Burned by Amity Hope

mother could be one of those people.
    His toast popped up and he quickly slathered on some peanut butter.
    We wandered into the living room, him with his coffee and toast, me with a refill on my orange juice.
    “Other than that, how was your talk with her?”
    I scoffed at the question, not sure how to answer it. I was hardly about to delve into an explanation of how my mom thought every guy I’d ever dated was a loser. Or how she was already questioning Jake’s sincerity when really, we hadn’t even gone on our first real date yet.
    “It was a typical conversation,” I finally admitted. “By the time we hang up, I’m always ready to strangle her.”
    “That bad, huh?”
    I nodded. “Definitely.”
    “Hey,” Jake said as he nodded his head toward the wall of windows that faced the beach. “Is that your guy?”
    I hopped to my feet and hurried to the window. I let out a growl of frustration. Jarrett and Quigley were shrinking as they charged into the distance.
    “Guess I’ll catch him next time,” I said. “I think he and Clarissa would be the perfect match.”
    I moved back to the chair I’d been sitting in. My juice glass was empty. I knew I should probably put some thought into how I was going to fill my day. I had called into work to let them know I was around. I felt like a high-school kid playing hooky when I’d taken time off for a trip I didn’t go on. I offered to come in but my boss, Terry, assured me Denise was more than happy to take my place. She was an older lady who also worked part-time in the office. She had three kids to help support and when I’d asked her, she’d been more than happy to take the extra hours.
    I had the next few weeks off, guilt free.              
    “So you’re not disillusioned by your mom’s numerous marriages?” Jake asked.
    His question snapped me out of my reverie.
    Was I? No.
    “Just the opposite actually. I think true love exists. You just have to find it. And sometimes, you have to fight for it.”
    “You think so?”
    I laughed. “Have you met Max and Holly?” He chuckled at that and answered with an amused nod. “I want what they have,” I said.
    Although I had to admit the two of them had some great examples in their lives. Even though Holly’s mom drove me batty most of the time, she and Mr. Hannigan had been married so long they’d be celebrating their fiftieth anniversary in no time. Max’s grandparents, too, had a wonderful relationship. Villette and Charles were the cutest elderly couple I’d ever seen. There was no doubt that even at their age, they were still head over heels in love.
    “What about you?” I asked. It wasn’t as if he’d had the best example, either. Not if his mother had lied to her husband Jake’s whole life.
    He laughed. “It’s hard not to feel disillusioned after everything that’s happened. But yeah, even though Darby pretty much annihilated my heart, I guess I still have faith that there’s someone out there for me.”
    I wondered if just maybe, I was that person.
    Before things could get too awkward, Jake’s phone chimed.
    “Sorry, I have to get this,” he said. He got up and moved to the kitchen. The muted sound of his voice floated to me.
    I glanced outside again, wondering if tomorrow I should sit on the beach with a cup of cocoa while I waited for Jarrett to jog by.
    Jake came back into the living room wearing a grin.
    “Good news?” I guessed.
    “Yeah. That was Clark McMillan. He asked if I could meet him for lunch on Friday.”
    “Clark McMillan…of McMillan and Sons?”
    Jake nodded. “He’s one of the sons. I’ll be interning under him. He thought it would be good to go over expectations before I start in the fall.”
    “You seem really happy about this internship.”
    He nodded. “I am. It’s a way for me to pave my own way. Up until the accident, I’d planned on following in Frederic’s footsteps. He works in land development and I know he can be pretty ruthless. Used