A glance at Gavin showed him frowning. Oh yeah, Zoe was going off script. She patted his hand, clenched around his fork. “It’s okay, Gavin, we should tell them.”
“Right. What we talked about.” He glanced at her belly.
“No, it’s okay.” She turned to his parents. Hope and Theo watched, waiting. “You see, my brother is our family’s black sheep. We don’t talk about him much. He’s in jail right now. Not his first time,” she said sadly.
“Oh, well.” Linda paused in the act of putting veggies on her plate. “Every family has a black sheep, Zoe. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Yeah, Mom? Who’s ours?” Hope asked, her tone all innocence.
Linda glanced at her daughter. “That’s a good question.”
“It’s me.” Theo sounded bummed. “Because I can’t hold down a job.”
“No, it’s me,” Hope argued. “Because I keep dating losers, and my mother thinks I’m an idiot.”
Gavin groaned. “Not now, guys.”
“Oh, Hope. Of course it’s not you,” Van tried to soothe her.
“Sure thing. Take Hope’s side. Baby girl can do no wrong,” Theo complained. “It’s me, Zoe. I’m the screwup. I’m on my fifth job this year, though being back at the coffee shop shouldn’t count as something new, should it?”
“Ah, I’m not sure…” Zoe trailed off. The family dynamics had started off harmonious and gone sideways fast. Were Theo and Hope acting? She couldn’t tell.
“If Landon were here,” Linda began, forcing a smile, “he’d—”
“Take charge and tell everyone to shut up and cool off,” Gavin said, sounding bitter. “Jesus, Mom. He’s with Ava tonight. Let’s pretend we can get along without the prodigal son for once.”
Shocked at how angry he seemed, Zoe turned to note the surprise on his face, as well as that on the rest of the family’s.
“Gavin, it’s okay,” she said, trying to calm him down. They had her all confused. Should she continue this farce or get him to leave with her right now?
“It’s not. My head is all wrong. Theo can’t figure out what he wants to do in life, and Hope dates dickheads.”
“Gavin…” Van started.
“My father thinks tea and meditation will make it all better. And my mother just wants her kids to be better than Aunt Beth’s so she can win Mother of the Year again.”
“Amen to that,” Hope said.
“That’s enough, young man,” Linda snapped—clearly where Landon got his authoritative tendencies.
“Really, Gavin.” Van looked disapproving.
“And then I had to go and get you pregnant,” Gavin continued in a loud voice.
Everyone stopped talking. Stopped moving.
At the sudden silence, he sat back and covered his face. Man, was he good. For a minute there she’d totally believed he wasn’t acting. “Shit.”
“Thatisa baby bump I felt earlier,” Linda exclaimed.
“What?” Van looked baffled. “What is everyone talking about?”
“You’re kidding.” Theo gaped. “So there really is a baby? Sorry, Gav. I overheard the truth a few nights ago, when you were talking to her on the phone.” Another skilled liar in the clan.
Hope sighed. “Well, at least now I’m not the biggest moron in the family.”
Zoe wanted in on the game. “No, I think I am. Because, well, Gavin…” She paused, every eye on her. “It’s not yours. It’s Mark’s.”
