Page 98 of All Bets Are Off

I made a face. “I feel weird charging lunch to my husband. It’s very … 1950s.”

“Then charge it to the room and pretend you’re on vacation.” Zach shook his head when I opened my mouth to argue. “That’s one of the perks to living here. You heard your mother. We won’t be here forever. You should take advantage of it while you can. We have world-famous chefs on the premises. Eat something other than a ham sandwich.”

I glowered at him as he moved toward the door. “You’re not the boss of me,” I muttered.

“No, but your mother is.” He beamed at my mom, putting his charm on full display. “Make her take you somewhere good.”

“I’m on it,” Mom said chirpily. “It was good seeing you, Zach. I hope my grandbabies have your good looks.”

Outrage had my mouth opening and closing. “My babies will be cute too.”

“Your babies will be darling,” Mom agreed. “Zach is … Zach, though.”

When I looked up, Zach was winking at me as he sailed out the door. “Don’t forget dinner,” he called out. “We’ll talk about my pretty babies and your ugly ones later.”

I glared at his back. “You’re going to be eating dinner alone if you’re not careful.”

“Please. I plan on taking you for seafood. We both know who is going to win that argument.”

I hated that he was right. Once the door fell shut and I looked at Mom, I realized I had another reason to worry. She was grinning like a buffoon. “What?” I demanded.

“You guys are cute,” she said. “I was a little worried when you first mentioned you were married. That initial dinner, you were stiff. That was probably the dental surgery, though.”

“Yes, I was definitely out of it that night,” I agreed.

“You guys are clearly making things work now, though. I like it.”

“You do?” I couldn’t contain my suspicion. “Why do you like it?”

“Because he makes you laugh, and vice-versa. You guys are a good fit.”

“You didn’t think that when I was a teenager,” I reminded her. “You said he wasn’t going to stick around and that I shouldn’t get attached.”

“Ididsay that,” Mom confirmed. “He surprised me, though. I thought he would allow his parents to steamroll him. He didn’t, and I’m proud of the man he turned into.”

“Me, too,” I murmured.

“How are things going with his parents?” The concern was back in Mom’s eyes. “Have they been accepting of you?”

“Accepting? Yes. They’re weird, though. They live in a different world than we do. Ryder melted down about losing a golf tournament a few weeks ago. It was for charity. He actually wanted Zach to find a way to strip the winner of his stupid ribbon.”

“And what did Zach do?”

“We went camping.”

“You … went camping?” Mom cocked her head. “That’s an interesting way to combat Ryder’s meltdown.”

I shrugged. “Zach had never been.”

“And now?”

“He wants to go again.”

“See. You’re having a positive influence on him.”

“Things are going well,” I agreed. “His dad still puts too much pressure on him. I’m not sure how to fix that. Otherwise, things are good.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Mom patted my wrist. “Now, how about we take the notes you wanted to show me for the dancers andfind one of those restaurants Zach was talking about to have some lunch? I’m not settling for a ham sandwich when we have our choice of exotic restaurants.”

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