“After my last marriage, she wouldn’t ever start putting on pressure. Trust me on that one.”
She pauses for a few moments then nods. “Right, okay. That sounds okay. Meeting your mother.”
“Yep. Trust me, it’ll be amazing. You’re going to love it. You’ll love her. She’s really great.”
It’s only when she darts me one last funny look that I wonder how it’ll go. I’m hoping it’ll be as fine as I promised.
* * *
“Hey, Mom!” I hold out my arms to embrace her as she invites us inside. “Thank you for having us for dinner.”
“Oh, well, I hardly ever get to see you these days, you’re so busy with work, so of course I jumped at the opportunity, and when I hear there’s a woman in the picture, well . . .” She looks at Jodi, and I can see the approval there already. “I have to meet the person making Brock smile. He sounded very happy on the phone.”
“Oh, right.” A pink tinges Jodi’s cheeks, and I can’t stop myself from grinning. God, she’s so adorable as well as being sexy. No wonder I’m falling head over heels for her. “Well, I’m glad. I want him to be happy.”
“My name is Laura.” Mom shakes Jodi’s hand. “And you’re Jodi? Brock’s personal assistant.”
“Yep, that’s right. I’m Jodi. I can’t believe Brock told you about my job.”
“Well, he knows I won’t judge. After what he’s been through, anyone who’s good for him . . .”
Mom leads us through the house, and Jodi gives me a worried look. I smile back as reassuringly as I can manage. I want to calm her down because I can already tell that my mom loves her.
“So I don’t need to ask you two how you met—I already know—but what did you do before?”
“I used to live in New York City, and I worked in the stock exchange before I came to Vegas.”
“Oh wow, that’s really something. That must have been some seriously hard work.”
“It was alright. Hard in some ways, yes. But there were parts of it that I really loved.”
“A pretty girl like you working among so many men? I can imagine that was trouble.”
Jodi stiffens, her spine completely freezes over, and I’m reminded of the stalking incident. I haven’t forgotten, but since she hasn’t wanted to talk about it, I’ve pushed it to one side. Now, though, it’s all I can think of.
“Mom, this isn’t the sixties, you know,” I shoot back sharply, covering her ass. “Men can’t behave like that.”
“You mean they shouldn’t. I have no doubt that they do. Unwanted advances are an unfortunate part of life.”
“That isn’t what happened between us, you know? I don’t know what you’re suggesting here.”
“You don’t have to be so defensive. I already know that. I’m just saying—”
“Well, don’t. Let’s talk about something else instead. Something more appropriate.”
Mom rolls her eyes and turns away from me. Luckily, she’s used to my sharp temper, so she doesn’t take anything from it. I’m nothing like I used to be, but I haven’t always reacted well to stress. I can be a bit of a hothead. Act first and think later. I would like to say that’s behind me, but it isn’t quite.
“Well, I’m cooking lasagna for dinner. Nothing fancy, but I hope that’s okay.”
“Yeah, that’s fine by me.” Jodi smiles thinly, the tension still evident in her face. “Sounds lovely.”
“Sounds great, Mom. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Why don’t you take a seat in the dining room? I’ll get everything ready for you. It’s nearly cooked anyway. Then I can find out some more about the very lovely Jodi. Who’s much more pleasant than you, by the way.”
“Thanks, Mom. That’s totally awesome of you. Do you want help with the drinks?”
I don’t wait for her to answer. Instead, I set about helping her, grabbing glasses and preparing the drinks. Mom and Jodi do the whole small talk thing, questions that don’t teeter into the danger zone, which is good. It allows me to easily relax. I didn’t realize how troublesome this would be. I should have thought in advance since Mom is quite nosy. But I’m sure Jodi will handle it well from here on out.