“Of course, Knox talks about you all the time.” If it were possible, her eyes got wider.
She must do that when she panic-lied to her future mother-in-law. That was a good thing to note so she’d stop doing it before she actually met Mom. That kind of tell was the type of thing that would get Mom all kinds of riled up.
“Beatrice,” he said, letting her off the hook, but they’d be discussing the whole didn’t-listen-the-first-time shebang. “She never took Dad’s name. Her last name is, and always has been, Connor.”
Irina pushed a chunk of hair behind her ear and said with a smooth confidence, “It’s Beatrice. Ms. Connor.”
She paused. This wasn’t good, because that meant his mother was talking. Talking loads.
“Uh-huh.” Irina glanced to Knox and frowned. “No, I agree…”
That got him scowling, because there was not one thing his mother could say that he’d like Irina agreeing with.
“It’s just that—” Irina chewed at her bottom lip.
He probably just should’ve kissed her instead of unlocking his cell. Then he’d be the one who got to nip at her lip.
“Yes, there’s a prenup.” Irina shifted on her feet.
Knox cringed internally.
“I absolutely believe in the union. That’s not why we’re getting the prenup, we just want to be sure Knox’s finances are—” Irina paused. “That’s not—” She frowned. “Yes, I understand it’s a contract detailing what will happen when the marriage dissolves.” Irina’s frown deepened. Yup, that’s the type of expression his mother put on people. “I’m not sure that’s…mm-hmm…” Irina stared vacantly in his direction, blinking hard. “I’ll make that work.” More blinking. “Yes, of course. I’m looking forward to this. Okay…” Her eyes did the wide thing again. Here came that panic lie in three…two…
“My pie is burning in the oven. I’ve gotta go.” She dropped her chin, but continued holding the phone to her ear. “Apple. Why?” More blinking. “I’m not sure which kinds of apples I used tonight. Whatever they had at the store?” Lots more blinking.
While Irina may have elected to jump into this particular ring, she had no idea the cliff she’d hopped off of, so he slipped the phone from her hand, didn’t hold it to his ear as he spoke into the receiver, “Hi Mom. Gotta go. Pie’s burning. Bye.”
He hung up the phone while the words, ‘Told ya,’ itched against his taste buds. He didn’t say them, though. Didn’t say anything.
“We’re having breakfast with your mom tomorrow.” Irina crossed her arms across her chest. “Some fancy place in Bel Air.”
“That is not happening.” He shook his head. “Not happening at all.”
“I’m not certain how it’s not happening, given that I just agreed to it.” Irina pulled her lips into a frown.
“Don’t you have a call time in the morning or an audition?” he asked.
She shook her head. “We wrapped production and I cleared my day tomorrow to spend it working out wedding and marriage stuff.”
“You’re about to get the stomach flu. A twenty-four-hour thing, don’t worry. I’ll go to breakfast and deal with my mom and hope they poison me. It’s better this way, since she’d probably talk you out of the wedding, anyway.”
“What does your mom do for a living?” Irina asked, carefully.
He didn’t talk much about his parents, so he hadn’t actually given over the information before. Not like, say, his mother’s name. “She’s an attorney.”
Irina’s eyes turned to little slits. “What kind?”
“The kind that always gets her way.”
“I mean what branch of law does she practice?” Irina pushed on.
“She’s a prosecutor,” Knox said. “Federal.”
“Wowza.” Irina seemed to be reconsidering her decision to agree to the marriage.
He didn’t disagree with this reconsideration given the gale-force winds of his mother. Unfortunately, this reconsideration came too late, since they were already elbow deep in this wedding.
“You can’t go tomorrow without me.” Irina actually seemed remorseful that she’d taken the call, what with the way her toe etched a triangle in the carpeting and her mouth went into her thinking pout. “I’ll say no for you. It’ll be my job as your fiancée.”
