Page 55 of Best Kept Vows

“Yes, Sebastian.” This time, she rolled her eyes.

I ran a hand through my hair.

“I can tell her you’re not here,” Kayla offered.

I scoffed. “She’ll track me down.” I’d been ignoring her calls and messages. I hadn’t listened to the five voicemails she’d left me, either. I simply didn’t have the time to deal with my mother’s drama. And I knew there was drama because Lia had texted me to let me know that she’d told Mama off and that she was now my problem like she always should’ve been.

It was a not-so-subtle hint that I had been shoving my mother at Lia—asking her to bend and conform to get along with her, and she wasdone. I was fortunate she hadn’t donethis years ago—or maybe if she had, I’d have gotten my head out of my ass sooner.

Still, none of this was Lia’s fault. I knew that. Being alone in a big fucking house, which you were spending more time in than you ever did because you missed your wife, gave you a whole lot of time to think.

I had also booked a session with Dr. Monica Ryan for couples counseling, and just the idea of seeing a therapist made me start examining myself more closely—kind of like scrubbing the house before the cleaners showed up.

“Let her in.” I looked at the calendar on my laptop. “And move my eleven o’clock to eleven thirty.”

I could give Mama thirty minutes to rant and rave, and after that, I’d be done. Time-limit this shit.

Dolly Boone had grown up wealthy, but an ill-timed storm and a string of poor investments wiped out her father’s fortune. She married into money, only to watch her husband’s fortune sink with a failing company. You’d think that with experience, she’d be more thoughtful about what she spent money on, but then she flashed me a new Christian Dior diamond bracelet, and I knew she didn’t understand how much trouble we were in.

“Sebastian.” She held her chin up, and I kissed her cheek perfunctorily before leading her to one of my client chairs.

She was in some dress that told me she would be attending a formal luncheon after she reamed my ass for whatever sins she could tack on Liaandme.

“Mama, I only have thirty minutes,” I warned her and sat on my chair.

She gave me a withering look. “Your wife was over on Saturday.”

I reclined in my chair as I considered her. All my life, I’d avoideddramawith Mama because she could manage a considerable amount of it. When Mama had drama, Dad got frustrated, which led to a tsunami of events at home: screaming, throwing things, banging doors, and ultimately pointing fingers at either Coco or me.

I quickly learned that to avoid having my father yell at me, I needed to keep my mother happy. Coco and I walked around on eggshells with Mama. It was a habit. Though Coco was getting alongbetterwith Mama since they were peas in a pod, she knew that she was always on notice because Mama could get upset any minute.

“Yeah, Mama, I know.”

Mama’s eyes darkened, her lips pressing into a tight line. “She was rude to me. I think it’s unacceptable that both of you are not showing up for Sunday dinner, which is tradition.”

I nodded slowly, considering my response. “You talk down to Lia, which is why she said she didn’t want to attend dinners any longer.”

If Mama could be blown away with a feather, now was the time. She looked comical in her shock and horror.

“I don’t find the dinners appealing, either. Coco, you, and Birdie complain about my wife, and then about someone else, and then you bitch about Dad, that he’s still put you on an allowance and—it’s just boring.” I lounged back and smirked.

Mama glared at me, her eyes burning with fury. “What has happened to you?”

I shrugged. “My wife left me, Mama, because I was a crap husband. So, I’m trying to be a better?—”

“Good riddance!” Mama spat out.

“See, that’s the kind of thing I don’t like you sayin’ about my wife.” I got up and looked at my watch. “I know I said I had a half hour, but if you’re gonna be talking about my wife, and not in a flattering manner, I’m going to ask you to leave.”

Mama gripped the arms of her chair. “Your father will hear of this.”

“Knock yourself out.”

“I’ll get you kicked out of the company,” she threatened next.

“You’ll be doing me a favor.”

“And make Bryce CEO.” I saw the venom in her eyes.