Page 33 of False Confidence

“We can’t all be as perfect as Xan and Rose,” Jazz replied without thinking.

Her mom was silent for a moment. “I’m not even going to justify that with a response,” she said, finally. “Your dad and I expect to see you at dinner tomorrow night. Six o’clock at Reveres.”

Jazz clenched her jaw. She had every intention of spending her Saturday night at Liam’s apartment, somehow tricking him into watching her favorite reality show and then trying to make him come. The last thing she wanted to do was sit in a fancy restaurant while her parents laid out all the ways she’d disappointed them since she last showed face at a family dinner. Not that she cared. “Mom, I?—”

“No buts. And that’s not all I wanted to talk to you about. Your dad was in Seattle for a colleague’s retirement dinner last week and he ran into Robert Avery.”

“Who?”

“His daughter is India Avery—India Heasman now, I suppose. I hear you attended her wedding. With your boyfriend.” Jazz winced. Shit. “When exactly were you going to tell us you were dating Maggie’s stepson?”

She couldn’t tell her mom the truth without getting a lecture on lying, so Jazz sighed and said, “I was going to tell you when I next saw you. I was waiting until things were more serious.”

“I assume they’re serious now, since you’re going to weddings together.”

She’d walked right into that one. “Yeah, I guess they are serious.”

“And Maggie’s okay with this?”

Why the hell would her mom even consider that she would go behind Maggie’s back? Maggie was her person. She was Maggie’s person. Best friends didn’t fuck around like that. “Of course.”

“And her husband is okay with it?”

“Of course.” He’d been okay with the fake dating, at least.

“And do you love this boy?”

“Of course,” Jazz repeated without really listening to the question. When she realized what her mom had asked, her heart skipped. Lying about love felt like a step too far.

“How on earth can you love someone your family hasn’t even met, Jazz? I’m so disappointed in you.” Her mom was disappointed in her? What a shocking twist of events! Jazz could hardly believe it.

Jesus. Last time they’d spoken, her mom had been begging her to settle down. “Xan and Rose met him at Maggie’s wedding.” Her parents had been on a month-long vacation to the Caribbean and hadn’t been home in time for the wedding. Such a shame.

Her mom tutted. “You’ll bring him tomorrow.”

Absolutely not. “I’ll ask him, but?—”

“Tomorrow, Jazz. Six o’clock. I’ll see you both there.” Her mom hung up the phone before she could answer and Jazz clenched a fist around it.

“That escalated quickly,” she muttered under her breath, stomping up the porch steps and taking a deep breath before heading into the house.

“Ineed you to do something for me.”

Liam eyed her warily. “At my moms’ house?”

Jazz peered around the living room to make sure no one was listening before answering. “It’s not a sexual something.”

“Oh. Then why are you looking at me all like,” Liam gestured to her face, “that?”

“I think this is just my face.”

Liam’s expression softened. “It’s a good face.”

How was she supposed to hold it together when he said shit like that? “Stop trying to butter me up. I’m trying to ask you for a favor.” Liam gestured for her to go on. “Apparently my dad knows India’s dad and now my parents think we’re dating. And I might have made it sound like things were really serious between us on the phone, so now I need you to come to family dinner with me tomorrow to meet my parents.”

“Is that all? Of course I’ll come. I’m great with parents,” Liam said, and while Jazz didn’t doubt that was usually the case, she needed to prepare him for Alexander and Lilia Cannon.

“Not my parents,” she warned.

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