I push the plate of cupcakes toward her. “Cupcake?”
She stares at me like I’ve just offered her methamphetamine. “Are you kidding? Do you know how many carbohydrates are in a cupcake? How much sugar is in that frosting?”
“Whatever. More for me,” I say, grabbing another one and taking a colossal bite.
“You want to tell me what happened?”
“Not really,” I mutter around a mouthful.
“So you just called me here to bear witness to your moping?” She snorts. “Sounds productive.”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’m already here — missing my workout, I might add. Paul’s traveling for work. All I’ve got waiting for me at home is a Paleo meal and a rerun of TopChef.” She stares at me, eyebrows raised. “Lay it on me.”
So, I do.
I tell her everything — about my father, about Phoebe, about Chase. I even tell her about Brett and his threats to spill the story to the press. It takes over an hour — in part because Shelby interrupts me with questions every two seconds — but when I finally finish, she doesn’t say a word. She just reaches out, grabs the final cupcake off the plate, and takes a bite.
Wow. I’ve made Shelby break her five-year sugar hiatus.
That’s when I know it’s bad.
“You know how, in the past, I’ve teased you about having run-of-the-mill daddy issues?” Shelby says eventually, after she’s devoured her entire cupcake.
“Yeah?”
“Well, I take it back. I take it all back. Because, holycrapthat is a helluva lot more screwed up than I ever imagined.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So, your mom…” Shelby’s voice is hesitant. “She admitted it? That Milo tried to be a part of your life?”
“Yep.” I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm — I’ve done enough yelling, today, where my mother’s concerned. “Apparently, he’s been reaching out since I was born, trying to be at least a small part of my life. He wanted to take me on vacations, introduce me to his kids, pay for college… And she never even told me about him. She let me believe he was this villain, this horrible rat bastard who abandoned me.”
“Gem…”
“The closest he ever got was this necklace.” I reach for my neck automatically, searching for the sun pendant, but my fingers brush bare skin and I remember I threw it off, after the gala. My voice drops lower. “I just can’t believe she kept all this from me. Kepthimfrom me.”
“At least you know, now,” Shelby says. “Maybe someday, you and Milo can move forward.”
“After all this time… I don’t know.”
She shrugs. “Well, you don’t have to decide right now. You don’t have to forgive him right away — him or your mom, for that matter.”
“She says she was trying to protect me, but… I can’t help the small part of me that wonders if she was really just trying to protect herself.”
“Did she apologize?”
“She cried.” I swallow. “I’ve never heard her cry. Ever.”
“Jeeze, that’s rough.” Shelby winces in sympathy.
“I love my mother — she’s my best friend. But right now, I need some space from her, to sort my head out.”
“You also need to call your boyfriend.”
I groan. “I can’t.”