Page 71 of Sweet Deception

We both thank her before opening our menus. "This place is new, you said?"

"Yes. Your father and I tried it last week, and while the food is good, it's the espresso that has me coming back." She points to the coffee selections on my menu.

"Sold." Mom and I love to try new coffee and if she likes it, I will too.

"So, honey. You've been busy. Dare I ask if it's the new boyfriend?" She pretends to look nonchalantly over her menu.

I roll my eyes. "Smooth, Mother."

She giggles while placing her menu down and crossing her arms on the table. "Come on," she cajoles. "I've been very patient. It's been months since you mentioned him and then nothing except, 'things are good'." She finger quotes. "Why don't you want to talk to me about him?"

"It's been weeks, not months, since I mentioned him to you, Mother. And no, I'm not busy because of Luca. I'm studying for finals, remember?"

"Luca is it?" She wiggles her brows, completely ignoring anything else I've said. She's so excited she can barely contain her giddiness.

"You know, Mom, this amount of interest in my love life is not healthy." I chide.

"Oh." she waves her hand, dismissing my comment. "You rarely dated—not that you didn't have boys after you. It just seemed like you didn't care. You can't blame your mother for being excited that you're finally giving a guy a chance." She picks up her menu again. "I know you just told me about him, but you said you've been dating longer … what, three months now?"

I sigh. It's not that I don't want to talk to her about him. I do. I just wish I could be totally honest.

"It feels about that long." I hedge. "It's going well. I'm busy with school and he's busy building his empire, so we don't actually see each other too often."

Mom sits at attention. "Empire?"

I snap my gaze to hers to find her eyes eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, he just purchased a hotel, and he's renovating it. It's taking a lot of his time right now." Her eyes widen even more. "What?"

"I-your father and I assumed you were dating someone in school. How old is this, Luca?"

I clear my throat. "He's thirty-two. And before you say anything, he's only nine years older than me."

"I wasn't going to say anything. I'm just surprised. Wow, he owns a hotel? At thirty-two?"

"Uh, well. He owns several. I think. And a restaurant, and well, he's kind of an entrepreneur, I guess."

"Oh, my. Sounds like he's doing well for himself."

"Yes. It's why he's so busy."

"But, you still—"

Mom's interrupted by our server, so we both sit back and place our orders. She waits until he leaves before she leans back in.

"You still like him, though? You're having fun dating?"

I've never seen my mom so unsure of herself. I laugh.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Mom. If I wasn't enjoying his time, I wouldn't be dating him. We're fine. We just aren't together as much as you might think because we're both busy. And it's not serious or anything. We are just enjoying each other's company right now. It's too soon to think about anything else. Okay."

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to make sure everything's still good and you're having fun." She shifts in her chair. "I have some news for you."

"Oh?" I pick up my glass of water and sip, wishing our espresso was ready.

"There's an opening for a kindergarten teacher at our elementary school. The principal asked about you since I've been bragging about how well you've been doing in school." She's glowing with happiness as she hands me a business card. "Call him for an interview. He loves the idea of getting a fresh college graduate for the position."

---