Page 108 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

“Just pass the bread, Jillian.”

“Who are you in love with, dear?”

“No one, Mom.” Had I resorted to lying to my own mother now?

“Admit it first.” My lovely sister was holding the bread basket just out of my reach. I got up and snatched it from her.Good luck getting it back.

“What’s her name?” Mom asked.

“Perry,” Jillian answered. “And she’s really cute. Sweet too. Isn’t that right, Daniel?”

No, she’s beautiful. “Leave the boy alone, Jillian.” His cheeks resembled two beets as he looked down at his plate, stuffing lasagna in his mouth.

“I think he has a little schoolboy crush on her,” she whispered in my ear.

“Oh, she sounds nice. When are you bringing her over for dinner?”

“I’m not, Mom.”

“There’s always room at the table. Isn’t that right, Frank?”

“Absolutely. We’d love to meet her.” As if my stepfather would ever deny his wife anything. The sun rose and set with her.

“You definitely should bring her,” my sister said. “She’d fit right in. She’s already been living with you nearly a month. It’s about time, don’t you think?”

Mom’s eyes widened. “She’s living with you and I’ve never met her?”

“It’s not like that. She works with me and needed a temporary place to stay, that’s all. There’s nothing going on between us.”

Jillian almost snorted wine out of her nose. I narrowed my eyes at her. I was beginning to regret that I’d ever confided in her.

“Except being in love with her,” she muttered.

“If you have feelings for this girl, why don’t you just tell her?” Mom asked. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you to bring a nice girl over for dinner?”

I groaned and Jillian chuckled. Our Sunday family dinner was turning into an inquisition.

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Jillian said. “You’re both unattached, and you’ll be returning to your old position soon. You need to tell her how you feel.”

“No, I don’t. Perry doesn’t need that complication right now. After what she’s been through, she only needs a friend, and that’s what I’m giving her.”

Fuck, did I just spill what I was trying to contain? Judging from the smiles, it appeared that way. I filled my mouth with enough food to keep me busy for a while.

“You at least have to try.” Jillian rested her hand on my arm. “How else will you ever know if she feels the same?”

“And if you can’t say it in words, dear, bring lasagna. Nothing says love like lasagna. Isn’t that right, Frank?”

“Absolutely.”

I arrived home moments before Perry. I’d barely had a chance to put the leftovers in the fridge before I heard the door open.

I walked out to greet her. “How’d it go?”

She dropped her purse on the end table. “Pretty well, I think. It felt like this was the first time she took me seriously.”

Perry had spent the day at her sister’s since her brother-in-law was out of town. She’d been looking forward to seeing Emily and getting uninterrupted talk time with Sam.

I smiled. “That sounds promising.”

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