Page 16 of Something Blue

He glanced at her to see the same look of surprise he was sure to be wearing.

His mom reached for her other hand and patted it, giving him the perfect excuse to right himself and gulp down half of his water.

“Don’t be hard on yourself,” she said kindly. “Losing my mother was the hardest time in my life. Right, honey?”

His dad nodded and took his mom’s hand. If it hadn’t been such a moving moment, Andy would’ve joked that they looked like a séance table down on the strip.

“Judy couldn’t eat—couldn’t sleep— for months. She didn’t even go out with the girls like she used to do.”

His mother’s eyes glistened. “Only when Andy was born did I feel joy again. Being pregnant with him saved me, and when he was born, I was the happiest I’ve been in my life.”

Andy’s head snapped up. She hadn’t mentioned any of this to him. “Really?”

She nodded and dabbed at her face with her napkin. “Really. That’s why I’m so anxious for you to settle down one day and have your own family.”

Andy shifted in his seat. He understood why she felt that way, but he was nowhere near ready to take on that kind of commitment.

Sadie patted his mom’s hands. “Whenever we do get married, children are definitely part of our plan.”

We? Our? A drop of sweat slid down his back. Good thing this relationship was fake. Completely fake.

His mom’s smile grew, and she seemed to relax. “That’s wonderful to hear.”

As the night progressed, the thought stuck in his mind like cement, and by the time the back of his shirt had dampened with sweat, he was ready to drop her off at the nearest bus stop.

He stood up and helped Sadie to her feet. “We better get going. Sadie has an early shift tomorrow.”

His dad rose from his seat and shook his hand. “Tell me, did you two decide to go on vacation together?”

Sadie gave him a confused look. “You knew?”

“So you are going,” he said, turning to Sadie.

Her cheeks flushed pink. “Yes, I asked him to come. I haven’t been to Florida since my mom died and there’s this wedding. I don’t really want to go alone.”

That made tons more sense . . . why she didn’t want to be alone. No matter how uncomfortable he was about their fake relationship, he would make sure she had the best time in Florida. When he’d almost lost his dad, he was in fits. He could only imagine how being alone would feel.

Calvin held up a hand to stop her. “You don’t have to defend your reasons to us. We think it’s a great idea. We’re worried Andy is working too hard and forgetting to enjoy his life.”

His mom stood and rounded the table to hug Sadie. “That’s right. Make sure you two enjoy yourselves.”

Andy wrapped his arm around her. “We’re leaving next Friday.”

“Perfect. Maybe we can get together again when you get back.”

“I’d love to,” she said, surprising his mom with another hug. “I’ll see you then.”

The two women led the way while Andy hung back with his dad. “So what do you think? Is this relationship enough that you’ll finally trust me with the company?”

“The casino will be fine while you’re gone,” his dad said.

Andy gritted his teeth. Sadie glanced back at him and threaded her arm through his mom’s. Had she heard anything? “We’ll see you outside.”

His dad smirked as they headed for the doors. “You gave a convincing presentation. But let’s see how you do after a week with a perfect stranger.”

Andy slammed to a stop. His pulse raced as he met his dad’s eyes. “A perfect stranger?” He chuckled but it did nothing to release the knot in his chest.

“You looked as surprised as we were that her mother had passed. If you two were together you wouldn’t have taken so long to comfort her.”

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