I flinched. I couldn’t remember a time in my entire life when I heard my mom’s voice sound that angry.
“I love her.”
Dead. Fisher just slayed me. Lassoed my heart. And locked it up in his castle where it will take an army or an act of God to steal it from him.
“That is not an answer! That is my daughter. What the fuck are you doing with my daughter? She is ten years younger than you … and YOU ARE ENGAGED!”
There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds.
Then Fisher spoke. Calm. Controlled. Matter-of-fact.
“I love her.”
Tears burned my eyes, and I couldn’t take it any longer. I opened the door.
“Stay in the bedroom, Reese,” Fisher said with his back to me as Rory stared me down.
My hero. Protecting me. Loving me …
Tying my scrub pants, I slowly shuffled my feet down the hallway.
Rory’s jaw clenched, readying for whatever she might have thought I was about to say.
Plead my case?
Apologize?
Beg for forgiveness?
None of the above. I came out of the bedroom for one reason and one reason only. Turning to face Fisher, I blinked and the tears fell in heavy streams as I lifted onto my toes, pressed my palms to his face, and whispered, “I love you, my lost fisherman,” before kissing him.
Soft and slow.
No regard for Rory and her audible gasp.
When the kiss ended, he smiled and wiped my cheeks, looking at me so adoringly like Rory wasn’t there. Like we were in our bubble.
Then I turned and gathered my shirt and jacket, slipping them on as I made my way to the garage door where I shoved my feet back into my shoes. “Let’s go home, Mom.”
Mom.
I rarely, if ever, called her that, but that day I was leaving Fisher’s house with a full heart, going home to tell my mom everything.
It was one thing to hear someone tell you they love you. It was something entirely different, infinitely more special to hear them say the words to someone else like it was a three-word explanation for their existence.
I love her.
I was the luckiest her in the world.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I made it home a few minutes before Rory. She might have stayed to give Fisher a few more pieces of her mind.
“Hey, you look exhausted,” Rose said as she glanced up from her computer at the kitchen table. Then she narrowed her eyes. “Have you been crying?”
I nodded, setting my bag on the floor by the hallway. “Rory will be here any minute. I need to talk with her alone. Can you work at a cafe or the library for a while?”
Rose kept her concerned expression for a few seconds before nodding. “Is it time?”
Feeling another round of tears, I simply nodded. “Past time,” I managed to eke out.
“She knows.”
I nodded.
Rose stood and closed her computer. “Oh boy … it’s going to be a rough weekend.” She slipped her computer in her messenger bag and hiked it onto her shoulder just as Rory entered the house.
They made eye contact. And it was like Rose coffered her part with one look.
Rory slowly shook her head and grimaced. “Un-fucking-believable.”
Rose stopped before going out the back door. “Remember forbidden love?” She leaned over to kiss Rory’s cheek, but Rory pulled away.