Maya's POV
My mother talked for eleven minutes without significant interruption.
I stood in the kitchen window and let her. Luca took his coffee to the living room with the quiet tactfulness of someone who understood when to give space. I watched him go and thought that he'd taught me fast too.
My mother covered the article, the ring, the custody case resolution, the fiancé situation, and the brownstone in approximately that order and with the specific energy of a woman who'd been processing a large amount of information alone for a week and was now releasing it at volume.
Then she said, "I want to talk to him."
"He's in the living room."
"Get him."
"Mama."
"Maya Lin Chen got that man on the phone."
I went to the living room doorway.
Luca looked up from his coffee.
I held out th
