It’s perfect.” I take another sip and close my eyes, savoring the taste. This is probably better than when I make it. Warmness comes over me knowing that he paid enough attention to me to know how I like my coffee. Cal wouldn’t be considerate enough to bring me coffee, let alone make it to perfection. When I open them, I find him watching me intently. Why does it feel like he’s always analyzing me?
“It’s no problem, Mrs. Fitzgerald.” There he goes with that Mrs. Fitzgerald shit again. He really needs to stop that.
“You know what is a problem, Alex?” I ask. His eyebrows rise up his forehead, waiting for me to continue. “You calling me ma’am and Mrs. Fitzgerald. Ma’am makes me feel ancient, and Mrs. Fitzgerald is reserved for the mean woman that is Cal’s mother. You can call me Elizabeth. Got it?”
He nods. “Got it, Elizabeth.” The way he says my name with his deep, smooth voice gives me the butterflies. I haven’t felt butterflies in my stomach over a man since I had a crush on that boy when I was fourteen years old. I squirm in my seat ever so slightly before returning my attention to the coffee mug in my hand.
When I glance up, mug still to my mouth, I notice he’s fixated on my lips. My hand halts its movement toward the table as I wait for him to look away. Looking back up at my eyes, he becomes conscious of the fact that I’m watching him.
He clears his throat before saying, “So, what’s on your agenda today? Are you planning on running any errands?”
“Uh, n-no,” I say with a slight stutter. The effect he has on me is becoming more and more obvious. “My mother-in-law will be here this afternoon and staying here for a couple days.” God, I’m dreading this. That woman is so pretentious and blatantly rude. I’ve never met such a hostile person in my life.
Alex simply nods his understanding and gets up to retrieve that extra cup of coffee on the counter. I sit and enjoy the quiet, knowing that in a couple hours it will cease to exist.
The next morning after Cal left, the gloves came off.
THIS MORNING STARTED out like any other, with the addition of my mother-in-law. I put on a happy smile, showed Cal just the right amount of affection to be deemed loving yet appropriate in front of his mother, and I kissed him adoringly when he left. Now here I am, standing in the doorway watching his car drive off. I wish I could stand here until she leaves, but I know that’s not possible. Might as well suck it up and deal with whatever venom she has prepared to throw my way.
Turning on my designer heels, I close the front door and make my way back to the kitchen where I know she’s waiting. We’re expecting Aaron to show up any minute. Hopefully he shows up sooner rather than later so I don’t have to be alone with her. Entering the open kitchen, I first spot Alex sitting at one of the stools at the island. I’ve noticed that’s become his seat of choice except for when he sat at the breakfast nook with me yesterday. Glancing in that direction, I see she’s taken my seat in front of the window. I fight off a snarl that threatens to emerge at the thought of her tainting my favorite morning spot.
“Can I get you anything while we wait for Aaron, Mrs. Fitzgerald?” I ask. When Cal and I started dating and he introduced me to his mother, I called her Mrs. Fitzgerald out of respect and to be polite. I kept waiting for the day when she would insist I not address her so formally and I could call her by her first name, Grace. Seven years later, and I’m still waiting.
“No, thank you,” she responds coolly. I take a seat across from her and seek guidance from divine intervention to help me alleviate some of this awkwardness between us. The silence becomes unbearable, the only sound is of her nails drumming against the cherry wood of the table. I focus in on them, noticing the perfect manicure to go with the rest of her perfect ensemble. Her Burberry coat is delicately draped
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