Page 17 of Pretend Girlfriend

Clark, Landon’s father.

And finally, Danicka, Landon’s mother. She was taller than I expected, with short hair and sharp eyes that reminded me of the terrifying mother-in-law from every single romantic comedy on Hallmark.

The others shook my hand, but I went in for a hug with the mom. “It’s so good to finally meet you! Landon’s told me so much about you,” I said.

Danicka gave a surprised smile. “I wish I could say the same—Landon didn’t even let us know you existed until yesterday!”

“Always secretive with the ladies,” Clark said, giving Landon a playful shove.

Danicka leaned in to whisper to me: “He must really like you if he invited you here. Don’t worry, there’s no pressure.” She punctuated it with a wink.

She seemed genuine, rather than scary. That was a good sign.

“Those pearls are gorgeous,” I told her. “They really make your eyes pop.”

Danicka beamed. “And I just love that red dress! It’s about time Landon dated someone with style. I can’t say the same for his last girlfriend.”

“Oh mom, nobody needs to bring her up,” Marisa said.

As the hostess led us to our table, I shot Landon a satisfied smile. I was scoring points before we had even sat down.

Our table was in the back corner, and I made sure to scooch into the seat next to Danicka. When the waiter took our drink order, I pretended like I was undecided in order to let Danicka go first. “Chardonnay.”

I put down my menu. “Good choice, I’ll have the same.”

“You’re a white wine girl?” she asked me.

“Oh, you know it!”

I rarely drank wine. I preferred beer and cocktails, and when I did drink wine, I preferred reds. But I could suffer this for one night. Especially since I was starting to feel good from the double shot of tequila.

“What do you do, Joanna?” Marisa asked me. “Landon hasn’t told us anything about you.”

“I work in a law firm,” I replied. “I’m a paralegal.”

“Oh?” Clark asked. “Which one?”

“Sawyer and Sawyer,” I replied.

Bradyn perked up in the seat across from me. “Tim Sawyer? The guy with the billboards on the highway?”

“Tim ‘The Steam Engine’ Sawyer?” Danicka asked, quoting from one of his commercials. “He always struck me as a sleazy guy…”

Think fast, Joanna. You don’t want them thinking you work for an ambulance chaser.

“I know he looks like that, but he actually does a ton of pro bono work,” I replied. “He’s representing… um… a bunch of children. Children with cancer! It’s actually really fulfilling work.”

“Oh, wow,” Danicka said. “Sounds more exciting than Landon’s job for that big defense contractor.”

“That’s actually how we met,” Landon cut in. “At a conference.” Under the table, he nudged me with his knee.

“Right! It was a conference in Milwaukee two months ago. I got lost trying to find the presentation on digital security, and ended up walking all over the huge convention center. Eventually, this handsome devil took pity on me and asked if I needed help.”

“That’s our Landon,” Danicka said. “Always picking up strays.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about being classified as a stray, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered tonight except making Landon’s mother like me.

“Tell us more about yourself,” Danicka said. “What hobbies do you have?”

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