“I’m calling to seek out out whether or not you’ve seen that video your… good friend posted.”

“What good friend?” I ask, wanting round for my laptop computer. It’s round right here someplace. “What video?”

“That Lawson boy,” she says. “Truthfully, Bailey, if I’d identified he was going to air his soiled laundry on the web, I’d by no means have agreed to that assembly.”

I cease in search of the laptop computer and pull the telephone away to stare at it.

“Mother, I’m going to want you to begin over,” I say slowly, bringing the telephone again as much as my ear. “You met Cooper?”

She sighs. “Concentrate, please. Sure, I met Cooper Lawson. He referred to as me just a few days in the past and requested if we may meet to debate some issues.”

Cooper referred to as my mom. My mom.

“What issues?”

“Ugh, all method of issues,” she says, her voice heavy with disgust. “Together with an amazing deal about your private life that I didn’t must know, thanks very a lot.” My face goes scorching. Evie picks that exact second to come back by the door, loaded down with sufficient takeout baggage to feed the pair of us for at the very least per week. I shake my head at her questioning look, holding up a finger.

“He made it clear that the three of you might be critically concerned in a dedicated relationship,” says Mother. “Mr. and Mrs. Hicks weren’t happy, let me let you know.”

“Drew’s mother and father have been there?”

“Carry your voice down, younger girl,” says Mother. “There’s no must shriek at me. Sure, Alan’s mother and father have been there. I count on your former fiancé most likely has some issues to say about your little association along with his brother and his boyfriend.”

I don’t doubt she’s proper, however I can’t spare psychological power for Alan proper now.

“You mentioned Cooper posted a video?”

“Sure,” says Mother. “I nonetheless get alerts about your cooking competitors. I used to be so proud to see you competing, pricey, earlier than all this distasteful… Anyway. I nonetheless get alerts, and because the present was tagged on this morning’s video, I watched it.”

For as soon as my silence appears to register and my mom doesn’t attempt to fill it.

“Nicely?” I ask, my coronary heart in my throat.

“I can’t imagine you haven’t seen it but,” she says, sighing once more. “It’s all very romantic, I’m positive, although that kind of gesture by no means appealed to me personally. He goes on and on about you and Andrew and the way a lot he loves you. There’s an amazing deal about an apology for denying your relationship when that nasty tabloid piece got here out just a few weeks in the past.”

Cooper made a video. About us? An apology.

“Mother,” I say, making an attempt to get a phrase in. “Mother. Thanks for letting me know in regards to the video. I’ve to go now.”

“Why—”

“Bye, Mother.” I really feel a twinge of guilt for hanging up on her however that is extra vital. “Have you ever seen my laptop computer?” I ask Evie, already operating again to my bed room to examine for it there.

“Kitchen counter,” she calls. Thank God.

Evie’s setting out styrofoam containers on the espresso desk once I retrieve the pc and sit on the sofa to get it booted up, pulling up a browser and cursing each lengthy second it doesn’t load.

“Come on, come on, come on,” I mutter.

“I believe perhaps you’ve formally misplaced it,” says Evie. She sits down subsequent to me, fork in a single hand, kung pao hen within the different. “What’s occurring?”

“That was my mom on the telephone,” I inform her, clicking by Cooper’s web site till I discover a video with immediately’s date on it. “Apparently Cooper posted a video about us.”

“Huh,” says Evie. One thing in her voice has me wanting up.

“What?”

“Um, that’s really why I’m right here,” she says, sounding barely apologetic.

Supply: www.seynovel.com