Lochlan

"I do love a man in the kitchen."

Mrs. R leaned against the counter and smiled as she watched me rinse suds from the plates and stack them neatly in the drying rack. She was dressed immaculately, as always. A forest green sweater with gold buttons up the side of the high neck and wide legged cream trousers. Hair shining and pinned back in a braided chignon. There was a peaceful air about her I'd never seen before, or at least, it had been so long I'd forgotten. Shaking the water from my hands, I reached for a towel and turned to her.

"No, you need to be more specific. You like a man cleaning in the kitchen. Not cooking."

She burst into laughter. "That's not entirely true. If a man knows what he's doing in the kitchen, I welcome him. I've certainly done my best to make sure my boys know their way around."

My boys. I'd heard her say that a hundred times over the years, but today, I truly heard what she was saying. It wasn't just a throw away phrase. She loved me like a son, and whether she harbored some small blame toward me for letting Karen into her house that day, she chose to love me, regardless. All these years and it had taken a woman who wasn't much more than a stranger to make me see it. A woman who made it very clear last night with her words and her body that she chose me too.

Laughter, bright and intoxicating, drifted in from the parlor. Millie, Alex, and Marcus were engaged in a high stakes game of Risk. My father and Antonia stayed only long enough to pick at the delicious Thanksgiving meal before declaring they wanted to get on the road and beat the holiday traffic. We all breathed a little easier when they left.

Well, maybe I couldn't speak for everyone. Mrs. R genuinely wanted them here—at least, she wanted my father. She appeared indifferent toward Antonia, which for a woman as kind as Mrs. R that was practically dislike. I for damn sure was glad my sperm donor was gone, because if he'd accidentally touched Millie one more fucking time, I was going to deck him and then drag her into a closet for a repeat of last night.

"Why are you grinning so big?"

Spluttering, I shook my head. "I wasn't aware I was grinning."

Then again, how could I not? After Millie and I made it back to my room, we'd both calmed down enough to apologize for our behavior. She admitted Antonia's little scene in the foyer made her jealous, and I—well, I didn't have to say anything. I'd said it all in the bathroom.

We then agreed jealousy was dumb and a sign of insecurity and promised each other we would handle it the same way every time—thoroughly fucking each other's brains out until there wasn't room for anyone else in them.

I didn't tell her then that there was already no room for anyone else in my mind, nor did I mention how much I liked that our discussion implied there was a future for us. Because admitting desire was one thing. Admitting the second part was too close to telling her it wasn't just my mind that was obsessed, but my heart.

Mrs. R poured two cups of coffee and handed one to me. Sipping on the steaming black liquid, she angled herself so she could see through the doors and spy on the trio playing board games. Millie's cheeks were flushed, and her brows were pinched together the way they always did when she was determined. From her shrieks and outbursts, it was obvious she took the competition seriously. Yet another thing to add to the list of reasons I liked her.

"If you're worried I wouldn't approve, don't."

"What?"

The coffee splashed over the edge and burned the inside of my thumb. I set it down and sucked on the skin, immediately going back to the moment I met Millie in the coffee shop. Fuck, I had it bad for this woman.

"Millie. I see the way you two look at one another. I suspected something might happen between you two when you said she was staying with you. A blind person could feel the sexual tension in that room."

"Mrs. R," I choked. This wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with anyone, much less the woman who was my mother in all but blood.

"I will admit it worried me at first. I was afraid you two would screw around until you got it out of your systems. Then, if she was Marianna, holidays were going to be very awkward. But I should've known better. Should've remembered it was you I was dealing with."

As desperate as I was for this conversation to end, I wanted to know what she meant by that. "I'm not sure I follow you."

Her cup clattered on the saucer as she set it down. Green eyes bright with unshed tears, she said, "I'm not entirely unaware of what you were doing with the imposters who came before Millie—"

"Mrs. R—"

She held up her hand. "No. I don't know all the details, but I know they won't be bothering us again. You didn't like this plan from the beginning, but you stepped aside and let me do what I needed to do, only getting involved when it became obvious they weren't who they claimed to be."

"I certainly haven't done that to Millie," I admitted. No, I had done quite the opposite. When she confessed they'd only come to get the money, I offered her my protection. I betrayed my family.

"No. Because she means something to you. Something more than just sex. For the first time in your life, you've put yourself first."

If she was trying to make me feel better, it wasn't working. Her words confirmed what I'd known all along. This affair with Millie was pure selfishness on my part.

"I see that look in your eye, Lochlan. Stop it. Because that's the other reason I know Millie is special. If some small part of you didn't believe she could be Marianna, you wouldn't have brought her here. Especially after sleeping with her."

"How do you know we've slept together?" I asked, almost indignantly. Especially since it had been less than forty-eight hours since the first time.

She laughed, not the slightest hint of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "I guessed when you two arrived. You had that guilty teenager face, and then you avoided her like the plague."

"Maybe I just don't like her," I grumbled.

"Oh, yes. That's why you panicked when she cut herself, and it's also why you looked like you were going to murder your father every time he looked at her. Those are all classic signs of dislike."

"Fine. She grows on you."

"But don't you want to know how I know for sure that you're sleeping together?"

I grabbed her empty cup and mine and put them in the sink. Anything to keep busy and not have to look her in the eye. "No. Not really."

Amusement made her voice sound years younger as she said, "Because you knocked a picture off the wall last night while you two were in the powder room. And because your room is next to mine. I've raised two teenage boys and have only been a widow for a year. I know when someone is having sex in my house."

"I win!" Millie shouted, as Alex and Marcus booed and groaned. "Time for more dessert."

Anna's hand settled on my shoulder, and she turned my chin, forcing me to look at her. "I don't care if she's Marianna or Millie or a martian. I love the way you light up around her, and maybe..." She glanced at the door. "Maybe that's why she's felt like my daughter since she first showed up. Because she was meant for you."

With those words, she kissed my cheek and wiped away a tear I hadn't realized had fallen. "Thank you."

"I love you, Lochlan Sloane. Now—" She stepped back, brushed at her cheeks, and grabbed two pies off the counter. "Let me take these to the victor before a real war breaks out in there."