“I’m your mom. I know when you’re sad. And I also know that it’s because of a very tall, very handsome English boy.”

My eyes go wide, but I rein them back in after a blink. “Mom, I told you, that’s not . . .”

She flashes her best deadpan stare. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Not since I was seventeen and she walked in on me curled up in a ball on the floor of my bedroom, thoroughly hungover after a night of sneaking alcohol at my best friend’s house.

“Nicole Elise DiMarco, I may be from a different generation, but I’m no fool. I know when my daughter’s in love, just like I know when she’s not telling me the truth.”

There’s a pop in my jaw as it falls open. I snap my mouth shut.

Her hand falls over mine. Both her eyes and her tone turn tender. “Did you really think I didn’t notice what you were doing all those nights you went out? Did you think I didn’t notice all those times at work when I caught you smiling to yourself for no reason at all?”

“But . . . how?”

“I caught you two looking at each other a few times at the food truck. Whenever you saw each other in those moments, you just looked so happy. I knew something was going on.” Her burnt umber eyes fall to her lap. “And then the other day Mrs. Tokushige sent me all these links to videos about what happened at the festival between you and Callum. She was so worried about you, how you were dealing with all this.”

I let out the breath I’ve been holding. “Oh.”

Patting my hand, she flashes a small smile. “The way he looked at you those times I noticed, it’s the same way your dad would look at me. You can’t fake that sort of feeling, that love. And you can’t hide it for very long either.”

She motions for me to drink the rest of the water in my glass. I do even though my head is spinning. My face heats at all the times she spotted my smug expression after a night with Callum. I had zero clue.

“Wow, Mom. I’m a little embarrassed at how I underestimated you.”

She swipes the glass from the table and refills it at the sink. She turns to look at me. “You should be more embarrassed at how you two ended it with each other.” Again she sighs. “It’s no surprise you pushed him away. You’ve been pushing everyone away ever since your dad died. Except me.”

I’m speechless once more, just a string of stutters and breaths.

When she looks up at me again, her eyes glisten. “Your dad would be so sad to know that he made you this afraid of love.”