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you—“
    “Nonsense.” His mom waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “It’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen my son, and I plan to be here for as long as possible.”
    “Oh, that’s, uh… just…” Dandy? Swell? Worst news ever?
    “Wonderful,” Kenzie said, smiling brightly as she set the pan of spaghetti sauce on the table before returning to the kitchen.
    Ty scratched the back of his head, searching for different topic—one that didn’t involve him giving an opinion on whether or not he wanted his mom around for one day, let alone six. “So, how’s Dad doing?” Yes, perfect. She could talk about him for hours.
    “Really well, actually. He doesn’t travel nearly as much these days, so he’s able to golf a lot more, which he loves.” She paused. “But don’t you already know that?” She said it sweetly—too sweetly—the way she talked when she tried to camouflage the fact that something had upset her.
    Great. She knew about the emails Ty had exchanged with his father. So much for picking a neutral topic.
    “It was the funniest thing,” his mom continued. “I was dusting the den and decided to check my email, so I flipped on the computer and found your father’s email already open—with a letter from you right on top.”
    A sick feeling settled in Ty’s stomach. Please let it be one of his earlier emails and not the last one he’d sent.
    “Imagine my surprise and sorrow when I saw that you had not only emailed him back, but you asked him to find a way to keep me from coming.”
    It always amazed Ty how unruffled his mother could sound when she was anything but. He swallowed a groan. “Look, Mom. I—”
    Kenzie set a salad on the table, followed by a loaf of French bread. Her smile had wilted. “Who’s hungry?”
    Ty’s mom leaned forward, ignoring Kenzie. “It’s been a year,” she said quietly. “Aren’t you ever going to forgive me?”
    His mother made it sound as though she’d done everything she could to right a wrong and now it was up to Ty to forgive her. Well, that wasn’t how Ty saw things. She’d never admitted to being in the wrong, had never shown any sign of remorse, and had never apologized.
    Instead, the day Ty had confronted her about Nicole walking away, she’d opened a pint of ice cream to celebrate.
    And now here she was, telling Ty he needed to forgive and forget.
    As if.
    “How many times do I have to apologize?” she said.
    Ty’s fingers clenched around his napkin. “I don’t know, Mom. At least once would be nice.”
    “But I have.” Her voice wasn’t quite so sweet anymore, which actually gave Ty some satisfaction.
    “I think what you consider an apology and what I do are two very different things,” said Ty.
    She gaped at him, blinking. Then realization came. “Dear heavens, you never read any of my letters, did you?”
    “I read the first one you sent. The one where you said I should thank you for saving me from a horrible marriage.”
    “I did save you!”
    “And that’s what you call an apology? Reminding me that you’re incapable of letting your adult son make his own choices?” Ty’s head shook in disbelief. He shouldn’t have come tonight. He should have stayed put in his apartment and turned up the volume on his TV to drown out the sound of his mother’s footsteps and the reminder that she liked to walk all over people.
    “But you were making the biggest mistake of your life!” his mom said. “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
    “Unbelievable.” Ty shoved his chair back. It screeched across the title floor, sounding like fingernails on the chalkboard—which Ty would happily listen to over his mother right now. “You told Kenzie you wanted to come here to make amends, but you don’t. All you want to do is reinforce your delusion that you know what’s best for everyone. Well, newsflash, mother: you don’t. And I’m through listening to you.”
    With that, Ty strode out of Kenzie’s apartment, yanking the