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He takes my mom’s arm, and I jump in their path. “No. You are not escorting anyone in there. You’re going to take Marilyn and go back the way you came.”

My mother pelts me with her disapproving look. “Don’t be ridiculous, Luciana. I’m going inside.”

“You. Are. Not.”

“What’s going on here?” Cam asks from behind me, and in the next second, my brother is standing next to me with Ollie on the other side of him.

Marilyn smiles. “Cameron, tell your sister to move aside. I am going inside the ballroom.”

I open my mouth, but my brother beats me to it. “You are not going in there, Marilyn. You’re going home. I’ve already procured you a driver.”

“I can’t go home. My son is in there, and it would look terrible for me to miss his big day, even if he chose to marry?—”

“Stop,” Cam says. “We talked about this already. I told you not to come. Chase and Lauren are happy today. You’re not going to ruin that like you tried to ruin the engagement party.”

“All I did was show up like any supportive mother would.”

“Yes, and you tried to insult her,” I say, wishing I would’ve let Lauren’s mother deal with Marilyn. Mrs. Guerrera was about to hit my mother, and none of us would’ve stopped her.

“If you don’t get out of my way, I will make a scene.”

Ladies and gentlemen, Marilyn Blake.

“Are you drunk?” Cam asks.

“Of course not. I had a gin and tonic in the car, but only one. You know flying makes me anxious.”

I square on my ex. “You gave my alcoholic mother a drink, Mateo?”

“Stop yelling. You’re going to embarrass me.”

“You’re embarrassing yourself by being here. You didn’t even mention that you were thinking of coming yesterday when we spoke on the phone,” I tell her.

“I wanted to surprise my son. Is that so wrong?”

Yeah, she’s drunk. It’s the only way. How is it that she’s still acting like this would be a good surprise for Chase?

Cam takes her arm. “Let me talk to you for a minute.” Then he shoots a look at Mateo and says, “Ollie, can you stay here with Lux, please?”

Ollie nods as Cam takes my mother outside.

I watch them go and breathe a sigh of relief. I know Cam will convince her to go. He will offer her money and whatever else so she’ll go back to New York.

I close my eyes and breathe.

“Are you okay?” Ollie asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I shake my head. “No, but I will be.”

“Who is this man?” Mateo asks.

And that’s how I remember him. Marilyn needs to take the man who brought her here back to New York with her.

I turn around and point a finger at Mateo. “Cam is about to convince her to go home. You need to go back as well.”

“You don’t mean that. I came to be with you, to be your date.”

I scoff. “I don’t want you here. You didn’t even ask me if it was okay? You thought showing up uninvited, with Marilyn, was the way to go? You know what my relationship is like with her. You saw me bring her home after the engagement party, where she made a damned fool of herself.”