I kick at Lincoln’s leg under the table.
“Ow!” he hisses, eye-poisoning me as he rubs at his injured shin.
I glare right back.
He lets out a heavy exhale. Then, he turns to the table with a brilliant smile that almost has me fooled.
“Mom. Ms. Sasaki. Cameron. As you’ve probably guessed, this isn’t just an ordinary lunch. Jules and I have invited you here today to announce that we”—he clears his throat and gives me a sidelong glimpse—“well, we’re getting married.”
My mother looks at me.
Lincoln’s mother looks at him.
In unison, they bark. “Married?!”
Lincoln yanks on the knot of his tie. “Yes, married. It took some convincing—”
I cup a hand around my mouth and lean toward my mom. “You should have seen him crawling around on the floor and begging.”
“—but I have agreed to make Jules the luckiest girl alive,” he finishes, his tone flat and dry as he reaches over and wraps his large hand around mine.
“It’s the other way around, sweetie.You’relucky to haveme.” I squeeze his fingers with all my strength. It pisses me off that the big, strong man doesn’t even flinch.
“Oh, the luckiest,” he says through a tight jaw.
I turn to Monica with a smile that I hope is at least somewhat convincing. “That’s right. He really wore me down. You know me, I’m a stubborn girl, but your son is pretty persuasive when he wants something. That something just happens to be me.” I giggle coyly and I can’t help but wonder if my cheesy joke sounds a little too rehearsed.
Monica offers a wide-eyed smile. “Oh, well this is the most unexpected news.Goodnews,” she adds quickly, “but unexpected nonetheless.”
“Yes,” my mother chimes in, her question-filled eyes bouncing between Lincoln and me. “Congratulations, you two…”
“Yes, congratulations.” Monica hops out of her seat, rounding the table to pull her son and me into a three-person hug.
My mom joins in, giving me a tight embrace before wrapping her arms around Lincoln for a squeeze.
The women’s chatter escalates, building off of each other’s excitement and resulting in another round of hugs. It gives me whiplash how quickly their initial shock wears off, giving way to pure unrestrained joy. Gazes around the restaurant are aimed in our direction and people are whispering.
I grin at Lincoln. So far, our scheme is holding up well. I find myself starting to relax a tad.
But then, I hear a tiny voice ask, “Dad…you’re getting married…?”
All eyes swing to Cameron. A hush falls over our corner of the room.
The little boy sits there in his chair, eyes swimming in confusion, bottom lip trembling. I feel a tiny stab inside my chest.Poor kid.
Lincoln leans down so he’s at eye level with his son. “Yeah, buddy. I’m getting married to Jules. But you don’t have to worry. That won’t change anything between you and me, okay?”
Cameron gives me a doubtful glance before his eyes return to his father’s. “O..okay.”
Smiling softly, my mom reaches across the table and puts a hand on top of Cameron’s. “And you get an extra grandma, if you want…”
The boy awards my mother with a shy grin. “Yeah. Okay. Having an extra grandma would be cool.”
We all laugh at that.
Eyebrows scrunched together, Cameron goes back to coloring the back of the kids menu.He’s not sold on this. He has questions.Crap.
Meanwhile, the moms instantly go into planning mode, asking a million questions and sharing ideas for the wedding.They’re getting along beautifully. No one would ever guess that this is their first time meeting one another.
