Page 34 of Don't Game Me
You’re judging me.“They’ll all be thinking about it.”
“They might. Noah mentioned something about you and Jake going together as a date?” Her gaze was too bright.
“That hasn’t panned out. You know the two of us tend to argue.”And end up kissing.Her gaze found Jake chatting with Noah.
“Oh. That’s too bad.” Her brows drooped.
“Mom, really? You tried to fix me up by sending me on that errand with him. How could you?”
Her mom waved a dismissive hand.“You’re a smart, career-driven woman. At your age, that’s where you need to be. Career first. Your generation settles down when they’re older. Times are changing. A bouquet catch doesn’t mean anything anymore.”
“Wasn’t it great-grandma who made the prediction about bouquet catching at your mother’swedding? Hasn’t she been right since? You caught the bouquet at your cousin’s wedding and met Dad within a year. She was right three other times too.”
“Coincidence. That’s all.” Mom’s troubled gaze indicated she believed in the prophecy, more like a curse, and thought Becca would end up alone for the rest of her life. She didn’t need the additional stress this weekend of everyone asking about the bouquet catch in sympathetic tones. “Look, hon, I’ve got to run. They’re screwing up the buffet. If things change and you and Jake can manage to not kill each other and go together, as in really together-together tomorrow then let me know so I can sell the hell out of it to the rest of the family.”
In a blink, she was fussing at the caterers.
Mom used the h-word. Mom didn’t cuss. Like ever. This wedding really was making her crazy.
Her father marched up and pulled her into a bear hug. “Hey, Becca. Sorry I couldn’t catch up on your shenanigans on the West Coast last night.”
“Are you okay?”
“Bit bumped up, but nothing’s broken. At my age, that’s what matters.”
“I missed you.” She hugged him tight. She wanted him like this always, remembering the past and recognizing her. But his doctor had warned them his dementia would worsen.
He whispered back, “If you can nail him down, Jake is one hell of a catch. You could do better, but he’ll do.”
Not him too.
“Da-ad.” She hit two syllables with her reply as she glanced around to see who’d overheard. No one nearby. Her mom had flitted off to micromanage the bridesmaids, who hovered near a monster flower display at the front of the church. Becca tugged her hair to cover her flaming face. Her dad probably said it on purpose.
He belly-laughed and shot her agotchafinger point.
“We’renota thing. We had to do an errand together. Mom assigned us the task.”
“Your mother mentioned you asked him to be your date to the wedding. She seemed all jazzed about it.”
“It’s not going to happen. All we do is argue.”
Her dad glanced dramatically to where Jake stood. “Maybe he wants you two to be a thing. With the way the man keeps eyeing you… That boy has always eyed you in ways that tempted me to have a fatherly sit-down with him. As luck would have it, you always seemed oblivious. You preferred arguing him into annoyance.”
Her gaze wandered to Jake, where he laughed with the groomsmen. “He checks out anything female.”
“Well, he better not be checking out my wife.” He waved at Mom.
“Of course, he’s not checking out Mom. He’ll never see me as anything other than Noah’s little sister.”
Dad chuckled. “That boy never saw you as just Noah’s sister. He might believe he should think of you as Noah’s sister though. I offered him a beer a few Thanksgivings ago, but he turned me down…you know the kid never drinks.”
She frowned at him, wondering if his dementia had kicked in. The logic in thought progression made no sense.
“I’m not losing my mind right now.” He winked at her. “Hear me out. I hoped a drink might loosen him up and get him talking. He likes you, but he fears he’ll turn into his drunkard father. I met Jake’s father once before the abusive bastard kicked the bucket. Good riddance. The man did a head job on Jake. Made the kid think he’d be a relationship screw-up for the rest of his life. That’s why I think Jake bed hops. For you, though, I’m pretty sure he’d consider not falling into old habits, and it scares the hell out of him.”
“Dad, stop it.”
“What? Jake’s father was a drunken, abusive bastard to the boy. There’s a hell of a lot of fear in him. He needs a strong woman to show him he’s not his father. Someone like you.”
