Page 19 of Finally Moore

“Look, I know you were a late bloomer and all. But, I mean, if you weren’t my brother, I’d find you attractive, I guess.”

“Gee, thanks, Till Pickle.”

She tosses a piece of her holiday snack with the precision of a professional athlete and gets me smack-dab in the forehead. I rub the spot and quickly regret it, as I realize my hands are still covered in butter. Grandma’s mixture is extremely tacky, and it’s the best way to keep the dough from sticking to everything.

“Dude.”

“You know I hate when you call me that,” she huffs.

“Well, I hate when my little sister kidnaps me and puts my dough at risk. You know how intensive this recipe is. If I don’t get it righ—”

“Scott, this is important.” She sits up straighter. “You barely have a week to make Scarlett fall in love with you.”

I choke on my reply, because what the hell is she talking about?

“This is serious. You need to pull out all the stops, put all those years of watching romantic comedies to good use.”

“Tilly, I love you, but I think those hormones of yours are really doing a number on you this time around.” She frowns, and I hold up my hands in defense. “Jax and I, well,Jaxwas reading about this and it’s one of those situations where he gave me a little too much information. But, the point is, it’s perfectly natural.”

“Don’t you dare blame this on me being pregnant.Thathas nothing to do with what’s going on with you.” She’s fuming now, and I know I have to tread lightly here, or risk having my obituary state something like:died in a freak accident involving a popcorn tin to the head and one very pissed-off baby sister.

“Think about it this way then. You pulled me into your office to talk about how to make your friend, who I’m not even dating, fall in love with me. Not to mention, I’m—”

“Don’t you dare say it.” An icy chill runs down my spine as she gives me an eeriemom stare. Those boys of hers aren’t going to be able to get away with shit when they’re older. “You’re about to miss your moment, with a girl I think is perfect for you, for what? Some chick you chatted up online a few times, who failed to share very important information with you about her relationship status, all in hopes that she leaves her husband? And let’s say she does, leave him that is. What’s to say you two would ever work out? A woman doesn’t leave a decade-long marriage with three kids and find her happily ever after with the first guy she meets online. This isn’t hopelessly romantic; it’s just hopeless.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“You need to hear it. Let me ask you something. If Amanda called you today and said that she wanted to work on things with her husband, have a second go at it, would you stop her?”

“No, of course not…” I shock myself with the quick response. While I might not know her situation, if she loves her husband and wants to make things work, if that’s what would make her happy and was best for her children, I would never want to dissuade her.

“Okay… so then, if Amanda heard that you might have the chance to find your perfect match, do you think she’d stop you?”

“But aren’t you jumping the gun a little bit?”

“Says the guy who, after one date, announced his withdrawal from the dating pool to wait for a woman he hardly knows.”Shit, she has me there. Tilly takes a deep breath and steadies herself. “Fine. Let me explain. Because I know this sounds impulsive, but it really isn’t. I took time to think about it. We even did a pro-con list—”

“Please tell mewemeans you and Jax, and not the elders of Tral Lake or some shit.”

“Of course not, that would be too biased, but seeing as this is a family matter, I did the only thing that made sense,” she says as if I’m the ridiculous one.And when did my relationship status become a family matter?“We had an emergency meeting of the Moores, and we all decided you and Scarlett work.”

“Goodbye, Tilly. I’ve got to get back to work. The food won’t cook itself.”

This has gotten way out of hand.

“Scott, don’t you dare—”

I rush out of the room and shut the door on whatever else she has to say. I make it two steps down the hall before I run into her husband. “A pro-con list? Seriously?”

Jax shrugs without a hint of remorse. “There were some compelling pie charts too. Cassie and Tilly got really into it.”

“All of you have lost it.” I walk past the guy I used to think was my best friend and look for sanctuary in my kitchen. This is my place, where I’m in control. No one and nothing can take that away…

“Um, Scott,” Gia says from the doorway to the main room. “There’s a woman claiming she’s your soon-to-be mother-in-law…”

Great. All of this craziness is going to spread through town quicker than how the bubonic plague hit Europe. My love life will be Tral Lake’s flavor of choice before the dinner rush even starts. My family is one thing—while obnoxious, it was also inevitable—but it would’ve been nice to avoid the masses knowing and creating this awkward situation for the both of us when the holidays are over and we inevitably end up parting ways.

I wash up quickly and make myself halfway presentable, then rush out to the lobby. Scarlett’s mother stands out like a sore thumb with her over-the-top, designer winter apparel.

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