Page 73 of Ten Rules for Faking It
She nodded. Proudly. Everly did her best to avoid looking at the painting again.
“Wow.” She’d gotten her mother’s jaw structure and nose. How come she hadn’t gotten any of her guts?
Her mother jumped up. “Let me grab some snacks.” She rolled her eyes, but they landed on the painting and all she wanted was a blindfold.
Everly checked off the list in her head: she’d come back with two glasses of wine, snacks she’d prepared, even though Everly didn’t have to show up, and then she’d say how she didn’t feel seen or understood. Sometime tomorrow, her father would give his side of the events. Everly was expected to show an openly divided loyalty. It was exhausting.
Pulling her phone out of her purse, she glanced at it and saw a text from Chris.
CHRIS:Rob said you ran into Simon. You okay?
She typed back a quick response.
EVERLY:I’m fine. It was just a moment.
CHRIS:…
Everly waited.
CHRIS:Want company?
A gentle shiver traveled over her skin.
EVERLY:I’m at my mom’s work.
CHRIS:Getting a massage?
She smiled even as her cheeks heated.
EVERLY:No. When she and my dad fight, she comes here to “cool down.” It’s complicated.
CHRIS:Most things are. Text me if you change your mind. I’ll just be watching VM.
“You should latch on to whoever is making you smile like that,” her mother said, carrying two way-too-full wineglasses. She set them down and went back to the kitchen, returning a minute later with a platter of cheeses, crackers, and veggies with some hummus dip.
Everly slipped her phone back inside her purse and picked up her wine. It was too sweet for her taste, but she wouldn’t drink it all, anyway.
“So?” Everly braced for whatever her mom would say. She’d always thought by thirty, she wouldn’t care. That she’d be immune to their back-and-forth game in the way she was to reality shows—they piqued her interest, but she could easily turn off the TV. With her parents, though, it was one of those ones that sucked her in even when she knew she shouldn’t watch. She couldn’t look away or pretend it didn’t matter.
Her mother leaned back with a sigh. “Tell me about the smile first.”
It was nowhere to be found. “It’s nothing.”
Her mom leaned over and poked her in the shoulder, a playful grin tilting her lips. “One of the lucky bachelors?”
Nope. Just the… purveyor of said bachelors.
“How’s that going?”
Two dates left and it’s over.“Fine. It’s… okay, I guess. I have another date tomorrow.” She knew how this worked—give a little to get the intel. “I had to reschedule last time, so it’s a makeup date.”
Her mom’s smile shifted into something else. Something Everly didn’t want to see. “Oh? How will youmakeit up to him?”
Huffing out a breath, she tapped the fingers of one hand on her thigh. “I don’t like when you do this.”
“What?” Her mom blinked innocently.
She knew exactly what. They’d had the conversation enough times.
