“When did we decide that?” His tone is cajoling, a clear indication that he doesn’t think he agreed to that.
“That night we walked back from the restaurant.” I’ve been going out of my way to avoid him in the two weeks since, which only means he’s constantly on my mind.
“No, that night we decided to be friends. So I’m being a good friend and not letting you have dinner with your mother alone.”
He’s seen how truly shitty my mom can be to me, and he’s shown up so I don’t have to weather that alone. I’m not sure what to make of it. Itissomething a friend would do—maybe it really is as simple as he’s saying?
I glance away, and that’s when I notice my mom and Max watching us closely through those wooden slats. “Fuck. We have an audience.”
Aidan turns and follows my gaze, dropping his hands from my shoulders as he does. “We probably need to tell them we work together.”
“Probably.” I look back at him, chuckling before I say, “Funny how you assured me in Bermuda that there’d be no awkward family dinners in the future, and then you went and orchestrated one.”
I turn and walk away, expecting that he’ll follow.
“You guys okay?” Max asks when we get back to the table.
“Yeah, Danny was just making sure I was still breathing. I told him I was fine, but apparently he had to see for himself.”
Aidan’s posture is rigid when he takes his seat next to me. “Seems she’s okay after all.”
“Oh, good,” my mom says. “I was afraid we might have to skip dinner and rush you to the hospital or something.”
I don’t know what to focus on first—the fact that missing dinner was the first priority in that sentence, or that she thought I might need to be rushed to the hospital and didn’t even bother to come check on me? I try to give her the benefit of the doubt because, knowing Aidan, he probably jumped up first saying he’d make sure I was okay.
“I’m fine,” I say, picking up my menu. “Also, you married a doctor, so he probably could have stepped in before the hospital was necessary.”
Max lets out an amused chuckle and says, “Seems like Danny had it under control. Speaking of,” he turns toward Aidan, “how’s training camp going?”
“Training camp?” Mom asks, tilting her chin as she looks at her stepson.
“I’m a professional hockey player. I play for the Rebels.”
“No way,” my mom says.My god, how does she not know this about her husband’s son?It makes me wonder if she and Max talk about anything meaningful at all.
Aidan sends Max a questioning look, and I assume he’s wondering the same.
“I’m sure I told you that, honey,” Max says to my mom.
“You probably did,” she says, rubbing his arm. “Sorry, I’m just so forgetful lately.” She throws in a giggle that makes her sound like a teenage girl still trying to figure out if playing dumb is the right way to flirt with boys.
“It’s funny,” I say, “because after we got back from Bermuda, Danny and I actually realized we work together.”
“Imagine my surprise, sitting in a meeting in my GM’s office, only to have Morgan walk in.”
“You work for the Rebels, too?” Max asks, saving my mom the trouble.
“Just part-time,” I say.
“That’swhat you’re using your MBA for?” Mom asks. “A part-time job for a hockey team?”
I know Mom’s views on hockey and how much she hates the sport. I think she hates it just because my dad loves it so much, and maybe also because it took him away from her more than she wanted. Retrospectively, I’m guessing their unhappy marriage was half the reason Dad traveled so much for work. Once she left and it was just him and me, the travel virtually stopped.
“Actually,” Aidan’s voice rings out protectively, while his hand moves beneath the table to rest on my thigh like he’s worried I’m going to jump across the table and strangle her. I’m not. Sadly, I’m used to my mom knowing virtually nothing about my life, whether I’ve kept her updated or not. “Morgan owns her own boutique PR firm and is just helping out on a special project with the Rebels.”
I glance over at him. I know Colt, McCabe, and I essentially had that conversation in front of him in AJ’s office, and he just admitted to searching up my company’s website, but somehow I’m still shocked.
“Tell me more,” Max says.
