Page 51 of Ten Rules for Faking It
She gave an atypically sassy grin, and he felt the impact in his gut like a hard kick.
“Uh, everyone? I’m not exactly Chatty Cathy.”
Chris shrugged, wanting to tell her she didn’t need to be anything she wasn’t, but before he could say anything, she pushed off the car and unlocked it.
“I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah. Okay. Have a good night.”
“You, too.” She lifted her hand and gave him a small, shy wave.
Ignoring the sounds of footsteps and people calling out to each other in the lot, Chris watched her drive away.
“Aw, you look like a lost puppy,” Rob said, coming up beside him.
“Shut up. I walked an employee to her car. Nothing more.”
Rob laughed, clapped him on the shoulder. “Sure. I’ll buy that if you’re buying the beer.”
His gut reaction was to say no, but he realized it was exactly why he’d come out tonight—get away from his own thoughts, hang out with a friend, release some energy.
“One round,” Chris said.
“I’ll take what I can get,” Rob answered.
Chris chuckled. “Story of your life?”
Rob glanced over his shoulder at where Chris had been standing, then looked him dead in the eye. “And yours, it appears.”
[18]
Everly lifted her hand to knock, then lowered it. Stupid to be anxious about visiting her parents. Stupid or not, a nest of bees woke up in her stomach, making her palms clammy and her breathing hitch. It was her mom’s birthday, and celebrations in the Dean household were wild cards.Your parents are wild cards.How she’d ended upnotbeing more like them, no one knew. One thing she was sure of, though, when her parents threw a party, anything could happen.
It’s not a party. It’s dinner with your parents, who love you, you chicken.The last couple of weeks had given them an arsenal of over-the-table conversation topics that Everly wanted to avoid. Tomorrow night was date four out of six. She was halfway. Her mom texted more than ever, asking about the “future son-in-law candidates.”No pressure.
Forgoing the knock, she turned the handle and let herself into her childhood home. A faint chime sounded when she opened and shut the door. A mixture of comfort and chaos swirled in her chest. The scent of chili and fresh bread hit her hard, making her stomach growl. Music pumped through the house. Her dad was a nut for wireless anything, and Everly was pretty sure most of the rooms in their home were smarter than she was. She couldn’t even figure out the lights.
“There she is,” her dad greeted, coming out from the kitchen. He held his arms open, his smile genuine and wide.
Everly walked into the hug and smiled against his chest, being careful not to squish the gift bag between them. He smelled like spices and home. Running a hand up and down her back, he pressed a kiss to her head.
He leaned back, looked at her with thick, furrowed brows. He either hadn’t gone gray yet or was too vain to let it happen. She suspected the latter since his dark hair only got darker each time she saw him.
“You’re too skinny,” he said, frowning.
“Don’t start, Dad. I plan to eat my weight in chili and bread, so it’s not from lack of trying.”
He chuckled and shifted so his arm was around her shoulder and guided her toward the deliciousness coming from the next room. “We’re enjoying the sunshine in the backyard. Your mother and I invited a few extra guests,” he said.
Everly stopped in her tracks at the entryway to the kitchen where she’d eaten breakfast every morning until her teen years when she’d decided it wasn’t the most important meal of the day. “Defineextra,” she said, the hair on her arms bristling.
“Come on, Evie. You know more is merrier,” her dad said.
So not her motto. As if he’d cued them, a group of people shuffled through the open double doors of the kitchen that led onto a patio.Oh God, that’s a lot of extra.Through the glass doors, she saw the yard was full of guests. Everly recognized a few of the ones greeting her in the kitchen, and her dad introduced her to the others.
Focused on breathing, their names slipped through her brain the moment the next person said theirs.Nod and smile.Why did they do this to her? She kept a viselike grip on her mom’s present, wondering why she’d agreed to come.A small family dinner. They promised.When did they ever do exactly what they said they would?
“There’s my beautiful girl,” her mom said, coming into the house, an empty margarita glass in her hand. On her way tohug Everly, she sent a quick glance to her husband, passed him her glass. “Did you tell her?”
