Page 75 of Love Gamble

Wonderful.

“I guess we better get this over with, then,” I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. “At least she’s safe, right? I’m going to keep saying that to myself over and over again.”

Maybe she will surprise me and be kind and hug me. And tell me she has missed me? I can dream. I’ve pushed her out of my mind as much as I can, and that’s how I’ve been dealing with it, but now there’s no more hiding.

I don’t need her to like me.

I don’t need her to like me.

I am a good person.

Damon kisses my temple and helps me get up. “Don’t let anything she says get to you, okay? Don’t let anyone have that power over you, even your own mother. You know who you are. Everyone who loves you knows who you are. And that is enough.”

It is enough.

And I am enough.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Damon

The fact that Corey’s such a mess over seeing her own mother makes me feel sick to my stomach. Why can’t this woman just love her child? How hard is it? I’ve never met Lisa before, but the things I’ve heard I don’t like.

I’m just going to be there for Corey and try to keep everyone calm. My getting angry on her behalf won’t help the situation, it would likely escalate it, but I will stand up for her if her mom is too out of line. No one talks down to my woman. I don’t care who it is.

When Lisa arrives, Romeo helps her out of her car and ushers her inside. She looks more like River than Corey, but I can see some of Corey in her through her facial expressions.

“Everyone, this is River and Corey’s mom, Lisa. She will be staying with us for a few days. Bella set you up in one of our guest rooms,” he says, leading her through the clubhouse.

“Where is River?” she asks.

“He’s, uuhhh, out on business,” Romeo answers, and the two of them stop when they see Corey and me.

With my hand on the small of Corey’s back, we both greet her. “Hi, Mom,” Corey says.

Lisa, who has a patch covering one eye, turns to her daughter. “Corey,” she says, in a curt tone, then looks over at me. “And who do we have here?”

“I’m Damon,” I say, offering her my hand.

She shakes it, while looking between me and her daughter. “And you are her boyfriend?”

“Yes, he is,” Corey says, sparing me a quick glance.

“I see,” she replies, her visible eye giving me a once-over. “You are a very handsome man.”

“Thank you,” I reply, and she nods and keeps walking.

That’s it.

A compliment to me, and not even a hug for her daughter. I look down at Corey and watch her as she sees Bella approach and Lisa embrace her warmly. Like a daughter. And I know her heart must be breaking. I bring her against me and kiss her forehead. She melts into me and flashes me a sad smile, before we follow everyone into the kitchen, where Bella is laying out some food for everyone.

“I don’t understand why Tatum would want to hurt me,” Lisa is saying to Romeo.

“He wants revenge on River,” he explains, sitting down next to her. “And you live out there by yourself, so he came up with the idea of going after you.”

“I’ve never really had much to do with him,” she says, thanking Bella when she hands her a mug of coffee. “He lived with his mother, and Robert rarely saw him. He always said he was a mistake. I thought it was his business if he wanted a relationship with his firstborn, not mine. He never made the effort. And then years passed, and I saw Tatum at his funeral, and that’s it. Why does he want revenge against River?”

Does she actually not know that River killed her husband?