He laughed, because that sounded so much like her. And yeah, he’d known she’d told everyone he was working at the inn right now, but he’d thought . . . He didn’t even know what he had been thinking.
Was that true, what she’d said?
Of course it was true. He knew it as soon as she said it. He knew that despite how much his mom had always pushed him in school and in everything else, she’d always been as proud of him as when she’d cheered for him, louder than any of the other moms, at the second-grade spelling bee, when his name was called for the first time. He’d gone out in the second round, but she’d given him a huge hug and taken him out for ice cream afterward.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you. I think I just felt so bad about myself, and it made me think you’d feel the same way. I wasn’t even going to tell you that I’d quit, because they want me to come back, for a bigger title, more money; I interviewed down there yesterday. But I knew I had to tell you about the Avery thing, and I thought it was better to be honest about everything.”
She put her mug down and looked at him.
“You interviewed there yesterday? Why did you quit in the first place? You always said it was your dream job.”
“Because I hated it.” He hadn’t meant to say it, but it almost exploded out of him. If he was being honest with his mom, it felt like all he could say was the truth. The truth he hadn’t let himself realize.
She sat up straight.
“You hated it? You’re going to go back to a job that you hated, for a better title and more money? Why would you do that?”
“Because I—”
He stopped to think about that. Because he wanted to? No, that wasn’t true; he definitely didn’t want to. Because he wanted the money? He supposed the money would be nice, but he didn’t need it. Because he wanted to prove something to a bunch of people he didn’t really care about?
Yeah, that was closer to the truth.
“What does Avery think about you going back there?” his mom asked. Then she laughed. “Oh, I forgot, you aren’t actually with Avery. I can’t believe you pretended to me about that, all that time. And that you got poor Avery to play along.”
He laughed, too.
“I can’t believe that, either. She’s a good friend, though she did try to talk me out of this. Which makes her a very good friend.”
His mom had a smile on her face.
“If real life was like all of the books I like to read, this would have made you two fall in love for real. So I guess that means it’s never actually going to happen.” She sighed. “It just surprises me that you weren’t really dating, because you’ve seemed so happy lately. I guess that was just not being at a job you hated.”
He shook his head. He might as well tell her everything.
“It wasn’t just that. I mean, I’m sure that was part of it, but I have been dating someone. Not Avery. Margot.”
His mom almost dropped her mug.
“Margot Noble? Your boss?”
“My former boss,” he said. “Why do you think I was so eager to quit that job? Anyway, I asked her out shortly after I quit, and you’re right. I was so happy.”
“Oh no,” his mom said. “？‘Was.’？” Her eyes widened. “Is that my fault? I said something to her at the party about you and Avery. Did she know about that?”
She didn’t have to remind him.
“Yeah, she mentioned that.” He sighed. “And no, I hadn’t told her. She was upset about that, yeah. But she was more upset about the job.” He looked down at the desk. “I thought she’d be impressed, excited. But she was so upset. She was mad about the Avery thing, too, don’t get me wrong, but she thought that me taking this interview . . . without talking to her about it meant I wasn’t serious about her. But . . .”
He folded his hands tightly on the desk and stared down at them. He didn’t say anything for a moment. Finally, he looked up at his mom.
“I’ve been pretty stupid lately, haven’t I?”
She laughed and pulled him into a hug with her good arm.
“I wouldn’t quite put it that way, but since you did . . . yeah, probably.”
He let her hug him as tightly as she wanted to.
Twenty-Six
MARGOT WOKE UP FRIDAY morning, groaned, and closed her eyes again. On the plus side, she only had a splitting headache; it could be far worse. On the minus side . . . everything else.
She eventually made herself sit up, gulped down ibuprofen, and got in the shower. After a shower, two cups of coffee, and a whole lot of water, she felt almost human. It wasn’t until she’d gotten dressed that she remembered her car was still at the winery.