She motions with her free hand toward Bev. “Any of us, you hear? That’s what small-town living means. All for one, and one for all. Isn’t that what they say? In fact, Gracie—” she turns to me with a glare “—why haven’t you invited Ryder over for dinner yet?”
I don’t even bother trying to explain myself. When Ma goes on a rant, there’s nothing that can stop her. Maybe my dad, but not always. So, I just sigh and watch while Ma practically inducts Ryder into the Bianchi family. She’s a one-woman welcome wagon.
He looks overwhelmed and a little flustered, but seeing him listen to my mom, his stubbled cheek in her hand, is strangely satisfying. He seems like he’s actually listening to her, which is endearing. Sweet. He’s got a grateful smile and the faintest hint of a blush reddening his cheeks.
I’m honestly a little jealous it’s so easy for Ma to touch the guy.
She releases his face, and I expect him to brush her off or politely decline all of her offers, but to my absolute shock, he accepts.
“We’d love a little help,” he says. “I actually just pulled my kids out of Miss Thompson’s daycare, and I haven’t made much progress finding alternative arrangements. If you had any suggest—”
Ma cuts him off with a dramatic hand gesture at her friend Bev. “What did I tell you? Did I not tell you?”
Ma shakes her head, moving her body so much with the gesture that her jangly bracelets clang together as she moves. “That woman is a mess. I know Kelly’s mother and that whole family… Nothing but drama.”
“Ma.” I butt in, putting a stop to small-town gossip. “Kelly runs a fine place. If it didn’t work out for Ryder, it didn’t work out.”
“Miss Thompson’s name is Kelly? I thought her summer aide was Kelly?” Ryder looks even more confused.
Thankfully, Todd is coming our way with a tray heavily loaded with food.
“Ma, our food’s coming,” I say, lifting my brows to dismiss her. “We can continue this another time.”
“Oh, all right. All right, I’ll leave you to your meal.” She grips Ryder’s arm and gives it a visible squeeze. “We’ll talk later, sweetie. Grace will give you the details about dinner. Enjoy your date.”
She gives him such a bright smile that I don’t even have the heart to correct her. The fact that he’s a widower doesn’t make this a date. It wasn’t a date before I knew he didn’t have an ex-wife hanging around. For all I know, he has a girlfriend or a side squeeze. And on top of it, if he’s a widower, the man is a full-time dad.
But correcting her won’t discourage my mother. Not now that she’s got the idea in her head. I’m going to be hearing about this not-a-date date later. I’m damned sure of that.
Ryder grins at my mom, and it’s like the temperature on the already hot terrace goes up ten degrees. He’s so sincere. So sweet. And yet there’s nothing sweet about the way he looks at me after he calls out, “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Bianchi.” His toothy smile and those chocolate-brown eyes look me over in a way that’s positively brazen.
Ma tuts for a minute about him calling her Lucia before Bev has to physically take Ma by the elbow and end the world’s longest goodbye. By the time poor Todd has managed to get our plates on the table, I’m glaring with my entire face.
“Goodbye, Ma,” I warn.
“My Benny’s the best chef in Star Falls. Enjoy.”
Ma teeters off on her heels, but they aren’t going far. Rita seats Lucia and Bev at a table literally ten feet away.
Great.
“You’re not from a small town?” I ask.
I watch while Ryder comes around to cut Cora’s grilled cheese triangles into four smaller triangles. He squirts a little line of ketchup on the plate for her to dip her fries and then two small dollops to make a smiley face out of ketchup.
She laughs and says, “I’m going to eat the eyes first.”
“Savage,” Ryder teases, then kisses his daughter on the hair. Once he sits, he looks directly at me and answers my question. “We moved from Columbus,” he explains. “We had a condo downtown. City folk through and through.”
I nod, lifting a brow and sighing. “Well, good luck. It may take some getting used to, living in a place like Star Falls. The people are the best you’ll ever know, but…” I motion my hand back toward my mom. “They will get right up in your business. And I mean, right up in there.”
Ryder laughs and rubs his chin as if remembering my mom grabbing his face. “I haven’t been grandma-bombed in a while,” he says. “I can’t say I minded one bit.”
I unroll the paper napkin from around my silverware. “Grandma-bomb,” I repeat, unable to shake the warmth that fills my chest. He’s so…sweet. “Just don’t go giving her any encouragement, or she’ll order wedding invitations and start looking at venues.”
Ryder’s grinning, but he has no idea how serious I am. My mother’s mission is to make sure her kids are happy, and that includes being happily partnered. If she didn’t spend so much time volunteering and hanging out with her lady friends, marrying off Benny, Vito, and me—now that Franco has Chloe—would be her full-time job.
“So, what do you think, bud?” Ryder nods at Luke, who hasn’t said a word since his lunch was delivered.
