Mallory smiled brightly. “Deal.”
Once she was out of the room, Susannah sagged with relief. She was still coming to grips with the last twenty-four hours herself and had been looking forward to having some time to herself when her daughter had shown up.
What she had meant to be a sweet, thank you kiss after Colton said he wasn’t going anywhere turned into a wild, sex-fueled afternoon and evening.
And morning.
Just the thought of it still made her blush.
The first few times she and Colton made love back when they were newly dating, Susannah insisted on having all the lights off. She wasn’t a young woman anymore and had more than her fair share of body issues. There were stretch marks from having babies and things were a lot softer and saggier than they once were. More than once she had cried at the unfairness of finding a man who made her feel desirable while her own body image held her back.
She got over that eventually and, considering how they made love in the full light of day, she knew Colton had no issues with her body.
And she knew how much she loved his.
He was in incredible shape – largely due to the physicality of his job – and she had spent more than an acceptable amount of time marveling at him. Any time she mentioned how sexy she thought he was, he teased her and said it’s because he was still a young guy and she’d have to remind him that he wasn’t that much younger than her.
Which was another thing that took her a while to get used to.
“I have issues,” she muttered, folding another cloth napkin. Ironing was one of her least favorite chores, but this morning it seemed like the perfect mindless task while she had some quiet time.
“Do you want blueberry or banana nut?” Mallory called out from the kitchen.
So much for the quiet.
“Blueberry, please!”
Turning off the iron, Susannah stepped away from the board, walked over to the front window and looked out. Colton left an hour ago and he was going to be back within the hour with the inspector. The last thing she wanted was to have to make small talk with the man who almost caused her to miss her opening date, but she’d do it if she had to.
“So?” Mallory sang as she walked into the room with a tray full of their coffee and muffins. She placed it on the coffee table and sat down with a knowing grin on her face. “Let’s talk!”
“You’re getting yourself all excited for nothing,” Susannah chided as she sat down.
“Oh, really? So you’re telling me that Colton didn’t spend all day yesterday and all night here last night?”
“I didn’t say that…”
“Then are you going to try to say that it was just time for the two of you to talk things out and that’s all you did? And that it took all night?”
“I didn’t say that either,” she replied primly, reaching for her coffee.
“Mom!” Mallory cried with exasperation. “For the love of it! Just spill it!”
A slow grin spread across Susannah’s face behind her coffee cup. Sitting up straight, she turned to her daughter. “Would you prefer it if I told you we had a night of wild, monkey sex to some Guns N’ Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle as a way to seal the deal?”
Beside her, Mallory choked on her muffin to the point that Susannah had to pat her on the back to make sure she was all right. “Jeez, Mom! What the hell?”
Still smiling, Susannah took another sip of her coffee. “You were being a little too smug so I figured I’d give you something to think about.”
“Ugh…I do not want to think about you having crazy monkey sex. That’s just wrong.”
“And yet, it happened.”
“Mom!”
“What?” she cried, laughing. “Are you telling me that you and Jake never had…”
“Do not say that phrase again!” Mallory interrupted. “And I’m not saying that we do or don’t, but if we do, I’m certainly not going to tell you about it!”
“Oh, stop. It wasn’t like I was offering specifics,” Susannah said mildly. “I’m just confirming that we did more than talk yesterday.”
“Okay, then. Well…good. And other than all the…you know…what’s going on with the two of you?”
“It wasn’t the easiest conversation to have,” she began. “I don’t like having to admit to all my flaws.”
“You don’t have any, Mom.”
“We all have them,” she corrected. “And honestly, Mal, I carry a lot of baggage because of your father.”
“I know and I get it, but…it was so long ago and you’re so much better than him and better off without him! We all are! Why are you still letting him live in your head?”
Good question.
“Some things you don’t get over too easily.”
“I get that, but you’re holding on to something that doesn’t even make sense anymore. You’ve proven over and over again that you are this amazing person!” Mallory said, taking one of Susannah’s hands in hers. “You are this incredible role model – someone I can only dream of being! You’re strong and loving and compassionate and Sam and I are so lucky to have you!”
“Mal…”
“I’m serious! Don’t let Dad keep doing this to you. He’s not worth it. It’s like you keep letting him talk to you even though none of us have heard from him in years! We’re all so much better off without him, Mom. Especially you. Don’t let what he did ruin what you have with Colton.”
Clearly Susannah was the only one who believed the things Mark said to her. But how…
Shifting to get more comfortable, Susannah placed her mug back down on the table and looked over at Mallory. “Do you think we can talk right now as…friends…rather than mother and daughter?”
“Of course,” Mallory replied, breaking off a piece of her muffin.
“When you’re young and in love, you have confidence and hope and even if you’re insecure about something, it doesn’t feel so big – and if it does, you tend to get over it quickly.”
Mallory nodded.
“You get older and mature a bit and you take what you’ve learned from all of your previous relationships and they make you into the person that you are. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes…not so good.”
Another nod.
“I can remember dating your father back in high school.” And for some reason, she smiled. “We were both so young and clueless about so many things, but we didn’t care. We found out we were pregnant and even though we were scared, we just felt like we were going to be okay because we had each other.”
“I can’t even imagine being so young and starting a family,” Mallory said before taking a sip of her coffee. “And to have twins must have freaked you out.”
They’d had that particular conversation before and it wasn’t where Susannah was going with this one.
“Unplanned pregnancy aside, I remember being confident in who I was and how I looked. All during my pregnancy, I still felt good. Your father never commented on my changing body and when it took some time to get back in shape after you and Sam were born, well…I still felt good. I was nineteen and things sort of bounced back, if you know what I mean.”