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I followed her directions, feeling like a true moron for getting lost in a house.

“Thanks,” I mumbled irritably, hanging up and marching towards the kitchen.

The high pitched ring of the doorbell stopped me in my tracks and I turned toward the door, curious. Was Reid expecting anyone?

I tapped on the panel next to the door, switching to the front door camera. I didn’t recognize the person standing on the other side, but if they’d gotten past Reid’s rigorous security, they were trusted. With a hint of hesitation, I hauled open the door and came face to face with the stranger outside.

A tall, older woman, with hair as blonde as Reid’s, looked down her nose at me.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” I asked, keeping my voice polite despite the painful grumble in my stomach.

“You can tell Reid I’m here,” she said, her voice throaty. “I’m her m-”

“Mom?!”

Reid’s sudden outburst from behind me scared the hell out of me, and by some miracle I managednotto jump out of my own skin.

Mom? Reid’smother?

“Oh, Mrs. Voss,” I said, anxiety crackling through my limbs and locking up my spine. “It’s lovely to meet you. Please, come in.”

I stepped out of the door, briefly catching Reid’s wide eyes as her mother walked in.

“Is there a reason you decided to drop by so suddenly andunexpectedly?” Reid asked, her tone bordering on sarcastic.

Her mother waved it off and pulled her in for an air kiss. “Is it so wrong for a mother to visit her daughter?” She laughed.

Reid cocked a brow and the tension rippling along her shoulders was palpable. “It’s a little suspicious when the mother lives three states away, has to hop on a plane, andstilldidn’t say anything,” she countered. “What if I wasn’t home?”

“There are plenty of decent hotels around here,” her mother said easily. She walked further into the house as if she owned it, and I chanced a glance at Reid.

“What the fuck do we do now?” I hissed. My stomach slowly knotted the more I understood our predicament.

Reid turned wide eyes to me. “We have to sell this,” she murmured. “We have to convince her that we’re married for real or else she’ll never back off, and she’ll never let me live it down.”

“Fuck, this is so bad,” I whined. The anxiety quickly hardened to panic, and nausea rolled in my gut.

“It’s okay,” Reid assured me, ushering me after her mother. “We don’t have to try too hard, just enough to convince her.”

That thought alone left me almost paralyzed with worry.

Reid’s mother had situated herself in the main living room, sitting on the largest sofa as if she was about to hold court. I took a deep, steadying breath and sat down next to Reid.

“So,” Mrs. Voss prompted, gesturing between Reid and me with a flippant hand, her lip curled in displeasure. “How did all of this happen?”

I glanced over at Reid whose face had morphed into one of feigned calm. “We work together,” she began, her words easy. “After six years together, something else was bound to grow, don’t you think?”

“Mm, I suppose,” Mrs. Voss said, sounding thoroughly unconvinced. “It seems a little out of the blue, though. I want you to share all the details of how you two got together.”

Oh, shit, I thought, keeping my lips pressed together tightly.

“What do you mean?” Reid stalled.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Her mother chuckled. “Every couple has a story of how they ended up together. I must say, though, this is a veryunusualpairing. No offense.”

I most certainly took offense to that. “Why do you think it’s so unusual?” I cut in, surprising both Reid and her mother.

“Reid has always had somewhat of a refined taste,” she said, her voice dripping sugar. “And, let’s not beat around the bush, you don’t quite meet that, uh, standard.”