Page 73 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal

"It is, but Frank's been wonderful about it. He bought one of those big fans for the bedroom and a generator to power it, and we've been eating a lot of ice cream." She laughed a bright and infectious sound. "Speaking of which, I have news. I booked my flight to Chicago for October."

My stomach dropped. "October?"

"The nineteenth through the twenty-first. I can't wait to see your apartment, meet your coworkers, maybe have dinner with that handsome boss of yours. I saw him mentioned in one of those gossip blogs—very distinguished looking. You never told me he was so attractive."

Heat flooded my cheeks. "Mom, he's my boss. It's not—we don't?—"

"I know, I know. But a mother can dream, can't she? But it'd be nice if he were the handsome boy you're hiding from me, wouldn't it?'

"Mom," I hissed, knowing right then and there that if she met Lucian, I would die of mortification.

And though she'd understand the age gap, she would frown on it.

"I'm only joking, dear. But he is a good-looking man, and so rich too. Imagine what you could do with all that money." She clicked her tongue, and I covered my face in shame, thankful this wasn't a video call.

"I can't believe you will come all the way to visit me," I said, changing the subject. I hated the idea, personally, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

I didn't have to drag her through the rigors of my workday or the complexity of my relationship.

I could tell her "Mr. Right" went on a business trip, and if Lucian happened to be out of town, it wouldn't be a lie.

"Me too, dear. Oh, Frank wants to know if there are any good restaurants you'd recommend for when we visit. He's been looking forward to Chicago deep dish pizza since I told him about the trip."

We talked for another twenty minutes about her plans, Frank's enthusiasm for the trip, and the humidity that had been making her hair impossible to manage.

She told me about the new neighbors who played music too loudly and the community pool that had been closed for maintenance.

And I listened patiently while internally feeling my anxiety get a choke hold on my throat.

When we finally hung up, I sat staring at my phone, dread pooling in my stomach.

The thought of my mother here in October, asking questions about my life, wanting to meet my coworkers, possibly running into Lucian—it made my head spin.

How could I possibly explain the mess I'd made of everything?

And when she inevitably brought up the lectures about my giving her grandchildren… My hand drifted to my stomach, where I'd been hoping to create life with Lucian's help.

With everything falling apart at work, with the stress eating at me day and night, would my body even cooperate when the time came?

Could I really bring a baby into this chaos?

I opened my laptop, intending to distract myself with mindless browsing, but my email inbox demanded attention.

Most of the messages were work-related, but one near the top made my blood run cold.

Jamie had forwarded me a link with the subject line,Thought you should see this.

My cursor hovered over the message for several heartbeats before I clicked it open. Her note was brief.

This popped up on my news feed. Not sure if it's about you, but… maybe we should talk tomorrow?

The link led to a gossip blog I didn't recognize, one of those sites that thrived on celebrity scandals and corporate intrigue.

The headline made my heart stop.

EXCLUSIVE: The Woman Behind the Desk - Cross Capital CEO's Secret Romance Set to Expose All

Below it was a grainy photo that looked like it had been taken from across the street—Lucian walking toward my building, and beside him, a figure that could have been anyone.