Page 59 of Summoning my Grumpy Demon Boss

“What the hell is a chia seed?” Luke mumbles under his breath as I gaze anxiously out the window trying to spot Mum and Dad.

I laugh despite my nerves and he gives my leg a squeeze under the table. “Nah, I’m only kidding. I know what they are. They’re those little black things that look like ants and taste like shit.”

I snort into my glass of water just as Mum walks through the door of the cafe and spots us. She narrows her eyes and purses her apricot-coloured lips. God, she looks just as fashionable as always. She’s dressed in a tightly fitted knit dressin white, with a caramel-coloured jacket draped over her shoulders. An Oroton handbag is slung over her arm.

She glances behind her at my father, who enters the cafe pushing his designer sunglasses onto the top of his head, and points to us like he can’t work it out for himself.

I stand for the customary kiss on the cheek. Luke stands beside me and holds out his hand.

“Mum, Dad, this is Luke Wilson—”

Mum’s thinly threaded brows shoot up and she takes his hand with the most brittle, forced smile I think I’ve ever seen on her face. “Oh! The builder. I thought we were having a family catch up, darling.”

She gives Luke her full attention and I can’t help cringing as she sweeps a critical eye from the top of his beach-blond hair to the thongs he has on with his jeans. He told me this morning it was that or work boots, and I told him to wear those, but now I’m second-guessing.

“Mr Wilson. There was no need to drive all the way up to Sydney. I’m afraid you won’t get a different answer from us than you’ve had from Mia about the renovations. They’re on hold for now until we take care of some family business.”

Now I’m really cringing. I should have told her what was going on before we had to all meet awkwardly in person. “No, Mum. I invited Luke to join us as a... friend.” I chicken out of saying more until I’ve gone over the way things are with Oliver, but instantly regret it when Luke shoots me a hurt look. I’ve already bungled this and we haven’t even sat down.

Mum looks at Dad, but they say nothing. Instead, we all sit, and I fidget with my menu in the uncomfortable silence.

At least Dad’s a talker. Right now, I couldn’t be more grateful when he taps his menu on the table decisively and turns to Luke. “Can’t go past the Eggs Benedict. Best thing on the menu.”

Luke smiles. “Ah, I can never say no to a classic bacon and eggs myself.”

I can’t help comparing his response to what Oliver would have said. It feels awful to be doing it, but the fact is it’s such a different dynamic that it actually throws my dad off a bit. Oliver would have agreed with Dad, ordered the Eggs Benedict, and spent the rest of the morning crawling so far up Dad’s arse an extraction procedure might have been necessary at the end of brunch. I always used to wonder why he did it. I’d never seen him be like that with anyone else.

I love that Luke hasn’t let my dad sway his order. I also love it when he slides his hand onto my knee under the table and gives it a squeeze, despite what I said before.

It gives me the courage to speak up. “Actually...” I clear my throat and wait until Mum and Dad both look up from their menus. “I have some news.”

“More news!” I didn’t think it was possible for Mum’s brows to jump any higher towards her hairline, but she proves me wrong.

“Yeah, I guess you heard things haven’t been going so well with Oliver.”

“Honey, is this really the time?” Mum makes the world’s least subtle gesture with her eyes towards Luke.

“I think nowisthe time, Mum.” I forge on. “I’ve decided not to marry him. In fact, as of a few weeks ago, I’ve broken things off altogether.”

“Oh, sweetheart, don’t you think that’s a bit hasty?” Dad frowns at me across the table. “You’ve known him for such a long time.”

“I’m not sure I really have,” I mumble. Beneath the table, Luke gives my leg another squeeze. “I don’t really want to go into the details, but I think it wasn’t what either of us really wanted anymore.”

“Quite the contrary,” Dad says. “When I spoke to him yesterday he still seemed very keen to give things a go. Why don’t you go talk to him and see if you can’t patch things up? I’m sure whatever the disagreement was, it can’t be that bad.”

I twist my hands together in my lap, wondering how much I should say. I don’t really want to tell them all the sordid details.

“He was always such a good fit for you, Mia.” When Mum looks pointedly between me and Luke, something in me snaps.

“He cheated! Tegan caught him cheating on me. So, no. I don’t think he was such a good fit.”

Mum opens her mouth, then exchanges a long look with Dad. I can’t interpret the meaning behind it. Normally, I’m pretty good at reading her, so it’s unsettling.

She makes a little humming noise in the back of her throat, then she leans a little closer across the table. “Would you excuse me, Mr Wilson, I need to use the ladies’ room. Mia, do you think you could come help me find it? Last time we were here I took a wrong turn and almost ended up in the kitchen!” It’s a blatant lie, but I smile and follow her to the back of the cafe and into the ladies’ bathroom.

As soon as the door swings shut after us, she turns to me and takes my hands. “Mia, don’t make a big mistake just because of one slip.”

“I’m pretty sure it was more than one.” I think of the scene Tegan described to me, and my stomach churns all over again. He must have been fooling around for weeks. Months! I don’t even know if that was the only woman he was seeing.

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