Page 49 of Imperfections Seduced

“Are you in a relationship with this girl? Do you or did you care about her?”

“No. No. And no.”

“This is not my proudest moment as your mother. With that said, I love you. I know you’ll do the right thing if this child is yours. If this is my grandchild, I will do my duty by loving it and spoiling it like a true glam mama should.”

“Glam mama? You’ve given yourself a title for a grandchild you may not have?”

“I’ve always wanted to have a grandchild. It may not be the way I want it to happen—who am I kidding, it absolutely isn’t the way I want it to happen—but I would love to be a grandma.”

“It isn’t the way I would want it to happen, either, so let’s hold off on the grandma talk. I need to talk to Kate about her mother.”

“When did she make this announcement to her family, and why did she without speaking to you first?”

“It was the night Cat came back.” It dawns on me that Kate must have felt threatened.

“Catherine’s back? I haven’t seen her in ages…since before she left for college.”

“Yep, she’s back.”

“Is Kaitlin anything like Catherine?” She’s giving me a knowing look.

“No, not at all.”

“In what ways are they different?”

“What do you want me to say, Mom? Cat is warm, genuine, and she’s the type of person you can be yourself around. Kate is the opposite of those things.”

“Does she still look the same? I remember her being a very cute girl.”

“You want me to sketch you a picture?”

“I just want to know if she has changed much since the last time I saw her.”

“I know where you’re going with this. She looks the same; she’s still beautiful.”

“You like her, don’t you? Don’t beat around the bush, tell me the truth.”

“I like her.” I smile to myself, looking down at my hand on the table.

“That explains why her sister was in such a rush to announce an engagement to everyone. I don’t like this.”

“Like what?”

“You know what? I hope you’re not thinking of getting involved with Cat. She’s a nice girl, from what I remember, and you’re friends with her brother. I would hate to see you lose a good friend over this.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that. Chris and I have been friends forever; he’s like a brother to me.”

“Oh, Nicholas. You’re already involved with her, aren’t you? This is not going to end well for anyone, you do know that?”

“I know.”

“Do you care about her? Is she worth ending a friendship to one of your closest friends?”

“Yes, she is.” I know she is.

“Then I won’t say anything else. I love you, and I hope this complicated, monumental, disastrous situation works out the way you want it to.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I say sarcastically. “I love you too.”