Running To Him - Forbidden Hearts Series Book 6

42| A Day Of Surprises

"Tell me about your parents, Jamie."

As I sat across from Ollie's mom at the counter, all I could think was, "And I thought my mom was bad." The interrogations started as soon as Ollie left with his dad. But the funny thing was, I haven't freaked out. Not even after this last question.

I took a sip of my tea before answering her. "Well, I never knew my dad. He left when I was little so it was always just me and my mom."

Her face fell immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry. And your mom? Is she in New York?"

Pain shot through my heart, but I still somehow kept it together. "She passed away a couple months ago."

Celeste covered her mouth with her hand before reaching out and gently placing it on my arm. "You poor dear." She shook her head. "Ollie didn't tell me. I wouldn't have asked if—"

"It's okay," I said quickly to reassure her.

"Does Ollie know about your mother?"

"Yeah, he does." I was surprised at how easy it felt to talk to Celeste. But then again, she was Ollie's mom and he had to get it from somewhere. Which was why I wasn't surprised when the words just came pouring out.

"When she died," I said softly, "I needed to escape. I just needed to leave New York for a while. I didn't really have a set place to go at first. When I got to the airport and they asked me what my destination was, I just said Paris."

"Did you know Ollie was here?"

"No. He told me he was going to Europe for work, but he never mentioned where. We bumped into each other when I responded to his ad that he was renting out the loft." I took another sip of my tea. "I didn't even tell him that she passed away. One of my best friends was looking for me and called Ollie. She told him."

Celeste's voice was soft and filled with concern. "Jamie, I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. It's definitely been a...process." I was quiet for a moment, thinking about everything Ollie has done for me since we met in that coffee shop. "I just want to tell you that you raised an amazing son, Mrs. Lake. Truly."

"Please call me Celeste. And thank you. His dad and I tried our best." With a warm smile she added, "You know, I was beginning to worry about my son being alone for the rest of his life. When I spoke to him last week, he did tell me a little about you."

What she said wasn't really a news flash. She was like my own mom in many ways, including being obsessed with her child's love life. What was surprising was the fact that all of this didn't have me rushing to pack my suitcase and take off. It actually made me happy that Ollie told her about me. And even though it still hurt, it felt nice to talk to someone about my mom.

"I hope he said good things about me," I joked. "Although with my luck he probably told you how much I ramble when I'm nervous. Or how I came off as a crazy woman when we met."

Celeste laughed at that before she shook her head. "All he told me was that he met you in a coffee shop and that you needed a date to your best friend's wedding." She glanced away shyly. "And...well, that he really liked you."

Now I was the one smiling, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. "Yeah. I like him, too."

I ended up telling Celeste everything. A part of me felt guilty that I was telling someone else before my closest friends, but I couldn't help it. It was like my ability to talk had been taken away from me for a long time, and now that I had it back, I couldn't stop the words from spilling out.

Over the next hour I told her all about how we met. I explained my mom's crazy idea to give my number out to men. Celeste thought that was amusing, of course. Then I explained how Ollie came to my rescue by offering to be my date for the wedding and how he was insane to not be worried about meeting my mother-which made sense now after meeting his-and for dealing with being interrogated.