Page 46 of A Very Titan Christmas
Rachel choked on a green bean.
Bryce paused, fork midair, before pulling himself together. “Still going.”
“I heard you were slow dancing in front of the Christmas tree,” Eloise supplied. “I wasn’t even around to see it.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. The small-town gossip train must have been working overtime overnight to morph what Rachel and Bryce had been doing into what Eloise had heard. “We weren’t slow dancing.”
“More like swaying,” Bryce said and speared another bite of chicken. “This is really great.”
“Don’t blow smoke while I’m interrogating you.” Eloise sliced the chicken with her knife. “Though it is really perfect.”
“It’s crispy, moist,” Bryce continued and glanced at Rachel. “You remember that chicken place we used to get dinner from—”
“And don’t change the subject,” Eloise added.
Bryce was superb at managing her mother. Rachel wanted to throw down her napkin and stomp off. But then they would have to endure her interrogation later, and having it here instead of in front of the fireplace with others around was ideal.
She glanced at her dad, who sipped wine as if he had nothing to do with the conversation and was wise enough to stay out of his wife’s way for the time being. “Mom, what do you want us to say? We’re dating. It’s new.”
“Not really new.”
“New,” Rachel insisted.
“Do you want children?” Eloise asked Bryce.
To his credit, he didn’t choke on his dinner roll, but he did take a hefty sip of wine. “Hadn’t thought about it.”
“Then think about it.”
Bryce dabbed his mouth with the napkin. “I’m thirty-six years old and—until now—haven’t been in a relationship that I would call serious.”
“So, a playboy?”
“Mom.”
Her dad snorted.
Bryce took another long drink of wine. He stared at the glass after he set it down, pursed his lips, and met Eloise’s eye. “I don’t know how much of this you knew when we were younger, but my life was nothing like Rachel’s. Nothing was long-term or stable or…” He gestured at her parents. “You both, for the two years I was here, were a constant presence. You were always there,always together, kind, and considerate of each other and your community. And you were that during, probably, one of the most formative parts of my life. So, hell, I don’t know if I’ve ever been the type to settle down, to have kids, but if it happened, you two would be the prime examples of people to emulate.”
Rachel could have heard a pin drop.
Bryce threw a bite of roll into his mouth and chewed, continuing, “Maybe except for the obsessively trying to set your kid up part.”
Her dad made a muffled sound of agreement.
Forget the fake dating. The lies to her parents. She was certain that was the most truthful thing she’d ever heard him say. An ache squeezed deep in her chest. She didn’t know if it was because of the family he’d grown up with or the honesty he’d shared.
“All right,” Eloise said, ignoring the glitter bomb of awkwardness she’d launched onto the table. “Noted and understood.” She flashed a watery smile before quickly pulling herself together. “Have you two come up with a theme for the cookie decorating party? If not, I was thinking of elegance on ice or—”
“Ugly Christmas sweater theme,” Rachel said. “It’s perfect for kids and in-it-to-win-it adults.”
Eloise’s nose scrunched.
Her dad grinned. “I love that. Great idea.”
“Ugly sweater?” Eloise repeated.
“UglyChristmassweater,” Dad corrected. “We did that for our DC office holiday party. The kid who won had made hers completely out of those shiny plastic bows you stick on top of gifts. And, ha, Mallery—my chief of staff—made one with a giant gingerbread cookie on the front and Bite Me written under her neck.”
