Page 6 of Beautiful Crazy
“That’s exciting!” A warm smile brightens her face. “Bet it’ll feel great to get settled.”
Remembering the technical reason that I’m out here, I slide her coffee and the white bag of bagels across the table. “I brought you refreshments. I noticed you out here when I was eating breakfast, so I figured you may like a bagel, and I hope the coffee is okay. I asked the young lady who works there what your order was.”
Gemma watches me for a moment, a look I can’t quite decipher on her face. “That was sweet of you,” she finally says, a glint in her eye. “Thank you.”
“It’s no problem.”
She takes a sip of the coffee, her eyelids falling closed as she lets out a moan of appreciation that I’m ashamed to admit has my dick perking up. “That’s so good.”
“So, I gotta ask… what do you do for work? You seem so focused whenever I see you. Which, at this point, is every single day.”
Gemma laughs, setting the coffee on the table beside her laptop. She must’ve gotten up and thrown the other one away at some point before I came out here. “I’m a writer.”
My eyebrows rise. “What type of writer?”
“Fiction,” she states. “I write romance novels.”
“Really?” I don’t know what I expected her to do, but I’m impressed. “That’s so cool.”
Cheeks pinking up, she replies softly, “Thank you. I enjoy it.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met an author before. Are your books in stores?”
“They are in some stores.” She nods, her smile contagious.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to work. I seem to always be interrupting you.” I chuckle, wanting to ask more, but not wanting to keep her from it.
Breathing out a laugh, she says, “You brought treats this time, so I’ll allow it. It was nice seeing you again, Everett.”
“Yeah, you, too.” I toss her one last look, taking in how beautiful she is as she brings her attention back to her laptop in front of her, and the way I’m dying to get to know more about her.
Back inside, I head up to my room and pack up my things. After I check out with Charley at the front desk, I toss everything in my car, plug in the address to my new house into my GPS, and I’m on my way. A few minutes into the drive, my phone rings.
Pressing the accept button on the screen, I say, “Hey, Mom.”
I’ve been so busy since arriving here, we’ve barely had time to catch up. It’s weird not living within driving distance from her anymore. Despite the strained relationship with my father, I’ve always tried to maintain a good one with my mom.
“Everett, honey, I miss you.”
Smiling at the sound of her voice, I say, “Miss you, too, Mom. How’ve you been?”
“Ah, same old same,” she mutters. “I’m at the salonnow, getting a pedicure. How’s the weather there? What time is it?”
“It’s almost one,” I tell her. “The time difference throws me off. But the weather has been nice. A few cloudy days, a little rain, but not too bad. It was warm and sunny today.”
“And you’re doing all right over there all by yourself?”
Breathing out a laugh, I nod, as if she can see me. “Yes, Mom. I’m a grown man, very capable of being by myself and surviving.”
“I’m just asking,” she stresses, but I can sense humor in her tone. “A mother misses heronly child, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah. How’s Dad?”
“Doing okay,” she mutters. “You know how he is, always keeping busy, never giving himself time to catch his breath.”
“Once I get settled, you should fly down here. I got the keys to the house today. I’m driving there now to check it out.”
“I’d love that, honey.” There’s a pause in conversation as I pull into the driveway. Finally, Mom says, “Honey, I gotta go. They’re about to get started on my manicure, and they need my hands, but I love you. Call me again soon.”