Something was still missing and he’d left a big, gaping hole in her life since he’d walked out of her bedroom.
Jade had never felt more alive, freer, or more herself than when she was with Cash. He made her laugh, he challenged her, he made everything better. Even through their bickering, she could see what an amazing man he was.
Cash was quite the protector. He protected his father, he’d tried to protect her from Brad and then her mother, and now he was protecting his heart.
“That little scandal you had won’t affect you getting your old job back.”
Jade clenched the knife in her hand and focused on smoothing the butter. The little scandal and her old job could both go to hell, because she wasn’t going back. Her mother thought she’d run from the trouble, but the truth was, Jade had fought, and won, the case. She wasn’t running at all. She was starting over and not putting up with anything in her life that didn’t make her happy.
Isn’t that what she focused on in each of her yoga classes? Exhale everything that doesn’t serve a purpose to better your life. She’d taken her own advice and was quite happy.
Well, she was until she’d made a mess of things.
“Mother, I wouldn’t take my old job back if they doubled my salary.”
Lana scoffed and leaned forward. “Now that’s just ridiculous. I spoke to a few people and they’d like to bring you back as an acting partner.”
It took every ounce of willpower for Jade to quietly lay her knife on the edge of her plate and not throw it across the room. She dropped her hands to her lap and gripped the cloth napkin.
“You talked to people about my old job?” Jade asked through gritted teeth.
The door to the café opened with the jingle of a soft bell. Customers chatted and laughed. The two waitresses came in and out of the back. Every now and then, Liam’s voice filtered through the kitchen door when it opened.
All of this going on around her kept Jade from flat-out exploding.
“I was offered my old job back several months ago,” Jade stated. “I didn’t want it then and I don’t want it now. You wasted your time and likely made a fool of yourself. I don’t need a spokesman, Mother. I’ve got everything taken care of.”
The waitress brought their food and silence once again settled heavily between them. Jade wanted her life to be smooth, to be happy. As much as she wanted Cash back in her life, she knew it was also time to have a real talk with her mother.
“We are two different people.” Jade took a sip of her sweet tea and slid her thumb over the condensation on her glass. “Our lifestyles are going to be different and that’s okay. I don’t want the life you’re wanting to set up for me. I want the life I create myself.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting my daughter to have the best life possible,” Lana argued. “I wish you’d just take what I’m offering.”
They weren’t going to see eye-to-eye on this. The best Jade could hope for was a truce, but she wasn’t even sure that was possible.
“I’m grateful for everything you’ve given me,” Jade started. “You gave me a life I would never have had, but I’m happy here with what I’m doing. Can you respect my decisions? Can we just agree that we’re two different people and that we won’t always agree?”
Lana’s eyes misted. Hopefully, Jade hadn’t gone too far, but she couldn’t keep dancing around this, and they were both adults who just had to face the reality that they would never have a close mother-daughter bond.
“You’re right,” her mother whispered. She picked up her napkin and delicately dabbed beneath each eye so as not to mess up her mascara. “We are different. No matter how I tried to make you my little clone.”
Jade smiled at her mother’s honesty. “You didn’t do a bad job raising me. You made me independent.”
“Defiant,” Lana countered with a soft grin. “But I suppose that’s part of parenting. We can only do so much, and then you need to go off on your own.”
Never in
her life had she thought Lana McKenzie would admit she was taking a step back. There may be hope for their relationship; at least they weren’t bickering. Jade sincerely hoped this was a step in the right direction, mending years of animosity.
“I’m staying in Haven,” Jade went on. “I’ve already talked to Livie about buying her house.”
“Well, it is a lovely, historical home.” Her mother picked up her fork and mixed up her salad. “I would like to know one thing, though.”
“What’s that?”
Lana’s piercing eyes met hers. “Was Cash actually your boyfriend at the wedding?”
Jade shook her head and reached for her turkey wrap. “No. At that point he was little more than a friend, but we drove each other crazy.”