Natalia snorts, pushing a stray spiral out behind her ear. “They don’t visit very often, so… it was weird.”
“So, why the fake boyfriend?”
“You stepped in. You did it to yourself,” Natalia retorts.
I chuckle and let the meal cook. “Okay, yes, but you were already lying to them, so why?”
Natalia shrugs. “They want me to be happy.”
I lean back against the counter and cross my arms. “And are you?”
She toys with her fingers, her nails painted lilac purple, and her shoulders curve in, her head hanging between them. “I have my bakery.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“It’s a sufficient enough answer.”
“It’s not,” I mutter. “They’re still traveling?” I stir one last time now that it’s ready and leave it to reach for a bowl.
She nods, cautiously pulling a stool at the table. “Can I sit?”
“Yeah.”
“They have an RV now,” she murmurs, and her fingers toy with the paper box she delivered my cupcakes in. “So they’re driving around.”
“I thought they were in Europe until I saw them in your bakery,” I say, scooping the mac and cheese into the bowl.
“Theywere,” she mutters, and I don’t miss the resentment in her voice. “I guess they saw what they needed to see already.”
I grab a big round spoon and slip it into the mac and cheese, pushing the bowl in front of her. “You never went with them.”
Natalia blinks down at the bowl. “What’s this?”
“Mac and cheese,” I say and go to wash my hands at the sink. “So, why didn’t you go with them?”
“You made me mac and cheese?” Natalia eyes me suspiciously as I dry my hands, as though my intentions are nefarious.
“I did,” I say and toss the paper towel into the trash bin.
“Why?”
With a sigh, I lean with my hands on the table. “Becauseyou like mac and cheese,” I tell her. “And this is better than whatever you make out of the box.”
“My box is just fine, thank you,” she grumbles.
I arch a brow and she gives me a look.
“I heard it,” she snaps, and I tame my childish giggle. “Don’t say it.”
“Why didn’t you travel with your dads?” I ask again and she finally, hesitantly, picks up the spoon.
Natalia eats the first spoonful, her eyelids fluttering closed as she moans softly before she goes for another spoonful. “I wanted to open my bakery.”
“That’s it? That’s the only reason.”
Natalia nods with her mouth full.Liar. “Are you going to Lana’s birthday party next week?”
To distract myself from questioning her further, I walk away to occupy myself with something else. “Of course I am,” I answer. “It’s on Halloween. I love Halloween.”
