I keep my forced smile in place and hold out a hand, blocking him from going in for a cheek kiss.
Not on purpose, though it would’ve been if I’d realized he was going to try to do the cheek kiss.
What in the hell has my mother been telling him about me? “Hello, thank you for coming. What’s your connection to the team?”
“Ziggy,” Mom hisses.
Kyle smiles at me. He’s a few inches taller than me, slender, in a suit that smells both expensive and new. “Big fan.”
“Like season ticket holder?”
“I, ah, no. Just a game or two every season. But I subscribe to the rugby channel. Watch a lot at home.”
He’s so lying.
I slide a look at Mom, who’s beaming at him. “Kyle was just promoted to senior lead manager engineer for one of the biggest environmental firms in Copper Valley.”
“That’s…not actually a title,” he tells her with a bashful smile.
Bashful.
It’s fake.
It has to be fake.
But even if it isn’t, I don’t care.
“Congratulations on whatever your title is,” I manage to say without any snark at all. Thank you, seven years of hardcore hospitality training on cruise ships. “We need more people in the world who care about the environment.”
I look to the guest waiting to say hi to Mom, and I almost squeak.
It’s Fletcher.
Followed by Goldie.
Followed by Holt, who’s shaking Dad’s hand with what I would’ve called a relaxed smile a month ago, but now, I can see the tension in his shoulders and the strain in his neck and the way his mouth is too tight at the corners.
He’s nervous.
And Fletcher’s glaring at Kyle while Goldie leans around him and gives me a finger wave.
Miranda looks like she’s torn between wanting a tub of popcorn to watch the show and wanting to leap in and save me.
I appreciate both of those things about her.
“Kyle will be sitting with us,” Mom tells me. “I can’t wait to hear more about his job. How about you, Ziggy? Aren’t you fascinated?”
“It’s not quite as exciting as a rugby game,” Kyle says.
Match, I hear the entire Pounders team yell in my head.
“I’m pregnant,” I tell Kyle.
His brows lift, but only slightly. “Yes, your mother told me. That’s exciting. I personally hope to have several kids whenever I meet the right woman and settle down.”
“He wants to be adad,” Mom whispers.
Loudly.
