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“Thanks!” Winnie pushes her chair back and leaves the room.
Mom smiles after her, waiting for her footsteps to fade before jabbing her fork at me.
I already know what’s coming before she utters one word.
“I like her,” Mom proclaims. “She’s a sweet girl, very authentic. I have a wonderful feeling about this one, Archer.”
“This one? You talk like I have women coming out my ears, Mom.”
“That’s only because you won’t let them, boy. How many times did I have to drag you into this house to sit down with a pretty girl?”
“And it was a big mistake every time,” I mutter.
Her gaze sharpens.
“You know how I feel about mumbling, Archer Rory. Takes me right back to your moody days as a teenager. You were always the sullen one, even if Dexter gave you a run for your money.” She purses her lips before she continues. “But your Winnie, yes, trust me when I say she’s a good one. Do not screw this up.”
“Mom, she’s not mine. The whole point of bringing her here was to show you we’re just friends.” I stop and bare my teeth in the most strained smile of my life. “So you can stop getting carried away every time you hear I’m hanging out with a woman.”
She sighs roughly. “Is it such a grave sin if I just want to see my oldest son settled andhappyfor once?”
“Yes. Because it isn’tlikethat.” I don’t elaborate when I don’t know what the hell it really is.
If Mom knew we were sleeping together without putting a neat label on it, she’d probably call this an ‘interlude’ or some shit. Better than ‘situationship’ and other dumb things the kids say, I guess.
Really, it’s a fling.
A little taste of summer wine before stone-cold reality comes ripping it away like a ruthless wolf pouncing on a happy drunk.
“Okay,” Mom says flatly, “but why can’t it be like that? Why won’t you open your mind a little, Son?”
“Mom, you know why. Do I need to sit here and give you all one thousand reasons?” I scratch my neck. My whole face itches. This conversation always makes me want to rip out my hair, but this time it makes me want to pluck every strand one by one.
Anything would be better than listing the many reasons why Winnie and I can’t work in gory detail.
“Give me one—one good reason—and don’t youdarehide behind Colton like you always do.”
I grit my teeth.
“Rina, for one,” I say, and I know I’ve hit the jackpot because her lips thin. “All the crap with that. You know what happened with her, what a snowballing disaster it was. I’m almost forty damn years old. I don’t need that much drama in my life. We’ve been getting along just fine without it, thank you very much.”
She frowns. “If it was a different girl, perhaps I wouldn’t push. But Winnie isn’t like Rina or the other women I tried to set you up with. You’re smart enough to know that.”
Damn.
Idoknow, but that alone isn’t enough reason to shut her yap.
“Colt,” I say, holding up a hand. “I’m not using him as an excuse. You know I can’t just go wandering around taking on girlfriends when he’s still a kid. Especially not when he’s at the age where he’ll be figuring out what dating means soon enough. If I can’t set healthy examples, I shouldn’t set them at all.”
“Oh, please.” Mom huffs a breath and rolls her eyes. “Archer, it’s not like you send women through a revolving door. We’re talking aboutoneyoung woman who makes you smile. Don’t even think about denying it when I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
“Not the point. Stability comes first. I’m not tripping over my own bad decisions and screwing up Colt when he’s walking that tightrope into adulthood right now. He won’t be like me, Mom. He’ll grow upbetter.”
She fixes me with the same glare she used to give us as kids whenever we’d step out of line.
“So, that’s it? You’re digging your heels in and deciding this can’t work before you even give it a try? All so you can commit to being a hermit and say it was for your son?”
“So I can finish raising my son right, yes. And that’s not even getting into how I’d complicate Winnie’s life. She’s too young for me even in the rosiest circumstances.”