"Becca!" Mom walked with the same grace and elegance that she always had toward me and Jax. I wanted to grab him and run: I wasn't ready to face my mother in person yet. But I stayed deadly still, staring at her big smile.
She was dressed the same as Angela in a white pantsuit that, compared to me, was blindingly bright. Her long dyed blonde hair was tied into a neat bun on the top of her head so perfectly that I didn't even have to ask if stylists had done it for her. In fact, I could spot a couple of her workers hanging around behind her, waiting for something to need fixing.
Good old Mom didn't need fixing, though. She looked straight out of a magazine, like she'd always looked since before I was born. Hell, I'd seen magazine covers where she was pregnant and still looked so gorgeous that men would throw themselves at her. How much had changed? Very little; I could see many older bachelors eyeing her in the background, waiting for a chance to swoop in.
Dad used to have to bat them off.
My voice was timid and small—smaller than it had ever been with Jax, which was probably why he looked so shocked when I opened my mouth and spoke with a smile. "Mother, it's so nice to see you."
Mom smiled back at me. "It's wonderful to see you, too, Becca! It's been too long, baby girl. Where have you been?"
"Busy," I lied as I accepted the hug she was dragging me into. I looked at Jax over her shoulder, who'd already forgotten all about James and was grinning at me. He soured when he met my eyes but I knew he'd start smirking as soon as my back was turned.
"How is the studio going?" Mom asked me, pulling back from the hug. A member of her team ran out from their little clump to brush down the front of her suit before they ran off again. I watched them.
"Great, we have lots of projects going on right now."
"You're designing, correct?" I nodded. "Can I see?"
"Obviously." I took my mother's hand, leading her through the crowd of people. The showcase was on now, which meant that there were several big companies like my mother's looking for new clients or new employees. I had no intention of getting noticed; no passion for the fashion world as a whole. I just wanted to show off my designs and get them made.
We reached the stall with my name on it, Jax close behind alongside Mom's team. I pointed out my designs to her and compared them to the design that my studio made for me. She talked and talked about how it was so sweet of them to make me something before slandering what they'd made, pointing out mistakes. I didn't want to listen—Jax certainly didn't—but I put up with it for as long as I could. Just as I was ready to burst, Mom found some of the design ideas I'd had set out on the table—more of my own.
"Wow! These are gorgeous, Becca. Did you make them?" I nodded. "I'm so glad you took the designing gene from me. Angela did, too, but she doesn't do hers. Did you know that?"
I did because she tried to steal mine.
"I'm so proud of you. Get these done, and I'll give some recommendations to my friends. Maybe you could get a line on the market and earn some money from this."
"Oh, I'm not looking to market anything," I denied, shaking my head. My heart was pounding in my chest. No, I didn't want to put these designs out there... I didn't think. The fashion world wasn't a place for me...
"Nonsense, Becca. Besides being my daughter, there is no way anyone would turn you away. I'm getting on this right away! You can't escape it." I wanted to groan but I just timidly nodded. Mom turned her gaze onto Jax, who shifted uncomfortably under her stare. "You, you're not the boy she told me about, are you?"
"No, Mom," I shook my head at her, "that's not him. That's Jax, my deputy-head designer." I told her as I turned to him. He didn't know he had that title, but he did. And he was essentially my assistant, too.
"Jax... I've heard your name before," Mom puzzled out loud, tilting her head to the side.
Jax smiled politely, albeit a little scared. "I was talking to Lillian before, Miss," he said quietly. "I believe we may have spoken once also."
"Right, of course!" Mom exclaimed suddenly. But she paid no more attention to Jax, twisting towards her team. One of them ran up to her to whisper in her ear. With the music playing in the background, I couldn't hear what the girl said. She ran off and Mom gave me that look. "I'm sorry, baby, I have to go. Duty calls."
Mentally, I was relieved. "That's okay."
"I'm proud of you. Keep designing and I might speak to you later." Mom pulled me into another hug, her team fixing her suit as she walked away. I waited until she was among the crowd to breathe out in relief and fall back against the stall, leaning against it like it was the oxygen I needed.
Jax stood next to me. "Your mother is kinder than I expected," he told me honestly, smiling. I tried not to glare at him. "And, for what it's worth, I'm proud of you for coming here, too. I'm grateful you brought me with you."
I glanced at Jax, if only just for a moment. He was smiling softly at me, his eyes sparkling under the light. If I didn't know Colby, there might have been something charming about that smile and the look on his face. But I did know Colby, and anyone else was completely off the market—like myself and my designs.
"Thank you, Jax. I need to step outside and call Colby."
"Do you want me to—"
I cut him off. "Just watch out for James, make sure he's in here and not out there. You notice he's gone, bolt for the door to warn and or save me." I stared directly into Jax's eyes. "Got it?" He nodded. "Good."
I walked away from the showroom smiling at random guests I truthfully didn't even know the names of. The second room, where everyone had gathered before, was mostly empty and the glass door Jax and I had run through earlier lay in wait. I pulled my phone out while I was still safe inside and started to call Colby.
A few rings later, he answered, though he didn't say anything. That was okay: I had some ranting to do about James. "Might have been a good idea to bring you instead, you know. There was this asshole earlier who thought he'd try to fuck with me. Vampire, too," I was saying as I walked outside. My eyes drifted over the dark to my car, which sat happily beside a silver one. "He wanted a bite, I think that's all. And apparently to shut my sister up. Not sure what that fucking has to do with me, but okay." I paused, glancing at my phone screen. "I know you're a moody shit but you're being weirdly quiet, Colby."
A long silence followed.
Then a voice I didn't know spoke to me.
"Sorry, Colby can't come to the phone right now."