Spontaneous - Brenda Jackson [13]
He shook his head. It was ironic that her mother was looking for a good man when his mother had had one and hadn’t been satisfied. Go figure.
“My mother’s been married four times, as well,” he heard himself saying.
“She has?”
“Yes.” He wondered why he’d told her that. He never discussed his mother with anyone. And it was only on rare occasions that her name came up with Terrence and Olivia.
Kim was sitting close to him, practically in his lap. He felt his desire for her on the rise again and hoped the cab arrived at the airport before he was tempted to do something that could make headlines in the Chicago Sun-Times.
“The last I saw her,” he said, “she was contemplating husband number five. But that was six years ago. She might have made it to number ten by now.”
Kim gave him an odd look. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”
His expression was unreadable when he said, “I never joke when it comes to the woman who birthed me.”
There was an edge of steel in his voice and Kim figured the subject of his mother’s desertion was a sore one with him, just like her mother’s obsession with finding the perfect man was with her.
The perfect man.
Such a man didn’t exist. But that was her mother’s dream and Kim knew all about chasing dreams. Just like she understood her mother’s desire to see her only child married. Wynona thought she’d failed in both the mother and wife departments. Neither was true, but until mother and daughter were happily married, she would always believe that.
The backseat of the cab got quiet, as if Duan was allowing her time to think, and then he asked, “When is the wedding?”
She rubbed a hand down her face. “They want to marry in three weeks, which will put me in more hot water because of a lie I’ve told.”
“What lie?”
“That I’m engaged.”
At his surprised look, she said, “Okay, I’ll admit that was a big one, but I had a reason for lying in this case. Mom and her sister, my aunt Gertrude, believe my exposure to my parents’ relationship for all those years is the reason I’m not in what they call a healthy relationship with a man.”
He shrugged. “That’s probably true. At least I know it is for me. I’m not sure I can fully trust a woman after what my mother did to my dad. I know all women aren’t the same, like I’m sure you know all men aren’t the same. But still, it’s understandable for anyone who’s witnessed all that to want to protect their heart.”
Kim nodded. What he said made sense. Her parents’ marriage had influenced her way of thinking.
“But I don’t want Mom to beat herself up about it and worry unnecessarily. I’m happy with my marital status, and I think Mom would ease off if it wasn’t for Aunt Gert. She’s a bona fide romantic. She’s also a reality TV junkie. A couple of months ago, without me knowing, she submitted my name and bio to How to Find a Good Man. Believe it or not, I was the one selected to go on a televised scavenger hunt to find a good man.”
Duan chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Trust me, I kid you not. Anyway, they wanted to surprise me, and they sure did when the film crew showed up at the hospital. The only way I could get out of it was to lie and say I’d gotten engaged after Aunt Gert had submitted my personal info.”
She shook her head. “That made everyone happy and I was left alone. And to this day, no one has asked me the name of my fiancé. But just like Sherri warned, the lie has caught up with me. Now Mom wants to meet him. I can’t put it off any longer.”
“Just tell them the truth.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know my family, especially Aunt Gert. I would go so far as to tell her to butt out of my business, but I know she means well, so I can’t. When I go home next week I not only have to meet what could be my fourth stepfather, but also take a man with me to Shreveport as my fiancé. A fake one at least.”
Duan thought it might be wise for her to just fess up and tell her family the truth. But if she didn’t do that and took a man home…a part