Kyrie

Total Eclipse of the Heart

" I 'm not sure how much longer I can watch you mope around the Inn. Do you want me to call Aunt Stevie? I bet she would love to give Crue a piece of her mind for the way he hurt you—or better yet, she could put a curse on his thingy so it would never get hard again. I'm pretty sure she did that to Lindsey when they broke up."

I love my mom and her fierce protection of me that would have her plotting the demise of Crue's cock. And I'm pretty sure Mom's right about Aunt Stevie putting a curse on her ex-boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham. Why else would he stay in the group and sing backup vocals on songs Aunt Stevie wrote about him and his cheating ways?

"It's fine, Mom, I don't need your help, and I definitely don't need Aunt Stevie's help." As much as I want to hurt Crue, his cock is too much of a piece of art to destroy. If you've ever seen that sex video with Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson—Crue's cock is ten times better than Tommy Lee's.

"Fine, then, at least let me have your father pull the rights to Sweet Child, so Crue and his band will have to find a different way to capitalize on someone else's success." The fire in my mom's eyes is almost scary. She's known for her bubbly personality and kind heart, but I've never seen this side of her—I'm not sure if I should be happy or terrified.

"No, Mom, if you and Dad have taught me anything, it's that when you give your word, you keep it."

"But, honey, Crue hurt you. He shouldn't be able to go on with his life like nothing happened between the two of you. It's been six weeks, and he hasn't even tried to contact you."

I'm well aware of how long it's been—between my missed period and the positive pregnancy test in my bathroom garbage. I fight the urge to touch my stomach like I've been doing all day today since I first found out I was pregnant.

"Mom, I said it's fine. I'm a big girl. I'll get through this." I don't add that I'll have a little one helping me get over the pain—someone I can transfer all that love to.

"But…"

"No, buts. Now, are you going to help me with the plans for the wedding venue?" It's time I get started on my dream of having an all-in-one wedding/conference center on the vineyard grounds. What better way to showcase the winery than to hold weddings overlooking the vineyard?

Plus, my child will need a legacy of their own to grow up with since they won't have a father.

"Fine. I'll help you look at the plans for the new venue but then you and I are going to Vine'yl Anthems for a drink. It's time you went back to the bar and had some fun. I hear your Dad hired a new and upcoming rock band for tonight. They're a cover band, but they have a few of their own original songs."

The last thing I want to do is go back to the bar where I first met Crue. It's bad enough I'm still sleeping in the same bed we made love in, but to go back to the place where he helped me conquer my fear of singing in front of an audience again would be too much to bear.

I've been lucky enough that my Dad took over the running of the winery. He said he wanted to give me time to concentrate on the plans for the new venue, but we both know the truth.

"You win. I'll go to Vine'yl tonight." I throw up my hands in defeat. Whoever said my Mom is America's Sweetheart has never seen this side of her before. She's like a dog with a bone. Maybe I need to get her focused on my Dad's bone so she'll leave my bone, I mean, my life alone.

Mom claps her hands together and squeals like a preteen girl at her first rock concert, "I've got the perfect outfit you can wear. It's one of my vintage denim miniskirts, which I used to wear back in the '80s. It's one of my favorites. Your Dad's, too. Whenever I wore it around him, it didn't stay on very long, if you catch my drift." Mom wiggles her eyebrows at me, and unfortunately, I do get her drift. "You might meet someone at Vine'yl who will want to see it crumbled on his bedroom floor."

Ugh, who is this woman, and what did she do with my sweet, wholesome mother?

"Um, no thanks. I'll stick with something from my closet." I rush out of the room before she can tell me anything else about her sex life or mine.

Back in my room, I review the plans for the new venue and approve the final draft with a click of my mouse, leaving me plenty of time to get ready.

Once I shower and dress in my favorite short, tight purple dress—one that won't fit me much longer—and matching high heels, I slowly make my way down the stairs, debating with myself if this is a good idea or not, when my eyes land on my Mom waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, wearing a short denim miniskirt that I can only assume is her favorite—at least someone is getting lucky tonight.