Page 57 of A Sudden Response

Biting back a yawn, Joe followed him into the kitchen, wondering what was so funny when she saw it, or rather, her. Sitting at the table chatting with Alice was a twenty-something bleach-blond woman wearing an eye-catching blouse that sadly didn’t have enough cleavage to fill it out and a calculating expression that was focused on Eric.

She should have known this was the real reason why Alice invited them for dinner. It looked like Alice was making another attempt to fix Eric up and Joe suddenly found herself very much awake and ready to be entertained. Was it wrong to start a relationship by screwing him over?

She really didn’t think so.

Just because they were together, it shouldn’t mean that they couldn’t have a little fun and judging by the possessive look the other woman was sending Eric, Joe was about to have a lot of fun.

“Amber, this is my son Nathan and my Joe,” Alice said, gesturing towards her and she didn’t miss the look of dismissal the woman sent her before it shifted right back to Eric, “and my son Eric, who I was telling you about.”

Joe didn’t even bother hiding her grin as she ducked out from beneath Eric’s arm and avoided his mad grab. “It’s nice to meet you, Amber,” she said even as she sent Eric an evil little grin and a wink.

“Very nice to meet you, Amber,” Nathan seconded, shooting her a smile.

This really was going to be so much fun, Joe decided as she took a seat next to Alice and gave the older woman a kiss on thecheek. She wasn’t surprised when Eric tried to yank Nathan out of the way so that he could sit down next to her, but Nathan was fast. He had his butt in the seat next to hers and his arm draped over the back of her chair in seconds.

Eric glared at Nathan as he reluctantly sat down in the only empty chair, the one right next to Amber. As soon as Eric sat down, Amber shifted her chair closer to him.

“What’s for dinner, Mom?” Nathan asked.

“I thought we’d order in. What are you in the mood for?” Alice asked brightly as she watched Amber and Eric with a pleased smile.

“I could go for Chinese,” Joe said, deciding that now that she got her second wind that she was hungry.

“Pizza,” Nathan said, giving a strand of her hair a playful tug.

She noticed that Amber squished her face up in disgust. Alice must have noticed it as well. “What would you like, Amber? Chinese or pizza?”

“Neither, actually. That’s too many carbs. But I know a great tofu place,” Amber added with a smile that clearly stated that she always got her way and this time would be no different.

As much as she’d love to screw over the guys, Joe was not a tofu kind of girl. The one time she’d tried tofu, she’d ended up sick for a week. The matching grimaces on the guys’ faces told her exactly what they thought about the suggestion. Even Alice had a hard time biting back a grimace.

“What about the Chinese buffet on Harrison Street? They have a tofu and sushi bar,” Eric said, already getting to his feet. Nathan sighed with relief as he stood up as well.

“That sounds great,” Alice said, latching onto the choice that would save them all from eating things that scared them.

The only one that didn’t get up was Amber. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking put out as she explained, “But it’s not organic.”

“Hmmm,” Alice said, looking thoughtful, which, of course, made Eric nervous and for good reason. The woman was up to something and they all knew it. The only question at the moment was how hard was this going to make Nathan and her laugh.

“Why don’t you take Amber to the restaurant that she feels more comfortable with and Nathan, Joe, and I will grab something to eat and meet you at the movies,” Alice suggested.

“Movies?” Joe said, unable to help but frown.

“Since when are we seeing a movie?” Eric demanded, shifting away from Amber as she sent a smug smile his way. Seriously, where did Alice find these women? Even though it entertained her, it was really starting to scare her a bit.

“I think it would be nice to spend some time together,” Alice said in that motherly tone that none of them dared argue with. It didn’t matter that they all saw each other at least twice a week, Alice wanted to go the movies, then they were going to the movies.

“That sounds like fun,” Joe said brightly, sending Eric another evil smile that was met with a glare.

“Fine, but Nathan should bring Amber since he loves tofu,” Eric explained as he reached over and grabbed Nathan by the arm and yanked him out of his way. In seconds, he was by her side with his arm around her. The glare Amber sent her way was a little concerning, but Joe shrugged it off mostly because the woman was providing her with free entertainment.

“No, I don’t. I love Chinese,” Nathan grumbled.

“Don’t be silly, Eric. You take Amber out and we’ll meet at Emerald Cinemas at nine,” Alice said, grabbing her purse off the kitchen counter and headed towards the living room door as if everything was settled, but she knew Eric wasn’t about to let this go. She knew he’d do anything and everything to get out of this.

“Mom, I have something I have to tell you,” Eric said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“Oh? What is it?” Alice asked, pausing by the door.

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