Page 29 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
“I can’t back off from work.” Evan shrugged... but then he sighed. “Maybe I can try to do a few activities.”
“Yes!” Mia gave a fist pump, and Evan burst into laughter.
“That was adorable.”
“Hey, I’m not adorable. I’m enthusiastic.” She grinned.
“Well, I think it was adorable.” Evan nudged her with his arm. “Now, tell me another story aboutyourchildhood.”
“Okay.” Mia considered. “Does college count?”
“Sure.” Evan leaned back in his chair, bracing his hands behind his head.
“When I was in college, I came back home for Thanksgiving one year, and my parents had made a special dinner for me. Not a Thanksgiving dinner — I was never a fan of Thanksgiving food, really — but all my favorite things. Mac and cheese, sushi, chocolate-chip cookies, everything. It was so sweet, and I was so happy that they had done that for me.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. You’re not a fan of Thanksgiving food?” Evan shook his head. “What kind of weirdo are you?”
“Hey!” Mia chuckled. “Come on, are you seriously telling me that you’d eat mashed potatoes, turkey, and cranberry sauce on any dayotherthan Thanksgiving?”
“Maybe not, but those foods are tradition.” Evan shook his head. “I don’t know how you can be my fake girlfriend if you don’t like Thanksgiving food.”
“See, this is the kind of thing we need to know about each other if we’re going to pull this off.” Mia grinned.
“It sounds like your family was good at holidays,” Evan continued.
“Well, yes, although after making all my favorite foods, they tried to convince me to switch my major away from education.” She shrugged. “They meant well.”
“I’m sure, but still. My family did the same thing when I was in college.”
“They made you special food on Thanksgiving?”
Evan rolled his eyes playfully. “The other thing. They tried to convince me that I was making a mistake by pursuing my dream of starting my own business, and they even attempted to bribe me.”
“Bribe you?”
“Yep.” He chuckled. “They said that if I agreed to give up my business ideas, they’d buy me a boat.”
Mia burst into laughter. “That’s hilarious. Did you consider it?”
“Maybe for a minute.” Evan laughed sheepishly. “It would have been fun to have a boat.”
They smiled at each other, then Mia said, “It’s funny how similar our childhoods were, even though they were also polar opposites.”
“True. Maybe this is why you’re so good at dealing with my family. You have plenty of experience with your own.”
“Maybe.” Mia tilted her head back to look up at the sky, which was studded with glittering stars now. “Or maybe I had low expectations after meeting you.”
Evan was silent for a minute, and Mia glanced at him. She was worried the last comment had offended him, but he didn’t look offended. He looked thoughtful. After a while, he sighed. “I... I am sorry. That I didn’t reply to you. That was a real jerk move.”
“It was.” Mia folded her arms across her stomach.
“We had a great time together at the last wedding,” Evan said. “At least,Idid. But I didn’t want you thinking we were going to be anything more.” He looked at her, his eyes bright in the darkness, and Mia bit her lip. A mix of feelings welled in her — happiness that he’d apologized and that he’d said they’d had a great time. Hurt that he’d avoided her for weeks. A steely resolve not to let herself fall for his charms again.
Instead of replying, Mia took out her phone and glanced at the time. “I should probably sleep. It’s getting late.”
“Me too.” Evan sighed. “Although I do have work to do…”
Mia glared at him. “I don’t think you even slept on the flight. Sleep now.”
