by Nora Ash
“I don’t know what’s up with all the fire cracks,” I said as I got up and, making sure my nipples were done leaking, shrugged back into my bra and pulled my dress up. “It’s been more than a decade since the twins last set any fires, as far as I know.”
My mum smiled thinly, but didn’t respond as she walked up behind me to help me close my dress. The worried frown was back on her face, now she didn’t have an armful of grandbabies to distract her.
I sighed as I watched her in the mirror. “You’re not happy.”
“I am,” she protested. “I’m happy that you’re happy.”
“But?”
She shook her head and looked down, but not before I saw the single tear trailing down her cheek.
I turned around and put my hand on her cheek, wiping the tear away with my thumb. “If you’re so happy, why are you crying? You know the twins will take good care of me, Mum. And I thought you and dad kind of liked them, despite how they’re leading me into a lifetime of sin?”
“It’s not that,” she said, waving my hand away so she could dap at her eyes. This time, the smile she gave me was a bit more genuine, even if her lower lip still quivered a little. “They’re good men. I would have preferred you just marry one of them, of course… it would make explaining your wedding photos on our mantel a heck of a lot easier. But I… When I look at you these days, sometimes I can hardly recognize you. You’re such a smart and strong and beautiful woman. So confident. And I… I can’t help but think of everything I did wrong that I can look at my own daughter on her happiest day and not recognize her, because she’s brimming with strength and confidence. And happiness. This is how you should have always looked.”
“Oh, Mum.” I didn’t pause to consider my dress this time, before I pulled her into a tight hug. “Don’t think like that.”
“How can I not?” she sniffled against my shoulder. “We raised you how we thought you’d be happiest—to be just like all the other kids we knew, so you could grow up and be… just like everyone else. But that isn’t you. It never was you, and we didn’t see it. You were never meant for the same kind of life as we were. Or as Melissa. And when I see you now… I can’t believe I nearly stopped my daughter from evolving into this amazing young woman.”
I wiped my own stray tears and pulled back, keeping my hands on her shoulders. “You and Dad gave me everything I needed to get to where I had to go before I was ready for this next step. It was up to me to make it that final bit of distance, and thanks to everything you have done, I had the tools I needed to make it. So what if you thought a safe career was the best thing for me? If I hadn’t been in that career, I would never have met Liam, or Louis. You’ve stood by me when I told you I was homeless, jobless, didn’t know who the father of my child was. And when I decided to marry two men, knowing what everyone will say about you for having such an outrageous daughter.”
“We’ll always stand by you, Audrey.” Mum placed a hand gently against my cheek and gave me a soft smile. “Now let’s finish getting you ready. You’ve got two good men waiting for you downstairs, and a life filled with happiness to live.”
My mother was right. I did have a happily ever after waiting for me.
More from Nora
Thank you for reading TROUBLE!
Want more Steel Brothers?
Read Blaine & Mira’s story in’ story in Dangerous, book 1 in the Made & Broken series.
Or sign up for Nora’s newsletter to keep up to date on Nora’s new releases!
Darkness
Loved the Made & Broken books?
Like the occasional superhero series? …With two extremely sexy men vying for the same girl? Then Darkness is your next must-read!
DARKNESS
If there was an award for Worst Ever Choice of Lover, curvy blogger Kathryn Smith would have won it. Twice.
When Kathryn inadvertently stumbles into a tangled web of politics, corruption and lies, there are only two men powerful enough to get her out of it alive. Only problem is that both of them demand more than a polite “thank you” in return. They want her, every ounce and every curve. And they’re not backing down until she surrenders.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that they hate each other’s guts and Kathryn is — quite literally — stuck between the two of them, they’re also both overbearing, domineering and completely impossible to read. Not to mention one’s an insufferable jerk, while the other’s a straight-up psychopathic killer.
Add to that a shared enemy who will happily kidnap and torture Kathryn to get to her new lovers, a city on the brink of destruction and friction burns in delicate places.
Yep. Worst. Choice. Ever.
Book 1 - 4 of the paranormal suspense romance series “Darkness.”
Features two uncompromising bad boys and their very steamy romancing of one lucky, voluptuous lady.
READ NOW