Mamma Mia!
Phoebe Scuro. Ryan Cooper. Will Croft. Lilian Moros. A completely crack AU
“Welcome to the Villa Kiara,” the blonde greeted, a congenial smile on her lips. “Checking in?”
Kiara’s daughter.
There was no mistaking the connection, not when they shared the same steel gray eyes and stubborn chin. But the child’s bare shoulders were sun kissed, healthily tanned from the Mediterranean sun, and her shoulder-length hair was tousled, teased by the ocean breeze.
Kiara’s daughter could embrace the sun, in a way her mother was banished from.
“Yes, Ryan Cooper,” the green-eyed charmer affirmed with a roguish smile. “Here for the wedding.”
The raven-haired man waved. “Will Croft.”
The blonde – Phoebe, Lilian remembered from the invitation – stilled at the computer, her eyes wide as her gaze flicked between the two men.
They’re here! Omigod I can’t believe this – I’m finally going to meet him. I’m finally going to meet my dad.
Phoebe’s excitement was palpable, and Lilian had to bite back the urge to laugh giddily at the wave of emotion that radiated from the blonde. This was as familiar as her looks, the unbridled emotions that Kiara used to exude at any moment.
And then confusion hit, just as strong as the elation, if not more powerful.
She was looking for a connection. Something that linked her to one of them but seeing nothing.
Its fine. Li isn’t here yet. It’s probably him.
The telepath couldn’t stop the laugh this time, the noise echoing with astonishment and bitterness.
Kiara glared at her from the bed, the leather-bound journal clutched to her chest. “I’m not hiding you,” the blonde defended. “Every night, I scribble down the moments we’ve spent together, because I never want to forget them –“
“You have them with Li,” Lilian said, grabbing her clothes from the ground. From the drawers and crannies they’d found homes in, migrating there slowly as the lovers had begun to inhabit each other’s spaces.
“You’re Li!”
Kiara knew where she was wrong. But she refused to admit it, to acknowledge that she – a self-professed free spirit who lived her truth – was wearing a mask to shield herself. And the façade was a brick wall between them.
“And if your parents were to arrive tomorrow? Would I still be Li?” the brunette responded coolly. She slid her feet into her sandals, the last things that kept her in the tiny room. “I understand hiding part of yourself, Kiara, I really do, but I’ve left before because I deserved to be free.”
She closed the door behind her, closing her eyes as something heavy was thrown to the floor.
Phoebe had found the journal.
The gentlemen glanced at her, Ryan’s gaze wandering interestedly over her curves and breasts.
“Where is Kiara? It’d be nice to catch up before the ceremony, you know, to reminisce,” Will asked, looking around the lobby. His eyes landed on the courtyard and the fountain at the center of it.
“She’ll be here shortly. She had to go pick up my aunts from the ferry,” Phoebe explained, trying to be nonchalant. “So you two are old friends of my mother’s? That’s so interesting. I don’t know too many of my mom’s friends before she moved to the Island. Just my aunts Ren and Charlie.”
“Yeah, I know your mom – I was still surprised to get the invite from her, but it doesn’t shock me that she’d want to show off how beautiful her daughter was,” Ryan said easily. “I picked Will here up on my boat when he missed the ferry.”
“Oh, I was wondering how you got here before she did,” the blonde realized, hurriedly typing on the computer.
I’ve got to hurry. I need to get them out of sight before Mom gets back.
Lilian almost groaned as the pieces fell into place. A young woman looking for her father. A journal documenting at least one summer fling. And a mother completely unaware of her daughter’s plot.
She needed to find a bar.
“Just let me check this last guest in and I’ll show you to your room,” Phoebe informed them with a nervous smile before turning to Lilian. “Sorry about the wait. Name?”
“Lilian Moros,” the telepath supplied. “But the invite was under Li.”
Phoebe froze, lifting her gaze up to assess the woman in front of her as her mind went into a tailspin.
Li is Lilian. Oh god. My mom – oh god, Mom is bi. Mom had self-described mind-blowing sex with a woman.
“Sorry,” Phoebe said, with an apologetic smile. “You’re just nothing like I was expecting.”
Well, at least I know she’s not my dad.
“I can imagine,” LiLi said with a smile, stepping aside to let the young woman out from behind the counter.