It was such a beautiful morning, the sun shining and warm. I relished the heat even as I looked forward to fall and the changing season. I dreaded winter, not because I hated the cold, but because it was so hard on my babies — the dogs I took care of in my little corner of the world.
Well, their owners too, of course, but it was the animals I held most dear. Dogs didn’t judge. They didn’t criticize. Only loved. And their devotion to their masters, especially those masters with so little to give back, touched my heart, nearly bringing me to tears every day.
I felt wonderful as I made my rounds, so very pleased with how well my babies were doing. Target was finally gaining some weight back after I paid to have him seen by the local animal clinic for worms. I planned to be a vet one day, but it didn’t take a license or degree to care. And the homeless were just grateful that someone gave a damn.
Because few did. For the owners or their pets.
After feeding Trixie and Chuck in the last alley, I felt my happiness dimming with every step I took. I’d been dreading this meeting all week.
I was early, so I had plenty of time to change into something… presentable. Why was I kidding myself? Even if I was decked out in head to toe Prada, I would still receive the same criticisms. Always.
Giving myself a final glimpse at my reflection, I stood as tall as I could and plastered a smile on my face, mentally rolling myself in emotional bubble wrap.
Inside, the hostess greeted me with her usual warmth. “Hi, Eliana. Your booth is ready, and I’ve already poured your tea, extra sweet.” She gave me a conspiratorial wink.
“Thanks, Helen. I need the extra kick today, that’s for sure.”
Helen rolled her eyes. “I read about it. Divorce number four?”
I exhaled a long breath. “Five.”
She gave me a quick hug. “Well, if you need anything, just give me the signal.”
I hugged her back, tears pricking my eyes at the older woman’s kindness. “I’ll do that.”
Taking a seat, I enjoyed a long drink of the strong tea. It made me think of my grandmother, who died nearly eight years ago in a terrible fire that also killed my grandfather. Before that horrid night, I’d spent my summers on my grandparents’ farm in Tennessee. I missed it. Her. Him. All of it. The farm was the only place in the world where I could be myself. It was where I’d found a love for animals and my granddad, a veterinarian, taught me how to care for them until I could become a veterinarian myself.
To the horror of my mother.
“Darling…”
Here we go.
I stood, and air-kissed both cheeks of the woman who gave birth to me, neither of us touching each other.
“Alize,” I said because she didn’t like being called anything faintly maternal, “you look beautiful this morning.”
Flattery was expected.
She waved a manicured hand in the air, and I forced myself not to cringe as she laughed too loud, causing all eyes to turn to her. “This old thing…?” She laughed again, and to my great embarrassment, twirled, the flirty skirt almost showing her Pilates-sculpted ass. “It is fabulous, isn’t it? I found this adorable new designer who I just know we’ll see at fashion week in a few years.” She put her hand to her mouth and fake-whispered, “If I have any say in it, and you know I will.”
I stifled the urge to gag and smiled brightly, hoping my face wasn’t too flushed. As a dark strawberry blonde, my pale skin gave me away constantly. “Shall we sit?” I suggested, not liking being the center of attention. That’s why I always suggested brunch for our tête-à-têtes, as Alize called them. It normally wasn’t as busy as the other meal times.
With considerable grace, Alize slid into the booth and smiled graciously at the lead waiter who immediately handed us our menus.
“Today’s my cheat day,” she sang as she reviewed the selections. “I’ll take the house salad with just a dash of oil and vinegar and…” she winked at me in an I’m going to be sooo bad way, “cheese.”
The waiter waited for more, and I nearly laughed at his is that seriously all? expression that he was barely able to hide before she noticed. Oblivious, she folded the menu and slid it his way. He lifted a brow. “Anything else, ma’am?”
Her blue eyes turned glacial for a moment at the ma’am. She recovered quickly, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “No, no. I’ll be stuffed after that.”
It took all of my self-control not to roll my eyes to the heavens.
“I’ll have your Portobello burger with sweet potato fries and—”
“Eliana Katherine, you’ll do no such thing. For heaven’s sake, you have a dress to fit into for the gala and…” Her eyes moved down to examine the parts of me she could see above the table. She looked back up to the waiter. “She’ll have the same as me. No cheese.”
“Mom!”
I would go to hell for the satisfaction I received at her look of mortification. Her face a tighter mask than usual, she dismissed the waiter with a flick of her hand.
I’ll pay for that one.
Within seconds, she’d pulled herself back together. “You must take care of yourself, Eliana. The years will pass by you like a wink, and you’ll wonder where the wrinkles came from.”
She touched the corner of her eye, a place where no wrinkle dared dwell, and I knew she expected me to comment on how young she looked. I didn’t, and her nostrils delicately flared.
“Shall I have my car pick you up or can you find your own way to the gala?”
I swallowed hard. “I’m not going.”
She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in an overly dramatic soap opera movement. “You must. You—”
“You won’t even miss me, Alize. You’ll be on the prowl for husband number six, no doubt. I’d just get in the way.”
Someone laughed, a deep chuckle that broke off quickly, and I glanced in the direction the sound came from and only saw two men sitting at the nearby bar. One an older gentleman with a glorious mane of white hair. The other a… wow.
He was sitting with his back to us, but what a back it was. A tight athletic shirt barely concealed bulging muscles, a vee of a sweat stain trailed to a point at his spine. He also wore athletic shorts and running shoes, his calves bulging over his short-cut socks. A baseball cap sat on the stool beside him.
Running my eyes back up his body, taking in the muscles of his triceps this time, I wondered how it would feel to run my hands through his thick head of dark hair.
“Are you even listening to me?”
I whipped my head back in my mother’s direction and met her icy gaze. “Yes.”
She brightened, showing me the pearly whiteness of her teeth in one of her supermodel smiles. “Terrific. I knew you’d come to your senses. I’ll call Carlos right now and set up an appointment for you.”
I stared at her. I’d clearly said yes to the wrong thing. “What?”