Page 64 of Plus Size Player

“Sounds like I should feel special,” I teased.

He glanced over at me. “Youarespecial.”

The smoothness of his delivery caused a flutter in my belly. Eyeing his profile, I smiled. “And don’t you forget it.”

“Never that.”

Shifting my attention back to my phone, I continued to read. “It says you’re somewhat rebellious.” I looked back over at him with a smirk. “I already know that’s true.”

He snickered. “Yeah, that’s gotta be a trait you have, too…”

“We’re not talking about me right now,” I laughed, deflecting. “And lastly, the list says you’re a people pleaser.”

“Now that one isn’t true.”

“Really?”

Licking his lips, he switched lanes. “The only person I’m trying to please is you.”

The heat crept up my neck and inflamed my face. “Oh, really?”

“Honesty is too important to me for me to be a people pleaser. That’s why my circle is small. It’s why I run my business the way that I do. It’s why my mom has been mad at me for the last few weeks.”

“Wait.” I put my phone in my lap. “Why is she mad at you?”

He let out a short, dry laugh. “They were on my ass about settling down. I told them they need to worry about what my siblings got going on and leave me out of the nonsense. The whole table went off.” He smirked. “Apparently my brother is going through it with his wife again. One of my sisters is pregnant and the other one has been married for five years and will tell them they are being antifeminist by asking her about her womb.” He glanced over at me. “That’s a direct quote from the weekend.”

“If everybody has something going on, why are they mad at you for not settling down?”

“Oh no, they stay mad about that. But currently, my mom said she’s mad that I ruined a nice pleasant dinner.”

My jaw dropped. “No! You ruined dinner?”

“I didn’t ruin it. Everybody was just hype for the rest of it and loudly defending what they had going on. I didn’t even mean it the way everyone took it. All I meant was that they have three other kids to focus their attention on.”

I snickered. “So, everybody took what you said the wrong way and got in their feelings?”

“Everybody! I was the one trying to make peace, but it was too late.”

“And you ruined dinner.” I shook my head. “Damn shame.”

“That’s the same shit my mom said.” He snickered. “It isn’t often all four of us are home, so she felt a way.”

“How are you going to make it up to her?”

“I’m going to head to Michigan next month for Sunday dinner. The oldest and the youngest are already there. Once I get my other sister to confirm this week, I’ll smooth things over with my mom.”

“Have you talked to her since then?”

“Yeah, I talk to her every week. If I can either bring home my future wife or get all four of us home for dinner, she’ll be satisfied.”

I don’t know why the statement surprised me, but my eyebrows shot up. “Really? You’re ready to settle down?”

“For the right woman, absolutely.” He glimpsed at me. “Why does that shock you?”

“I don’t know.” Shifting in my seat, I racked my brain for understanding. “You are always jetting off. It just felt like you had a certain lifestyle.”

“You trying to call me a fuckboy?”

---