Page 34 of The Fake Date Deal

“With Rafael? Are you joking?” Mother’s eyes had gone round. “You’ve met someone new, haven’t you? You’re here with him.”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Marco’s clothes were all over, draped where he’d shed them, his pants on the sofa, his shirt on a chair. His suitcase lay open on the window seat, jeans spilling out of it where he’d dug through them. And even without that, we’d been all over socials. My parents weren’t that old or out of touch. They’d have seen everything. Followed our travels.

“He seems responsible,” said Father. “He bought a house for his mother. Nothing huge or extravagant, but he bought it outright, no mortgage, no debt. That’s the smart way to do it.”

“You seem happier,” said Mother. “You’re having fun.”

I licked my lips. Swallowed. “And that’s okay with you?”

Mother’s gaze darted to Marco’s pants. “We’ll always think of you as our little girl. But you’ve been an adult now for quite some time.”

“If this man makes you happy…” Father cleared his throat. “He may not be quite what we’d have chosen. But the man we did choose was a disaster. If this Marco is respectful, if he treats you well, that’s all we want from him. That he makes you happy.”

“We’ve made reservations,” said Mother, blurting it out in a rush. “We want you to join us tomorrow for dinner, both you and Marco. We want to meet him.”

I felt all the blood rush out of my head. Of course, of course they’d want to meet him. But this had never been part of my revenge plan. Getting my parents involved, getting their hopes up.

“If tomorrow’s too sudden, we’ll be here all week.” Father stood up and straightened the covers behind him. “But if he’s important to you, he’s important to us. We would like to meet him before we go home.”

Maybe I could get food poisoning, or, I don’t know, typhus. Something weird and exotic and highly contagious. Something that would keep me and Marco from dinner.

“Please, Eve,” said Mother. “We really are sorry. We’d like to do it right this time. No meddling, I promise.”

Father’s eyes narrowed, and he straightened his tie. “We won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. If you two are just dating, that’s fine with us. But we’d still like to meet him while we’re in town.”

I felt myself nodding. Heard myself saying yes. Basked in their radiant smiles of approval.

I’d never had any backbone when it came to my folks.

CHAPTER 14

MARCO

Eve’s jangling nerves made me strangely calmer: as long as I focused on keeping her cool, I didn’t have time to worry about me.

“Parents love me,” I said.

“Yeah? You met many?” Eve was digging in her suitcase, searching for something. I slid my arms around her and pulled her close.

“In high school, I did. My girlfriends’ parents.”

“Well, we’re not in high school. Where did it go?”

“Where did what go?”

“My emerald necklace.” She went back to her vanity, her jewelry box. Dug through it, fruitless, and threw up her hands. “I had it right here, and it’s disappeared.”

I held it up. “You gave it to me. You said to put it on you, then you ran off.”

She turned her back on me. “Fine. Put it on.”

I swept her hair to one side and out of the way. She tilted her chin up, and I slid it on her. The clasp was small, fiddly, and crusted with diamonds, but I figured it out and brushed her hair into place.

“You look great,” I said. “Is that necklace new?”

“No, it was my mother’s. She loves when I wear it.” She touched it and frowned at herself in the mirror. “What am I forgetting?”

“That they’re your parents.” I kissed the top of her head. “They love you. They’re here. They’re excited to see you. You don’t need to impress them, just go eat dinner.”

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