I mustered a pathetic smile. Tried to think of something to say to her.
Thankfully she was on the case, smiling at me as if this wasn’t potentially excruciating. “It’s so lovely to meet you at last. Matthew has told me almost nothing about you.”
I should have been all out of hurt for one evening. But, apparently, I wasn’t. Though, this little sting was at least familiar. An old friend. “I guess he wouldn’t have,” I managed, at last.
“I raised two extraordinarily secretive children. Matthew, in particular, holds the people he values most very close indeed.”
Oh God. My heart gave a desperate a lurch. I wanted to believe her. To take the reassurance she was offering me. Take it, grab it. Squeeze it like a small child with a teddy bear. “R-really?”
“Yes. And I can see why he likes you.” H
