,” Gram stated inflexibly, her meaning clear to everyone in the car most, especially Mom.
Mom drove and they were all silent.
Then Mom’s hand came out and squeezed Belle’s knee.