When We Met

Jaclyn simply squeezed my shoulder as she passed, her face set in quiet admiration.

I inched toward the front of the shop, my feet nearly pasted to the floor. My mother stood perfectly still, her eyebrows creased together in indignation. “How dare she think that I don’t—”

“She’s right, you know.” My heart was hammering in my chest.

She stared at me as her face traveled through a series of emotions, from shock to sadness, and finally landing on something that resembled regret.

“The reason this is the first time you’re seeing the store,” I said, feeling like a traitor to my own mother, “is that I wanted to finally have something of my own.”

Her shoulders drooped as her head fell forward. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I needed her to know exactly how I’d been feeling.

“Please understand, Mom,” I said, my voice quavering. “I know you only wanted what was best. I’m so thankful for everything you’ve done for me. But lately . . . you’ve been so insistent . . . pushy . . . and I . . . I should have spoken up sooner.”

“Oh, honey.” She stepped forward suddenly and pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry. What have I done? I must have really gone overboard if you didn’t even want to share what you’d been working on with me. We used to tell each other everything.”

“I did want to share it,” I said, tears burning the back of my throat. “Just not until after it was completed. I wanted you . . . to be proud of me. Proud of what I’d accomplished on my own.”

“I am proud of you. Very proud,” she said, squeezing tighter. “It’s just . . . I felt you pulling away from me. And I guess I tried holding on tighter. It’s like I blinked and you became this responsible young adult. I . . . I was afraid you wouldn’t need me anymore.”

“I’ll always need you, Mom,” I whispered. “Always. But you need to give me the space to make my own decisions . . . and mistakes.”

“I’m begi

“You don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that.” When I opened my eyes, I saw Blake headed from the back room with a handful of models, looking unsure of whether he should even approach.

“Blake!” I called over to him.

My mother released her hold to look behind her. “Is that him?”

“What . . . What do you mean?”

“The boy you’ve been spending all of your time with?” she said with a half smile. “I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.”

“Mom, this is Blake,” I said as I motioned for him to join us. “He’s worked just as hard on this space as I did. For weeks, he helped me bring it all together. All of the shelves were built by hand.”

“Very impressive,” my mother said.

“It’s your daughter who’s impressive.” Blake smiled at me and then shot out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Have you?” Surprise filtered through my mother’s eyes, quickly followed by relief—maybe that I didn’t totally disregard her, after all.

“It’s a pleasure, Blake,” she said. Then she turned to me. “I’d better head back out there to the other committee members. How about di

Even though I knew she probably just wanted to find out more about him, I was secretly thrilled at her offer.

“Thank you,” Blake said. “I’d like that.”

As my mother left the shop, Blake moved behind me and slid his arms around my waist. “Are you okay?” He pulled me firmly against him.

I smiled. “I’m actually pretty darn good.”

As a group of customers entered the store, Blake spun me around and gave me a heated kiss that was too short for my liking.

“When can I get you alone?” he whispered against my lips, and my skin prickled with longing.

“Let’s meet back here later tonight,” I said, and his eyes ignited with desire. “I think we have a runway to christen.”