She huffed a quiet laugh.
“So,” she said, crossing her arms. “You’re asking me to stop trying to set you up?”
“I’m asking you to pause,” I said carefully. “Give me a chance to handle it myself.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly. “And you will handle it?”
“Actually… I’ve got a date.” The words hung in the air.
My mom blinked.
“You have a date,” she repeated, and I nodded. “When?”
“Soon,” I told her.
“With who?”
I picked up a dish towel and busied myself with a glass that was already dry. “It’s someone.”
“Dane,” she said.
“I’m serious,” I said, glancing at her. “I do.”
Her expression shifted, curiosity lighting up like a switch. “Do I know him?”
“Nope.”
“Is he from the pack?”
“Nope,” I answered, wishing I hadn’t mentioned it at all.
“Work?”
“No,” I said.
“Then where did you?—”
“It’s a secret,” I said, cutting her off before she could build a full investigative profile.
She stared at me, but I held my ground.
“A secret,” she repeated slowly.
“Yep.”
She turned back to the sink, but there was a lightness in her shoulders that hadn’t been there earlier.
We finished the rest of the cleanup without any more interrogation, which felt like a small victory.
Later, when everything was put away and the house had settled into that post-gathering quiet, I stepped back out onto the patio.
The grill had gone cold, the chairs were stacked, and the yard looked normal again. I leaned against the railing, pulling my phone out of my pocket.
I stared at Seth’s name for a second, thumb hovering over the screen.
“Text me the details,” I’d said.
I typed out a message before I could overthink it.
