All I Want by Natalie Ann Page B

that. He didn’t give her a chance to comment on it though, because he asked her something she didn’t feel comfortable talking about, at least not fully. “So, are you close with your mom?”
    She hedged. She was close with Trisha Springfield, just not in the same way Sean was with his mom. “Yes, we’re close. We’ve had only each other for a long time now.”
    “You mentioned she lives with your grandmother, and that you did too when you were in school. Do you mind me asking about your father? You’ve never said anything. I wasn’t sure if maybe he passed away?”
    Nope, her father was still alive. Unfortunately. And yep, she minded if he asked, but she wasn’t going to say that. Sean didn’t need to know specifics, at least not this early in a relationship. If they even had one. Nor did he need to know anything in depth about her mother. She tried to smile through the memories. “Let’s just say that I didn’t grow up with the same family dynamics that you did.”
    “My family is pretty great, but they can be overbearing at times too. I guess we’ve all got horror stories we could share about family.”
    She knew he was trying to make light of her comment. He’d seen right through her, she could tell. But she pretended that she didn’t notice, or that she wasn’t feeling any type of anxiety over the topic right now. Horror stories—he didn’t know the half of it.

Mother’s Soup
     
    It’d been two days since his date with Carly. After he left, he called his mom. Well, not right after, because he needed time to get his body under control.
    He was trying to go slow with Carly, but it was killing him to do it. She wasn’t making it easy on him, either.
    She was just so reactive to him and his touch. Like petting a kitten, she always snuggled up to him for more, seeming to never get enough. He wouldn’t call her needy, not really. That seemed harsh to him. But it was more like she needed him. Which was better than needy, at least in his mind.
    And he was fine with her needing him. He was more than willing to offer himself up to her at any point. All she had to do was give the sign. Only he wasn’t sure if she would, or if she had been and he was missing it.
    Normally a good reader of people. He wouldn’t be doubting himself so much, but the few things he’d been able to read with Carly so far were when she was embarrassed over something silly she said, when she was holding on to him, and when she was trying to hide something.
    He saw right through her when she was talking about her family, but he didn’t push. It wasn’t his place or the right time. She was nervous and clearly trying to hide something except he had no idea what. So what if she had a dysfunctional family? He sure the hell grew up in one. Most people did.
    After he got his body under control enough, he called his mom. Because really, there was nothing worse than talking to your mother when you were thinking of taking another woman to bed.
    “Hi, baby. How was my soup?”
    Fighting the cringe over his mother’s endearment, he replied, “It was delicious as always.” Of course his mother knew he would eat it that day.
    “There should be enough there for a few meals for you. How many cookies did you eat?”
    She still wanted to know if he ate more sweets than his meal. “There are still plenty of cookies left, but not so much soup.”
    “That’s a good boy. Save those cookies for later. How many beers did you drink?”
    “Not one. I’m saving them for later too.”
    “Oh really?” she asked slyly and he knew her mind was racing, quickly putting together the pieces. “Not a lot of soup left, and you didn’t touch the beer. So, did your date like my soup and cookies?”
    “She did. Said it was the best she ever had, and I believed her.”
    “I hope you fed her more than my soup and cookies. You better have done me proud and made a proper meal out of it,” she scolded him.
    “You raised me well. I made her bread and a