Chapter Forty-Five

Lincoln

 

The woman I’m falling for.

As I debated whether to reply with a silly quip or a serious answer, Mom reappeared.

“I was thinking we should host Michaela for supper.”

Now? “Mom, you’re welcome to cook again, but—”

“We can’t have an honored guest in town for a week without inviting them home, Lincoln.”

My eyes widened. Nothing could scare my girl off like a family meal.

Michaela turned to her with a smile. “That’s so sweet, Abby, but—”

“Michaela, dear, if you’re going to refuse, you better have a good excuse.” Like any good Southern woman, my mother knew how to use hospitality as a lever.

She looked to me. “I guess we’re eating at your parents’ house tonight.”

Joy. This was no casual, impromptu, hey-I’ll-cook get-together. Mom was getting in a chance for a family dinner a la meet-the-girlfriend before we returned to L.A. no matter what the status of our relationship was this morning.

I should’ve expected it, honestly. She probably thought I needed help to seal the deal.

So I pulled her aside.

“Promise you won’t go to a lot of trouble. Harry’s made us all friends.”

Green eyes a subtler shade than mine sparkled at me. “When have I been fancy in my own home? Trust me, dear.”

“Mom…” I warned. “We don’t need meddling. Michaela and I are fine.”

The lady in question had wandered into the office to give us a show of privacy.

“You’re certainly getting along, but—”

“We might not be traditional, but it’s working so far. I feel good about returning to L.A., okay? Trust me.”

She smiled and squeezed my shoulder. “Tonight will be fun.” A wink, then, “I’ll get out the baby photos.”

I groaned. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

Mom laughed. “We’ll see what the lady in question thinks tonight.”

Finished with her grand disruption, she took herself and her dusting wand upstairs.

I ran a hand through my hair, then walked into the open office.

Michaela had unlocked the closet with the safe.

“Last of Harry’s personal stuff to discover, huh?”

She carefully turned the dial until we heard a click. “I got the combination last night and it doesn’t feel right to leave this for another day.” She twisted the handle and pulled the door open.

“Want some privacy?”

“It’s okay.”

Still, I sat on the leather sofa. I was learning that if I gave her a little space, she’d close the distance on her own—another fact that gave me hope for the future.

I hoped she liked the angel figure I tucked in her suitcase while upstairs. Wasn’t easy to be sneaky around her sharp mind. With any luck, she wouldn’t see it until she was home. I tucked it under clothes she already wore this week.