Page 19 of Empty Net

But I’m not paying her any attention. I can’t seem to pull my eyes away from Fox—ArthurFox—who is staring down at me with those gorgeous browns of his.

Go with it, they’re saying.Play along.

Maybe it’s the booze, or maybe it’s the fact that this could save me from my mother. Maybe it’s just that I want to; whatever it is, I do. I go right along with it, turning back to the camera to give my mother aSee, I told you solook.

“Well, I suppose it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Fox.” She takes a sip of her wine. “So, what do you do?”

“Me, ma’am?” Fox’s drawl is more pronounced than I’ve heard before. “I’m a goalie.”

“A goalie?” My mother turns her nose up. “What’s a goalie?”

I roll my eyes at her snobbery. “Hockey, Mother. Fox plays hockey.”

Thatinstantly has her much more interested in him than before, and I have no doubt it’s because my mother is seeing dollar signs. “Professionally?”

“Yes, ma’am. I play for the Seattle Serpents.”

“Well, Arthur, I had no idea you were dating my daughter until tonight.”

“You didn’t?” Fox grins down at me, and it’s that same expression that had me feeling all kinds of warm earlier. Now, I don’t feel warm. I feel confused. And a little annoyed. Yet somehow…almost relieved? And still drunk. “Our Lilah here can be a bit shy sometimes.”

No. That’s definitely annoyance winning out. I narrow my eyes at him, and he rolls his lips together, hiding his grin.

“Please, I don’t think Lilah has ever been shy a day in her life. Once when she was about six, she snuck onstage at Disneyland and did a whole horribly choreographed dance of the hokey pokey.”

She laughs as if she remembers this fondly, even though we both know she scolded me for a full hour afterwardandreturned my Mickey Mouse doll to the store. It was my first and last time at Disneyland.

“That so?” Laughter shines in Fox’s eyes, and I know that, unlike my mother who is pretending to think it’s cute, he really does.

I shrug. “What can I say? I liked the attention.”

“So, Arthur,” my mother says, “how long have you and my daughter been dating?”

“Oh, well, I don’t kiss and tell, ma’am.” He winks at her, and I swear if she weren’t already sitting, she’d fall right over. “I’ll let Lilah fill you in on all those details.” I drive my foot against his fancy shoes, and he grunts, but his smile never once slips from his lips. “I’m sure she’s been counting the days since we first got together.”

Another stomp on his foot and another pained noise from Fox.

Good. He deserves it, throwing me under the bus like this. I mean, yes, he’s clearly stepping in to help me, and he’s a total saint for that, but really? This is the last thing I expected to happen tonight.

“Well, Lilah?” my mother presses. “How long?”

It’s funny how she looks at Fox, a man she just met, like he’s the greatest thing in the world, and then how she looks at me like she’sstilldisappointed in me.

“A month or so now,” I answer, hoping she doesn’t hear the shake of uncertainty in my voice.

“And why didn’t we meet you at Christmas, young man?”

“I flew home to see my parents.”

“Ah, I see. Why didn’t you mention him to us?” This question she directs to me.

“Because you never let me get a word in edgewise.”

“Lilah!”

Fox laughs, squeezing my hip. “She’s kidding, ma’am. We didn’t want to jinx anything. New relationships and all that. They take time to build, and we wanted to make sure we got it right this time.”

“Aw.” She sighs dreamily, and I know Auden was right. My mother has had too much chardonnay if she’s falling for the show Fox is putting on. “That’s just… That issosweet, Arthur. Isn’t he so sweet, Lilah?”

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