Thea spun around and cursed her wicked thoughts when she found herself nose to nose with Aiden’s sweet-faced mother. “H-hi, Mrs. Murdoch.”
She was immediately enveloped in a soft, floral-perfumy hug.
“It’s been too long. And call me Gloria please.”
“Oh sure. Sure.” After an initial hesitation, she hugged Gloria right back, surprised by the warm welcome. “Would you like some coffee? I brought enough for the group.”
“Well, aren’t you sweet. But no, thanks. No caffeine for me these days.”
“Aiden told me about Mr. Murdoch. I’m so sorry. When do you leave for Chicago? Can I help with anything?”
Gloria’s smile dimmed, but she said quietly, “We leave on Wednesday, and it would be a huge relief if you”—her eyes cut over to her son, who was now frowning and gesturing at the display sink—“well, if you’d look out for Aiden. Make sure he’s all right. Make sure he’s not lonely.”
Damn. Being dishonest to this kind woman who was worried about her son felt all kinds of wrong. Then again, she was going to be spending time with Aiden, so it wasn’tquitea lie.
“It’ll be my pleasure.” She made the promise and then immediately flushed. Did that make her sound pervy? Because there was pleasure and then there waspleasure, and Gloria didn’t know that she wasn’t referring to the second kind.
A clatter interrupted her frantic musings, and they both turned to see the large vinyl banner with the company logo tumble to the floor in a heap.
“Well, darn.” Gloria bustled over to it. “I bought a new stand for this, but nobody can get the silly thing to stay upright.”
Thea was already digging into her purse. “Hang on. I can help.” After a moment, she produced a binder clip and a hair tie and picked up the crumpled display. “If we loop this through the top and slide it over the pole, then clip it to the top of the banner, it should be good.” She spoke as she worked and quickly had the display securely fastened to the stand. “It’d take a tornado to knock it over now.”
Gloria clapped her hands. “Amazing! How’d you do that so quickly?”
Thea shrugged. “I was an admissions rep for Barton College a few years ago. I got really good at setting up and taking down displays at high school job fairs.” And while she was at it, she might as well straighten the brochures piled on the island. She slapped them into a tidy stack and then fanned them out like a Vegas croupier as Gloria watched in delight.
“We need to get you a Murdoch Construction shirt!” she exclaimed before leveling another look at Thea. “Oh, I like you for Aiden very much.”
Her anxiety ratcheted up. “Um, thanks?” Could Gloria not see the flashing neon sign over her head declaringYour Son and I Are in a Fake Relationship? Apparently not; the other woman settled a hand over her heart and beamed.
“Now tell me how you ended up reconnecting with my boy after all this time.”
“Mom.”Aiden joined the conversation with a groan. “Don’t harass her.”
Gloria turned dancing eyes on him. “I’m not allowed to be curious? You know as well as I do that you’ve never brought a girl around before.”
Thea tried not to inject herself into this family dynamic, but then again she didn’t trythathard. “Wait, he’s never brought someone home to meet you? Like, ever?”
Gloria dropped her chin as she prepared to spill her firstborn’s secrets. “Never once. Not even in high school. It’s enough to break a mother’s heart.”
“Okay,” Aiden said loudly. “That’s enough of that. We’re on business time, not bust-Aiden’s-balls time.”
“Language!”
“Sorry, Ma.”
Thea watched the interplay like she was watching a tennis match. Aiden didn’t look terribly sorry, but Gloria didn’t look offended in the least. If anything, she looked happy to be teasing her big handsome son.
“I think we’ve got things under control here,” Aiden told his mom. “Do you want to do a quick circuit? See what King Construction thinks they’re going to show us up with this year?”
“Oh, theKings.” Gloria all but hissed the name, and Thea blinked at the competitive venom on her kind face. “I’ll find them and report back.”
With that, she zipped off into the crowd in her sensible white tennis shoes, leaving Thea alone with her fake boyfriend.
“She was seconds away from ordering you a company license plate,” he said, sounding surprisingly unbothered by the idea. He held out a cup of coffee with his winningest smile. “We had one left over. Can I offer you coffee that you brought yourself?”
She accepted it gratefully, biting back a yawn. “Such a gentleman.”
