"I spent President’s Day weekend in Providence with my family, and while my cousin and I were shopping in Pasco, I ran into Gabe. He got my number, and we talked and texted almost every day over the next two weeks. Then when I came home in March for my mom’s birthday, he took me out."
While they'd talked on the drive about their interests and fabricated dates they’d been on, Paige must have been working out in her head exactly when and how their relationship started.
"You're from Providence?" His mom gave him a sly grin when Paige nodded. "No wonder you were so eager to open the clinic there."
He was about to respond when Grace pitched forward in her seat. "Youcamehome? From where?"
Gabe itched to kick his sister under the table. She was going to blow everything.
"I live in Seattle."
Grace's brows arched. Her eyes darted to Gabe before returning to Paige. "This is a long-distance thing?"
"Yes, and it's been hard." Paige looked at him with such an adoring look that he almost believed she was in love with him. "That's why I moved home for the summer. To see where this leads."
Gabe's chest expanded at her words. Oh, how he wished they were true. He'd give anything to have her look at him like that every day for the rest of his life. The thought surprised him, kicking his heart rate up a notch, but it felt oh, so right. Holding her gaze, he brought their clasped hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
"I'm so glad you did," he murmured.
Mom's audible sigh pulled his attention away from Paige. The broad smile on her face was exactly what he'd hoped to achieve. Now to keep it there.
Grace's expression, on the other hand, was anything but happy. She continued to stare at Paige with narrowed eyes, watching her every move. Judging by the tight grip Paige kept on his hand, she felt every ounce of his sister's scrutiny.
He glared at Grace, willing her to knock it off. He didn't understand where her animosity was coming from. When he texted her last night to tell her he’d found a fake girlfriend, he didn't share many details. He figured the less she knew, the less she could accidentally let slip, but maybe he should have given her more information.
"What do you do in Seattle?" Mom asked Paige.
Much to Gabe's disappointment, Paige pulled her hand from his and took a tortilla from the center of the table. "I teach second grade."
"That explains how you're able to spend the summer in Providence." Mom put a small bite of beans and rice in her mouth and chewed before continuing. "It takes a special kind of person to be a teacher. I considered becoming a teacher many years ago, but keeping up with these two hooligans when they were young was enough to convince me I wasn't meant to be with kids all day."
"I'm offended." Gabe brought a hand to his chest. "We were angels."
“Hardly.” Mom scoffed. "Has Gabe told you about the time he and Grace decided they wanted to be Smurfs?"
Paige laughed. "No, but I definitely need to hear this story."
"Mom, no." Grace's attention finally left Paige as she scowled at their mom.
Mom set down her fork as she launched into her story. "It was nap time for Grace, so I put a quiet movie on for Gabe—Smurfs, of course—and headed out to the garden. I gave Gabe strict instructions to come get me when Grace woke up." Mom shook her head. "Apparently, she never went to sleep, and they…"
Gabe groaned and leaned his forehead into his hand as mom told Paige every sordid detail of how he and Grace had stripped down to their undies—well, in Grace's case, her diaper—and colored their bodies with blue finger paint. When that ran out, they switched to markers. That proved too slow, so he'd gotten the blue food coloring out of the cupboard. He was old enough to understand he needed to mix it into something, so he chose his mom's face cream, which allowed for triple the coverage while still effectively staining the skin. For days. Not to mention the stains they'd left on the kitchen and bathroom counters. Those had lasted for years.
Despite his embarrassment, he loved seeing the joy on his mom's face as she reminisced. This was exactly how he wanted to remember her. The vibrant, healthy woman who took them to story time at the library, picnics at the park, and on nature walks through the botanical gardens. If reminiscing made her this happy, he'd endure the humiliation. She deserved to relive all the happy memories. He prayed she could see that she was a good mother, and that he and Grace felt loved. She had nothing to regret.
Paige's laughter made his heart rate kick up a notch. He recalled wishing the first day he met her that he could help her find a reason to smile again. Who knew it would only cost him his pride?
"These two were always making messes." Mom launched into another story about the time they got the rice and oatmeal bins out of the pantry and proceeded to divide them among every bowl and pan they could get their hands on. "When they ran out of rice and oatmeal, they started using the cereal." Mom rolled her eyes. "I swear, I was only in the shower for five minutes!"
Gabe piped up. "At least I wasn't as bad as Grace." He shot his sister an apologetic look. "She used to hide her healthy snacks in her shoes, so she could have a treat."
Grace glowered at him. "Well at least I didn't go around asking total strangers if they were pregnant."
Shock filled Paige’s face as she looked at him. "You didn't."
"Oh yes, he did," Mom chimed in. "After we first told him there was a baby in my tummy, he started asking everyone he met if they had a baby in their tummy too, even men. As my pregnancy progressed, and my stomach got bigger, he continued to ask anyone with a bit of a belly if they had a baby in their tummy. He was particularly adamant with one older gentleman at the grocery store that he must be pregnant because his tummy was so big."
They all burst into laughter, including Gabe.
