“Okay, and maybe, justmaybe,a boy.”
Although calling Matthew a boy is ludicrous.
There is nothing boyish about him.
“Matthew Williams?”
Heat rises up my cheeks. “How do you know?”
“Oh, please, I’m not deaf. Everybody knows he’s back in town.” She rolls her eyes, as if it were obvious. “Am I to assume you two are together?”
“We…”
Dammit.
What are we?
Fake.
That’s what we are.
And yet, why does it not feel fake at all when we’re together?
When we touch. Or kiss. Hell, even when he drives me crazy.
None of it feels the slightest bit fake.
Not a single thing.
“I see…”
My head snaps up to find my mom turning back to the stove to stir something in a pot. She’s completely calm and composed, while I feel like my heart might burst.
“What?”
“Nothin’.” Mom turns off the burner. “You should invite him over sometime.”
“I should— Wh-what?”
“Invite him over for dinner sometime.”
Shit, this is getting completely out of hand.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“And why not?”
“Because it’s still too soon? We’ve only been dating a few weeks. Hell, you hated Damien.”
Mom’s lips twist in distaste. “Well, that was different.”
I open my mouth, but before I get a chance to ask, the garage door opens, and Dad enters the kitchen. “Honey, I’m home.” He looks up, his smile growing wider. “And look who’s here.”
He spreads his arms, and I embrace him. “Hi, Daddy. How was work?”
“Hectic. These kids, I swear…”
I spend the next couple of hours with my family, catching up with everybody over dinner, then I help them clean up before I get on the road, but not before Mom jabs her finger into my side and repeats, “Bring him over.”
