Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
This house, this street . . . it was exactly where she could picture Mirabelle.
The door was pulled open, and the woman herself stood there, an expectant look melting into surprise and then dissolving into tears as she squealed Sienna’s name, enveloping her in a lily of the valley–smelling bear hug.
Sienna let out a smothered laugh, holding the bottle of wine she’d brought to the side so it wouldn’t get crushed between them. In the momentary glimpse she’d gotten, she’d seen that Mirabelle remained beautiful, her blonde hair streaked with white but still in the same upswept style she’d always worn, her figure still trim.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Mirabelle said, pulling away and bringing her hands to Sienna’s cheeks and holding them gently. “Oh, my sweet girl. When Gavin told me you were back in town, I almost keeled over with happiness. Well, come in, oh.” Despite her invitation, she enveloped Sienna in another hug, not allowing her to move for a moment before again pulling away. “Gosh, you’re gorgeous. Look at you. You always were a beauty, but now, oh goodness, you must think I’m a mess with makeup running down my face.” She swiped at the slight black smudges under her eyes, taking Sienna by the hand.
“Hi, Mirabelle,” Sienna said, and she heard the unshed tears in her voice as a flood of comfort and the love she’d always felt for Gavin’s mother overwhelmed her. God, she’d missed her so much.
Mirabelle turned, and Sienna looked up to see Gavin leaning casually in a doorway beyond, watching them, a gentle smile on his lips. Their eyes met, and he tipped his chin. “Glad you could make it,” he said.
She gave him a slight smile in return, her gaze going to the photographs on the wall, the same ones Mirabelle had displayed in her mobile home so many years ago. Sienna’s eight-year-old gap-toothed smile. Gavin performing in a play at school. Both of their graduation photos. She swallowed. Mirabelle had kept them up. All these years. And though the ones of Sienna and Gavin together as a couple were now gone, the ones that spoke of Mirabelle considering Sienna a long-lost yet still-loved daughter remained.
“Come in and let me get you a drink. We have so much catching up to do, don’t we? Let me take that,” she said, taking the bottle of cabernet from Sienna as they entered a spacious kitchen with creamy cabinets, white marble countertops, and a pearlescent tile backsplash. All the shades of white somehow blended beautifully and made the whole space feel both fresh and warm.
And underneath whatever delicious dish was baking in the oven, Sienna smelled the clean scent of lemon. Through the sliding glass doors, pool water sparkled, large rocks forming a waterfall that splashed and gurgled, emerald-green grass surrounding it, as well as those tall palms she’d seen from the front. “Oh, Mirabelle, it’s just beautiful,” she breathed, looking around. “You deserve this, every bit of it.”
“Oh, I don’t know that I deserve any of it, but that son of mine keeps spoiling me.”
“I keep trying,” Gavin said. He was handsome in a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt, rolled up to his elbows, strong forearms showing as he raised the glass of whatever amber-colored liquor he was drinking and took a small sip. “But she still won’t let me buy her a car.”
Mirabelle batted her hand in the air. “I don’t need a car. Argus drives me where I need to go, or I take the bus. It’s where I get my spicy romance reading in,” she said and gave a small shimmy that made Sienna laugh.
Gavin gave an obviously fake grimace that then turned into a grin as he walked to a drawer, where he pulled out a wine opener.
Mirabelle gestured to a seat at the counter, and Sienna sat down. “Tell me about you,” she said to Sienna. “You’ve taken a job here, so I assume you’re back to stay?”
Sienna shifted her gaze away from Mirabelle’s hopeful expression. “Probably not for the long term, but for the next year anyway. I . . . I’m with someone who still lives in New York.”
“Oh,” Mirabelle said, a line forming between her brows. “I see,” she said, shooting a quick worried glance at Gavin, who was still opening the wine. But she brought forth a smile, reaching over and squeezing Sienna’s hands. “We’ll take what we can get. I’ve missed you,” she said, and it made Sienna want to cry again because she could see the deep sincerity in her expression.
“I’ve missed you, too, Mirabelle. So much.” Her voice hitched, and she was again overwhelmed by the same emotion that had flooded her by the door. Footsteps coming toward the kitchen saved her from an embarrassing display of tears, and when she saw who it was, she sprang up, a small sound of happiness on her lips. “Argus!”