They moved down the hall to another room. "Sewing room. This is where she does that fabric and sewing machine stuff."

The room was filled with fabric. Lush jeweled colors and muted beiges. There was a sitting area and a work area, books on design and fabric. Even though it wasn't Jenna's area of expertise, the female in her squealed with delight.

"Oh, it's lovely."

"Girl stuff."

She rolled her eyes at Ty and they walked on down the hall. "This is my room. Prepare yourself."

He opened the door and it was as if time had stood still. It was precious. A twin bed sat under the double window and the room was painted a bright blue. Trophies of all kinds filled the shelves on the walls. A small desk cornered one end of the room. Photos of Ty at different ages filled several shelves on the walls. She stepped in the room and scanned the photographs of Tyler missing a front tooth, one of him with his hair falling over his eyes like it still did today, and one of him as a baby.

She put her hand over her heart and looked up at him. "This is so sweet."

"I've tried to get her to let me pack up all this stuff and put it in the attic, but she won't let me. It's creepy."

"It is not. She obviously loves you."

"She could turn this into a guest room."

Jenna sat on his bed. "Why would she?"

"Because people need to move on. I'm not a kid anymore."

"Maybe she loves these memories of you. Look at all these trophies and certificates." She stood and scanned the framed certificates listing Ty's accomplishments on the Honor roll, dean's list, even his academic scholarship letters.

She turned to him. "Weren't you a smarty?"

He crossed his arms. "Not just a dumb jock, ya know."

She was learning more about him every day, and she liked what she saw.

"Your mother is very proud of you."

"She could be proud of me by putting my c.r.a.p in a sc.r.a.pbook."

She laughed. "My parents have the trophy room in our house. Stuff from Mick and Gavin and my childhood, all the way through high school and college. Remind me to show it to you sometime."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. A room dedicated just to us kids and our accomplishments. So believe me, it's not just your mom. And it's as embarra.s.sing for us as it is for you. Some parents like to show off their kids. Your mother is not creepy."

He shrugged. "Maybe not. But I'd be happier if this room had a futon and maybe an elliptical in it. Something for my mom. It's like I died or something and she's afraid to touch anything in here. She's enshrined it."

Jenna snorted. "It's a parent thing. Get over it."

They went back downstairs and through the dining room, which held a tableclothed rectangular cherry table with matching china cabinet and hutch. The furniture had to be antique. Ty led her through the doorway into the kitchen, which obviously had been remodeled. There were dark gray granite countertops, cherry cabinetry, and stainless-steel appliances as well as lots of open window s.p.a.ce.

"Oh, I love your kitchen, Louise."

She turned and smiled. "Thank you. When I'm not sewing I'm trying out a new recipe, so I spend a lot of time in here. I remodeled a couple years ago, got rid of the ancient appliances and tacky countertops. Out with the old, in with the new is what I say."

"Except for my room," Ty grumbled.

"Hey, I like your room," Jenna said, taking the gla.s.s of wine Louise pa.s.sed to her.

"So do I. Some of my best memories are of Tyler's childhood. And I want him to feel at home when he visits, which isn't often enough."

"Because I'm too tall to sleep in that twin bed," Tyler said, rolling his eyes at Jenna when his mother's back was turned.

Jenna grinned at him.

Ty's mother led them into the living room, where they sat and drank.

"You are not too tall for that bed. It's extra long," his mother said as she sipped her wine.

"My memories are fine without you leaving my room the same way it was when I was six years old."

Louise turned to her. "It's a constant point of contention between us. He doesn't like that I won't pack up his things and shove them in the attic. But I love those memories of his boyhood." She took a sip of wine. "Life was simpler back then."

Jenna slid Ty a look. He shrugged.

"I saw your sewing room, Louise. And your bedroom is amazing. Did you make the spread and window coverings yourself?"

She beamed a smile. "I did. My mother taught me to sew. It's not something I had time to do until I retired a few years ago."

"Oh, how nice for you. What did you do before you retired?"

"I was executive a.s.sistant to the president of one of the banks. Years ago I started out in clerical work, then as a secretary. Worked my way up over the years into executive work. It was nonstop busy, and I'm glad to be out of it."

"It sounds very exciting."

"Oh, it was," she said, inhaling and letting out a sigh. "But my real joy has always come from sewing. Now that I have the time to do it, I love to make things for the house. I even have friends asking me to redo some of their rooms."

Jenna saw the excitement on Louise's face as she talked about designing for her friends.

"Do you have your own business?"

She laughed. "No. It's just something I do for fun."

"You're very good at it. You could go into the design business."

She seemed to ponder the idea. "I could, couldn't I? I hadn't thought about it. It was just a hobby." Then she waved her hand in the air. "But it's too late for me to do something like that."

