Page 9 of Moonstruck Kiss

My brows leave my forehead. “All of it?”

Dad chuckles. “Yes.”

“How? And please don’t lie to me just to shut me up about this.”

“Lying is not good,” Ollie interjects, eating his pancakes.

I grin at my son. “That’s right. Listen to Ollie.”

“We got another loan with much better terms, so stop worrying. Honestly, things are going great.”

I narrow my eyes at Dad. My parents never did like talking about anything financial with us kids.

“Here she is.” Mum starts waving at someone behind me. “Candy! Over here!”

A sigh escapes me. “Seriously?” I ask my dad in a low voice.

He leans close to my ear. “Just be nice. You don’t want things to be awkies.”

“Awkies?”

“Awkward,” he says with a disbelieving frown. “You don’t know what awkies mean? You have to get out more, son.”

I snicker. “It’s more like I can’t believe you said that. Are you having a mid-life crisis?”

He laughs.

A hand on my shoulder makes me turn my head, and my gaze lands right smack on a woman’s rather impressive cleavage. The newcomer’s breasts—almost spilling out of her top—are exactly in my line of sight from my sitting position. I look up at her face and find her smiling at me, her pearly whites gleaming. “Hi, Brax. I’m Candy. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I stand to shake Candy’s hand—and to create some distance. “Nice to meet you, Candy. How are you?”

She ignores my offer of a handshake and throws her arms around me instead. Thankfully, it’s just a brief, albeit very tight, hug.

“I’m fantastic! And this must be Ollie.” Candy turns to my son.

“Yes, this is Ollie,” my mum answers. “Ollie, this is Candy.”

I wait for Ollie to comment on “candy” being a confectionary, but he offers his hand for a shake and says. “Nice to meet you, Candy. How are you?”

My lips stretch wide as my heart swells with pride. Did he just copy me?

“I’m well, thank you,” Candy answers, taking Ollie’s little hand.

“Come, sit, Candy.” Dad grabs an empty chair from the next table and positions it between Ollie’s and mine.

I want to glare at him, but my father always wants to make my mother happy. I can’t blame him for that.

Candy and I both sit down, and she scrapes her chair against the floor to move closer to me. “Brax,” she breathes. “I still can’t believe I haven’t met you before today.”

“Because he doesn’t come often enough and never stays long enough,” Mum complains.

I do feel guilty that since my parents and Liss moved here almost nine years ago, I have only visited four times and haven’t stayed for more than a couple of weeks each time.

What can I say, though? I have a very demanding job in a highly competitive industry. “I’m staying for two months with Ollie this time,” I say defensively.

Mum huffs. “And that’s not long enough.”

“Well, I’m glad to meet you now,” interjects Candy. “I work at the post office. Do you need to send postcards to anyone back in New York? I’ll help you pick some. We have a good variety.”

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