my shoulder. He’s watching his mom approach the car, I know it.
And then he does the craziest thing.
He leans down and kisses me.
His gentle mouth on mine immediately settles my racing thoughts, my pumping blood. I return the kiss, my lips parting easily for the quick swipe of his tongue and he takes advantage, sliding his fingers into my hair.
He pulls away at the same time the passenger door swings open and his mother practically drags me out of the car. “Oh my God, you’re gorgeous!”
She hauls me into her arms and gives me a bone-crushing hug. I stand there helplessly, blinking at her when she grips my shoulders and holds me at arm’s length so she can really examine me.
“Mom,” Theo groans, climbing out of the car and slamming the door. “Stop. You’re scaring her.”
It’s true. She’s a little terrifying. And for such a small woman, she’s incredibly strong.
“Theodore, you never told me your Kelsey was so beautiful.” The words are said warmly. Reverently. Mom always told me my beauty’s a curse. She accused me of drawing the wrong kind of attention from men, even though it isn’t my fault. I can’t help the way I look.
Funny thing is, I look exactly like her.
“Hey guess what, Mom? My Kelsey is beautiful.” He stops directly beside me and reaches out, prying his mother’s fingers from my shoulder that’s closest to him. “Let her go. Introduce yourself. You’re freaking her out.”
“Oh! Sorry. My name is Patricia,” his mother says, sticking her hand out for me to shake. “But you can call me Patti.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I tell her, realizing quick the hand out was a ruse.
She grabs hold of mine and pulls me in for yet another hug. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“Mom.” His tone is a warning and she lets me go, smiling at me in apology. “Where’s Dad?”
“Out back, messing with the barbecue.” Patti’s smile is still for me. It’s like she can’t stop looking at me. “My husband is obsessed with his new barbecue. The kids got it for him for his birthday from Costco, and he tries to cook everything on it.”
“Even pizza,” Theo adds.
His mother laughs, and it’s a pretty sound. Pleasant. Friendly. I like her. She makes me feel comfortable, and I appreciate that. “The pizza wasn’t bad.”
“If you say so.” Theo grabs hold of my hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and smiles at me. “Let’s go inside. I want to show Kelsey around the house.”
“Wonderful.” His mother watches us, and I can tell she’s pleased. I have no idea what that’s really like, pleasing a mother. The mother of a man I’m supposedly seeing. Most of them were never pleased to see me.
Did I mention I went through a bad girl phase? Of course I did. After my mom died when I was nineteen, I was on my own with no guidance. No help. No supervision. I was working three part-time jobs and trying to make ends meet, always craving attention, whether it was good or bad. I slept with one of my supervisors on the side to try to get a promotion. Gave him blowjobs while on the clock and everything.
Never did get that promotion, but he sure benefited from the arrangement.
Listen, I’m no angel. Truthfully, I’m ashamed of my past. Of the things I’ve done. But I can’t make what I’ve done disappear. Once I got the job at Wilder, I changed my behavior. No more screwing the boss. Oh, I occasionally messed around with someone I worked with, but it was never serious.
That’s me. The never-serious girl. Until I started to realize I deserve better than that. I can be a serious type of girl. I think. I want to try. But I need to find a man who loves me for me, not because of my face or my body. That’s all surface stuff.
But I only seem to meet men who can’t see beyond the surface. They’re dazzled by my face. They don’t care to actually get to know me. They just want to be seen with me. Show me off to their friends, like Paul did with Theo when we all went on that double date together. When Theo was set up with Eleanor.
I really miss her. Can’t blame her for moving in with her hot, NFL-playing boyfriend, though. I’d do the same thing. Mitch worships the ground she walks on.
What’s that like? I have no clue.
It’s weird, how Theo never mentioned