"No, it's not. It's never too late to start your own business. You're still young and you obviously have the talent and the ambition."

"You think so?" Her eyes lit up. "I don't know anything about starting my own business."

"My family owns their own business. I could give you some pointers on what you'd need to do."

Jenna and his mother spent the next couple hours-including through dinner-discussing small business ownership. Ty had expected the worst. His mom had never liked any girl he'd ever brought home. She'd been rude and unpleasant and had found something about the girl to pick apart. Then again, the last girl he'd brought home had been when he was in his early twenties and still in college. She'd wanted him to focus on school, not on women. And she'd still been bitter over the divorce.

He'd just a.s.sumed his mother would always be bitter.

She was different now. More mellow. Or maybe it was Jenna who brought out a different side to her. Jenna didn't hang on him or put a possessive stamp on her relationship with him. She seemed genuinely interested in getting to know his mother, not trying to make his mother like her, or trying to make his mother see that she and Ty were a couple.

But that was who Jenna was. She was good with people, knew what it took to make them at ease. That's what made Riley's so successful. She made her customers happy, and it wasn't just serving them drinks.

After dinner they had dessert, and Jenna told his mom all about her family.

"So you have brothers who play sports, too?"

"Yes. Mick plays football and Gavin plays baseball."

"Did you ever play sports?"

"I played basketball and volleyball in high school. These days I only play when the family forces me into a basketball game at the house."

His mother laughed. "I can imagine it was difficult growing up with those boys."

"It was a challenge. But I held my own."

"I'm sure you did. I'll bet you can handle my son, too."

Jenna looked at Ty and smiled. "Nothing to handle. You raised a fine son, Louise."

His mom blinked rapidly a few times. "Thank you. I'm very proud of him."

Uh-oh. He needed to get them out of there before the waterworks started. "Well, we need to go."

"So soon?"

"Sorry, yeah."

They stood and Tyler went to get their coats.

Jenna hugged his mother. "It was such a pleasure to meet you, Louise. I hope I get the opportunity to again. But you have my number. If you're serious about getting that business started, call me."

His mother hugged Jenna tight. "I will definitely be calling you." She held on to Jenna's arms. "I don't often say this, in fact, I don't recall ever saying this about any woman my son dated, but I'm very glad to have met you, Jenna Riley. And I hope I get to see you again."

"Likewise." Jenna grinned and headed out the door.

His mom pulled him into a tight hug. He bent down so she could kiss his cheek.

"I don't know where you found this girl, son, but don't let her go."

TWENTY.

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO. THEY HEADED DOWNTOWN where his dad and stepmother had a condo.

"I have no idea why you were so afraid for me to meet your mother."

He glanced over at Jenna. "I never said I was afraid."

"You intimated that she was some maternal version of Medusa."

"I did not."

"It was close."

He shrugged. "She's changed. She used to be more uptight."

"She's a wonderful, warm, and friendly woman. I had a great time with her."

"Obviously she's gotten over her bitterness about the divorce, because believe me, I expected something completely different."

Jenna laughed and patted his hand. "You worry too much."

"Probably."

"Okay, now tell me about your dad."

"He's a big, friendly bear of a man, who uses his-I don't even know how to explain this-overly sociable nature to mask any sense of unease or diffuse an uncomfortable situation. That's how it had always been. If there was stress, Sean Anderson would crack a joke to allay it. Always laugh your way out of a problem. He'll also insult you with a smile and an easy laugh. His way of thinking is, if he's smiling while he's calling you a b.i.t.c.h or a useless a.s.shole, then it's okay.

"Of course it hadn't worked so well when my mom and dad had been fighting. My mother hadn't found Dad's sweep-it-under-the-rug-and-laugh-it-off way of dealing with their problems a good solution."

"Hmmm, I imagine not," Jenna said.

"But I think he's learned a thing or two over the years, because my stepmother, Gloria, is great. They've been married for ten years now."

"Do you like her?"

"Yeah, I do. A lot. She never tried to be my mother, only my friend. She knew what the boundaries were, but she had always been there for me if I needed her. And she doesn't put up with my father's bulls.h.i.t, which I admire."

"Sounds like they make a good match."

"They do. But I have to warn you, you just can't prepare yourself for my dad because you have no idea what's going to fly out of his mouth."

"Uh, okay." She had no idea what that meant.

They took the elevator up to the sixteenth floor of the condominium complex. Tyler laid his hand on the small of Jenna's back as he rang the bell.

Jenna's jaw dropped as the door was opened by an older version of Ty. While his mother was pet.i.te, this man was tall, with wavy dark hair that held a peppering of white throughout and at the sideburns.