Page 23 of Skin Deep

“Family dinner?” Fred sat up straight at the mention.

“Uh-huh.” Theo eyed him warily.

“Who will be there?” His voice was all innocence, but he pinned Theo with a charming smile.

“Weird question, bro, but I’ll indulge you. Meg and John—you met them last night. Me and Jo. Beth is the sister closest in age to Amy, and her fiancé, Ford. Then Amy, and the girls’ mom, Mamesie.” Theo arched an eyebrow. “Shall I have Meg fax over the menu for your approval as well?”

“Hey, do you remember that time you hooked up with Janice Richards?” Fred leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table as he smiled beatifically.

“Hard to forget a girl who throws all your clothing down the garbage chute post-hookup.”

“Who was it that came to your rescue? Bringing you some sweats so you didn’t have to do a naked walk of shame across campus?” Fred looked up expectantly. “Oh... I do believe that was me.”

“You want me to get you into the family dinner?” Theo furrowed his brow with confusion. “Why?”

“I...” The words stuck in his throat. “Look. I don’t know if there’s anything between Amy and me besides sex.”

“La, la, la.” Theo closed his eyes and waved his hands by his ears. “Not listening.”

“But I think there might be.” He swallowed the rest of the thought, which was a memory of that thread that had appeared between them the second they’d laid eyes on one another, linking them together. “I want to... I want to woo her.”

“You want to woo her?” Theo asked incredulously. “Are you a hundred years old? Who says woo anymore?”

“I do.” Fred drummed his fingers on the table with impatience.

“How does sneaking into a family dinner count as wooing?”

“I’m not sure she even knows it consciously, but she has this attitude like...she expects people to treat her a certain way, because of how she looks.” Almost like she was daring people to be jerks to her, just to prove her right. “I think that by giving her things that she doesn’t expect, I might catch her off guard enough to sneak past those barriers.”

“Interesting.” Theo narrowed his dark eyes, considering. “So you’re thinking you’ll give her a family dinner, maybe some flowers, some romance.”

“That’s the plan, yeah.” Fred swallowed, suddenly nervous. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s worth a shot.” Theo shrugged, then pulled out his phone. He dropped a pin, then sent Fred the location. “That’s where dinner is. And don’t get the flowers for Amy, get them for Mamesie.”

“Thanks for the tip.” The two men stood, clearing their table and tossing their garbage in the bin. As they headed for the door, Fred caught Theo sending him a pitying stare.

“What’s with the sad-sack face?”

“Think of it more as a show of solidarity.” Theo clapped him on the back as they headed outside. “Taking on one of the Marchande girls is not for the faint of heart.”

“Great pep talk, Coach.” Fred rolled his eyes. “Any other pearls of wisdom as we head into battle?”

“Yup.” Theo sent him a smirk. “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

CHAPTER TEN

“DON’T EAT THAT.” Meg smacked Amy’s hand away from the platter of bruschetta that was resting on the giant island in her industrial kitchen.

“Um, ow.” Amy rubbed the skin where her sister had slapped her, frowning. Warned away from the bruschetta, she reached instead for one of the deviled eggs.

Smack. “Don’t eat those, either.”

“I’m sorry,” she offered, voice dripping with sarcasm, “I thought that family dinner involved eating.”

“Don’t be dramatic.” Meg bustled over to the fridge and pulled out two more platters, wrapped in plastic. Balancing one on each hand, she brought them back to the island where Amy was leaning. Placing them on the stainless steel surface, she peeled away the plastic, revealing an assortment of chilled, marinated vegetables. “And don’t eat these, either.”

“Will I be fed at all this evening,” Amy wondered out loud, “or should I head down the street to Taco Bell?”

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