fair hair and dark eyes. Her face is beautiful and regal. “Not just you. I’ve always wanted grandchildren.”
I frown so deeply I have to turn away. Grandchildren? The realization hits me hard, taking my breath away. I know exactly why this is killing Kent. All this time I thought it was Willow who was driving the knife in him. But it wasn’t Willow at all. It was his brother, Scott. He was never running from Willow. He was running from his brother’s betrayal the entire time.
He growls quietly, no more hidden around her then he is around me. “I’m sure everyone’s so happy for Scott. The fucking bastard.”
“Kent!” his mother scolds. “It’s time you get over it.”
“I’ll never get over my brother getting my ex pregnant!”
He loves me.
His mother straightens her white blouse, as if doing so will straighten out the situation. “Who is this?” She smiles pleasantly at me. “I take it she knows our dirty family secret?”
“She knows everything. Mom, this is Raina. My girlfriend,” he adds proudly. “Rain, this is my mom, Vance.”
“Girlfriend?” His mother nearly bursts. She grabs me up in a hug and presses me to her. She smells like orange blossoms and shampoo. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Raina. What a pretty name for a pretty girl.”
“Thank you,” I reply, hugging her back awkwardly. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
I’m still reeling from the realization that Scott and Willow are together, and Kent’s looking at me like I’m his, and his mother is smiling at me like she knows I love her son. I am overwhelmed to say the least.
“Let’s go inside. We were having breakfast. Are you hungry, Raina?” Vance grabs my hand and leads me into a white, high-reaching foyer.
I glance back at Kent, who is following at a distance. “Yes.”
“I’m going to go check out my room,” he says, and heads for the stairs spiraling toward the second floor.
“Let him go,” his mother orders tiredly. “It’s better we put this confrontation off for as long as possible. Do you mind meeting the family?”
“No.” She looks upset and I don’t want to add to it.
She smiles her thanks forcedly. “Thank you. Just know Kent is a possessive person. Always has been, always will be. When you take something from him, he never lets you live it down. His emotions in no way reflect how he feels about you.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but how do you know how he feels about me?”
“Because I didn’t meet Willow until Scott brought her home.”
I pull on her hand, forcing us both to a stop. “Kent never brought her home to meet you?”
“No.”
But he brought me?
Guessing my thoughts, she nods. “Scott went to visit Kent at school in Jacksonville and met Willow. Our family has been estranged ever since. Kent won’t talk to Scott and Scott won’t talk to Kent. They went from this—” She wraps her fingers around each other and then separates them wide. “—to this.”
“Do you blame him?” She was so removed from it.
“Honestly? Yes, I do. When your father spoils you, you learn to think people have to take your shit. People do not have to take Kent’s shit. I love my son, but sometimes I want to shake him.”
She and I both. “He is so spoiled.”
“He is,” she agrees. “But he’s also giving and unbearably honest. Never hides how he feels. Never has and never will. That’s why we’re going to breakfast without him.” She pushes a set of double swinging doors open and we enter into a beautiful kitchen.
The ceiling has thick wooden beams stretching across it. The floors are a deep brown wood and the cabinets are the color of milk, so white and creamy they gleam in the corner of my eye. At the end of the large kitchen is a huge family style table. Three people pile around it—a middle-aged man and two others. I’m mad at Kent for forcing me to meet Willow by myself.
This is his past. You’re together now. I guess it’s my past now too.
His mother clears her throat and everyone looks over quizzically. I balk when the man talking to Willow lifts his head. He is Kent. Gorgeous blond hair, handsome face, dark eyes. Except Scott is older and his eyes aren’t magnetizing. I can’t put it off any longer and finally take Willow in. She’s as beautiful in person as she is in the picture. Her long black hair frames her beautiful face in obsidian waves. Her green eyes are