#Chapter 267: Three Little Love Bites

I’m a deer in headlights, except I’m trapped in a situation totally of my own design. I don’t have the slightest clue how to explain to my mom my current relationship with the brothers. We’re not dating, but we’re not nothing. Friends with benefits doesn’t quite feel right either, not even with Beau anymore really. But boyfriends? That definitely is incorrect. “I don’t have a boyfriend, Mom,” I say into the phone. “Oh,” Mom says with a sigh. “I’ve been hoping… Those Hayes boys are so well-established. And you’re all so young.” “Mom, please.” “Don’t begrudge your mother a little wishful thinking. After the life we’ve lived, of course I would want my daughter to find the same happiness that her mother has.” I’m not angry with her for the idea. Hell, I’ve fantasized about being a partner to one of the brothers myself. But the reality is, they are unattainable. Their hearts are walled off from any romantic kind of love. They know familial affection, certainly, between each