Page 36 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
“Good morning.” Smiling, Mia took a free chair next to Sarah. If she felt a whoosh of disappointment that Evan wasn’t there, she did her best to hide it.
“Good morning.” Sarah smiled back.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Luka continued. “Because we’ve been wanting to talk to you without Evan around.”
“Hey, leave me out of this.” Sarah put her hands up. “This is all you.”
Mia’s stomach gave an uncomfortable swoop. That didn’t seem like a good sign. She calmly sipped her tea before answering, “Oh? Why is that?”
“Well, your relationship with Evan doesn’t seem to make sense,” Luka said, and Mia’s stomach dropped again. “You’re so different. So, we were wondering?—”
“Youwere wondering,” Sarah put in.
“Iwas wondering… did you…” They exchanged a glance, and Mia’s stomach flipped again. They must have figured out the ruse. They knew that Mia and Evan weren’t really dating. Evan would be upset, and they would both look bad.This can’t be happening.She’d been so careful, and she’d even started to have real feelings. How had they seen through them?
“Did you really meet in the grocery store?” Luka finally blurted. “Because I’ve never seen Evan shop for anything in his life.”
Mia was so relieved that she began to giggle. She bent over the table, trying to compose herself as Sarah and Luka looked at her in confusion. Taking a deep breath, she managed to straighten and control her laughter, though she still felt warm with relief.
“Okay, okay. The truth is that we met online, but we were a little embarrassed to tell people.”
“That’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Sarah said. “My best friend met her husband online, too.”
“We were curious, is all,” Luka put in.
“Well, now you know.” Mia raised her mug to them in a toast as she made a mental note to tell Evan about the change to their story.
“I also wanted to say,” Luka added, “that Evan seems really different around you. In a great way. It’s been a while since he really participated in family activities or even took a day off work. You’re a good influence on him.”
“It’s mutual,” Mia said, her heart warming at the compliment. Even though they weren’t really dating, she had worked hard to draw Evan out of his work cocoon and get him to participate. She was pleased that his family had noticed.
“Oh look, there he is now,” Sarah said, pointing across the room. Mia turned, excitement surging in her chest, and, sure enough, Evan was walking toward them across the room. He had a mug of coffee in one hand and a plate of bread, cheese, and cold cuts in the other. He smiled at them, looking relaxed and happy.
“Are you joining us for breakfast?” Luka asked.
“If there’s room.”
“Of course. Come on.” Mia scooted over and patted the bench beside her. “I thought you were working this morning.”
Evan sat, putting his food on the table in front of him. “I did a little work, but I didn’t want to miss out on any family fun.” He winked and nudged Mia with his elbow. Her heart fluttered.
“You know,” Luka said, leaning his elbows on the table and lowering his voice. “We got Mia to admit your little secret.”
“What secret?” Evan glanced at Mia, his eyes wide, and she shook her head almost imperceptibly.
“You know.” Luka rolled his hand in a “come on” gesture. “About your little lie…”
“I admitted that we actually met online,” Mia said quickly, before Evan could assume the worst and give everything away. “They figured out that the mango story was a fake.”
“Right.” Evan’s face relaxed. “It’s true. Sorry for lying, guys.”
“I was the one who figured it out,” Luka added.
“Even inthis, you have to be competitive.” Evan chuckled as he assembled his breakfast sandwich. “Some things never change.”
“And some do. It’s nice to see Evan Hirst enjoying a family meal.” Luka leaned across the table to punch him on the arm.
“It’s nice to be here,” Evan said, and Mia got the feeling that he was being honest. He certainly did look happy.
