I laughed before I could stop myself. “And your mother believed her?”
“Oh, absolutely not,” she laughed, leaning forward conspiratorially. “But she pretended to for a week just to teach her a lesson.”
“That’s cruel.”
“That’s parenting.”
I studied her as she spoke. The way her nose scrunched slightly when she smiled. The animation in her hands. The warmth in her voice when she spoke about her family. She loved them. That much was obvious.
“How many siblings did you say you have again?” I asked.
“Four. I’m right in the middle. Which means I’m both bossed around and expected to boss others around.” She lifts one shoulder casually. “I’ve mastered both roles.”
"I'm sure you have."
"I'm probably the most reasonable one out of the lot."
I raised an eyebrow. “You? Reasonable?”
“Hey,” she protested lightly. “I’m perfectly reasonable.”
“You agreed to marry me after one conversation.”
She shrugged. “Reasonable doesn’t mean boring.”
I couldn’t stop the corner of my mouth from lifting. She had this way of speaking that made everything sound effortless.
“And your parents?”
“My mom is the backbone of the family,” she said fondly. “She pretends she’s not soft, but she is. She’ll scold you and hug youin the same breath. And my dad…” She smiled wider. “He acts tough, but he cries at sappy movies.”
“Should you be telling me that?”
“Oh, he’d deny it,” she added quickly. “But we all know.”
I watched her as she spoke. The way her eyes brightened when she described them. The way her voice warmed at the mention of home. It was the opposite of how I spoke about mine.
“And you?” she asked suddenly. “Are family lunches usually like that?”
I leaned back slightly in my chair.
“It wasn’t always,” I admitted.
She tilted her head. “No?”
I shook my head slowly. “My mother wasn’t always like this.”
“Like what?”
“Controlling,” I said plainly. “Obsessed with how things look. With how everything reflects on her and the company.”
“She used to laugh more,” I continued. “Before the company expanded. Before the expectations grew.”
“And now?”
“She tries to rule with an iron fist.”
“Even you?”
