“Way hotter than your last girlfriend.”
“Still not helping.”
***
Wedged on the leather couch between Josie and Dillon’s mom, Lina flipped another page of the old family photo album and studied a picture of Dillon at age three. His solemn, earnest face said he didn’t believe in mischief, even back then.
“Did he ever get into trouble?” Lina asked.
“Oh, no. Not my Dillon. One time, he even went back to the house he and his friends had toilet-papered and cleaned it up, because he realized they’d be leaving on vacation the next day. He’s always been such a thoughtful boy.”
Josie wrinkled her nose. “It’s true. He’s a total square.”
It didn’t take a lot of analysis to figure Josie was the type who liked bad boys. She looked like Dillon, with the dark hair and green eyes, but her smile held all sorts of mysterious trouble, and she couldn’t sit still to save her life. After bouncing her knees, she got up and paced. “You wanna go for a walk?” she asked.
A walk would have helped Lina’s nerves too, but she was here on a mission which involved staying near Dillon’s mom. “Oh, I don’t know. Brenda, would you like to go on a walk with us?”
Brenda looked up from the scrapbook. “Not me. I should stay near the house. Kip and his girlfriend will be here any minute, and I have things in the oven.”
Lina gave Josie an apologetic look. “Maybe after we eat would be better. I’ll just go see what Dillon’s up to.” She escaped to the kitchen and went to stand next to Dillon at the sink. The house looked like it had been built in the seventies, but everything inside had been remodeled recently. Lina couldn’t help admiring the travertine countertops and the gigantic flush-mount sink.
Dillon was tackling the dishes while his brother, Alec, sat at the kitchen table with his feet propped up on a chair, a can of Dr Pepper in his hand. Lina was sensing an overarching theme of how things usually went around here.
“Where’s your stepdad?” she asked.
“Golfing with his friends. Where else? Mom says he’ll be back at two.”
“It will be later than that,” Alec said with a sigh. He and Dillon exchanged a look.
Lina could only imagine how complicated their feelings had to be, in watching their mom try to be happy with someone else after a long and successful marriage.
“How did it go meeting my mom?” Dillon whispered.
Lina was about to answer that it’d been fine, but she was interrupted by Brenda bustling in and wrapping her arms around the two of them. She poked her head between theirs, her fluffy gray hair tickling Lina’s cheek. “Aren’t you two just the cutest things? I want to hear all about this girl. Every little detail.”
Alec audibly groaned and immediately left the kitchen.
Dillon’s face turned crimson. “We’re just doing dishes here, Mom. You’ll have plenty of time to interrogate Lina while we get things ready. Did you start on the rolls yet?”
“Yep, they’re hiding under that towel over there, still rising.”
“Okay, what about the Jell-O salad?”
“Ah, yes. I knew I was forgetting something. I hope I have mandarin oranges.” She unleashed her arms from around them and went to go look in the pantry for ingredients.
Lina felt Dillon kind of droop in relief, and she pushed her shoulder against his to get his attention. Was he really this embarrassed at being around his mom? She seemed fairly normal as far as moms went. Maybe a little on the perky side.
“Hey,” she whispered. “Relax.”
“Okay.”
His conviction could use a little work. Lina tilted her head and gave him a disapproving stare. “Seriously, we need to help you chill.” Dropping the last of the silverware in the dishwasher, she picked up a towel and dried off his hands like he was a little kid, coaxing a small smile out of him at last.
Brenda was still humming as she searched in the pantry.
“What are you doing?” Dillon murmured as Lina slid his now dry hands around her waist.
“Teaching you how to properly hug someone. Lean in a little like I don’t have cooties.”
