Free A Billion Reasons Why by Kristin Billerbeck Page B

her mother cared little for the finer things in life, so Katie imagined it didn’t make much difference to her one way or another—as long as there was a bounty of food on the table.
    The drive from the airport brought her to the harsh reality of seeing Mam, and Katie’s pulse increased with each passing block. Luc slid closer to her in the limo, as if he sensed her rising anxiety. It was as though she felt the cloud lowering over her, the fog muddying her mind and her goals getting lost.
    Luc took her hand and held it on the black leather seat. “It will be fine. I’m with you.”
    “You’re going with me?”
    “Don’t you want me to? It’s been a long time since you saw your mother. Have you even met her new husband?”
    Katie shook her head, and he tightened his grasp around her fingers. She ventured a look at his face and immediately averted her eyes. She pulled her hand out from under his.
    “It’s all right to ask for help, Katie. Your mother never was the easiest woman to get along with. She just wants you to be happy.”
    They looked at one another and laughed.
    “No, she doesn’t!” they said in unison. Her mam wanted to tell her how to be happy, tell everyone how to be happy.
    “Do you think she’ll give me the ring?”
    He glanced out the window before answering. “If she has it, I do. What could that ring mean to her now? It belonged to your father’s mother, not hers. It’s not worth a lot. It isn’t as if the stone’s the size of a golf ball.”
    She paused. “How would you know that?”
    “Know what?”
    “That the ring isn’t valuable. How do you know that? My grandmother died before I ever met you or Ryan.”
    “I just assumed that your grandfather came from Ireland to work the docks. He didn’t come with much, right? I’m sorry, maybe I assumed too much. I didn’t mean—”
    “No, you’re right. He didn’t. The ring isn’t valuable, in fact. I mean, it’s priceless to me , but in terms of . . .” She was blabbering. Eileen had told her to keep it brief, not to engage Luc any more than she had to, which is why she’d stuck her nose in a book for the entire flight. “Never mind.”
    “Don’t you think your mother will want to meet Poindexter before you’re engaged?”
    “Dexter. His name is Dexter. Could you give me the benefit of calling him by name? And no, I don’t think my mother will want to meet him.” She fought the urge to say more.
    “Your mother isn’t going to meet Dexter until your wedding day? That seems strange, Katie. Even for you. I know this place brings up a lot of emotion for you, but it’s in your blood. Can’t ignore it forever.”
    “I’ve done a pretty good job for eight years.”
    “That you have.” Luc sat back in his seat. “What did Dexter think of the magazine cover?”
    “Gosh, would you look how this place has changed? I hardly recognize it,” she said, gazing out the window. “So many new buildings—”
    “Meaning, you didn’t show the magazine to him?”
    She turned toward him, her face red with shame. “Not yet, but I will. See, Luc, you get that I’m the type of girl who ends up with my bum on the cover of a national magazine and why I would be doing something like smacking my ponytail across somebody’s face. But I’m not that girl anymore, so explaining that scenario to Dexter isn’t as easy as it sounds. He knows me as the lead singer in the church band and the hardworking teacher who takes her job home with her at night. He doesn’t remember an awkward, gangly girl who posed as a lounge singer to make her way through college.”
    “What do you mean, awkward? When were you awkward exactly? You were stunning then, and you’re stunning now. And I thought the pictures were very telling. Dexter should know he’s getting an Irish temper, don’t you think? Full disclosure and all that?”
    “I don’t have an Irish temper with Dexter. He’s a calming influence, like the sea. You are the only one who brings out