Page 118 of Not Fooling Anyone

“Ethan, you go check it out,” his mom says, waving him off. “Lexie will keep me company here.”

I will?

“I’ll be gone two minutes,” he says, leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.

I fumble for his hand, wanting him to stay, but he saunters off in the opposite direction we came from. He turns around once he’s out of his mom’s line of sight, pointing to her and mouthingtalk to her.

Ugh. It’s like him pushing me to be nice to Amber all over again.

“So, you go to the university too?” she asks me, picking up her knife to continue chopping the lettuce. Just what I need is a parent with a sharp weapon.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, you don’t have to be formal with me. You can call me Mom.”

I swallow, knowing she didn’t mean anything by the comment.

“Have your parents met Ethan yet?”

“My dad has. He likes him. And my mom… She passed away.”

She looks up at me. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. When I said call me Mom, I didn’t mean—”

“Oh, I know.” I step closer. “I was… estranged from her anyway.”

She nods, moving on to chop tomatoes next. Damn it. I shouldn’t have said that.

“Your home is beautiful,” I blurt out, needing to change the topic.

“Thank you. We’ve lived here for a long time. Bought it right before Ethan was born, actually.” She looks over at me speculatively. “How long have you two been together?”

“About a month.” If Savannah’s connected to his family, we need to keep our story in line with what she knows. “We’ve been taking things slow up until now, though.” I pull my sweater tighter around me, sticking my hands in the pockets. “He’s pretty amazing. Probably the most caring, respectful man I’ve ever met. He’s so patient and understanding with me and I’m really lucky to be with him.”

She sets her knife down once more and holds a hand to her chest, pressing her lips tightly together. “Thank you,” she whispers, holding her arms out to me. Before I know it, she’s hugging me, my hands still trapped in my pockets by my side. “I needed to hear that. I’ve felt like he doesn’t need me as much lately, but it’s good to know I raised him right.”

I finally get my hands free, briefly returning her hug before she lets go. Maybe we could come over here more often. Talking to her isn’t too bad.

“Do you need any help with that?” I ask her, motioning to the vegetables on her cutting board.

“Oh, sure. If you want to toss the salad, that’d be great.”

I work on incorporating everything into the bowl as Ethan returns, and she conscripts him into slicing the cucumbers as she turns to the stove, taking the lid off of a huge pot of simmering sauce, a boiling pot of water next to it.

“Do you like spaghetti, Lexie?”

“Yes.” Who doesn’t love spaghetti?

Wait, can Ethan eat that with his diabetes? Isn’t it really carb heavy?

She fills the boiling pot with noodles, a clamor at the front door catching our attention.

“Here comes the happy couple,” Ethan whispers.

Where normally I might tell him to behave, I’m in agreement with his sarcasm today. I wonder if Savannah will ever reveal to Jordan that she was interested in his brother first.

Jordan and Savannah enter the kitchen as three other men join us from the garage, clearly Ethan’s dad, older brother, and younger brother. That must be Scott and Jacob. Ethan said Brian lives too far away to easily drive down for one night.

There’s a flurry of activity as introductions are made among everyone, and I know Ethan says my name at some point, but I’m hardly able to remember who says what before Ethan and I are seated at the kitchen table along with Jordan, Savannah, and his dad, while his other brothers and mom finish up dinner and set the table.

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