Page 101 of Freshmeet
I love this girl.
Shit. I do, don’t I?
Jamie pulled a small bottle of eyedrops from his pocket and tossed it to Sarah. “Use these. Your eyes are so pink, Mom might think you’re high.”
Her bloodshot eyes widened. “They’re that bad?”
“It wouldn’t hurt to use the drops,” I said.
She carefully leaned back and put them in.
I smiled at Jamie. “Good call.”
He shrugged and watched Sarah’s sad little movements. “I had a feeling she’d be in bad shape. I left the party before she did.”
She blinked a few times. “Better?”
“Much. Ready to go?” I took her hand.
“Yup.”
Ms. Perfectionist was dragging her sorry ass to dinner, worried she wouldn’t make a good impression—all for me.
I bent down and kissed her. My lips grazed hers as I said, “Thank you for doing this. I’m excited for my mom to properly meet you.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she gave my nose a lick. “Let’s go.”
I opened the door and led Sarah to the kitchen, where Jamie and Mom were talking. When my mom caught sight of us, her face broke into a big smile. “Well, hey there!” She circled the island with her arms out wide. Before Sarah could do anything, Mom was hugging the life out of her. “I’m so happy to see you again.” She took a step back and gave Sarah a once-over. “You look gorgeous.”
Sarah’s cheeks flamed. “Thank you. You have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you, sweetie. Would you like a drink?”
“Water would be great.”
Mom went to the cabinet next to the sink and took out a glass, while Sarah looked around. “I love your kitchen. Did you recently renovate it?”
“Last summer. Con and Jamie tore the sucker out, and my brother gave me discounted materials.” Mom poured water from the pitcher and handed Sarah a glass. Looking around like she’d never seen the kitchen before, she said, “They did a pretty good job, huh?” Mom nudged me, the skin around her eyes wrinkling when she smiled.
“I’d say so!” Sarah peeked out the window at the backyard. “Are those planter boxes?”
“Sure are. You like to garden?” Mom went back to mashing potatoes.
Sarah shook her head. “I’ve never tried it. My parents had a landscaping service to take care of the lawn, and my mom isn’t interested in a food garden.”
“You’ll have to come help plant this spring.”
Sarah looked at me, lifting an eyebrow in question, and I nodded with an encouraging smile.
If I have my way, Sarah’s not going anywhere.
“I’d love that.”
Mom tasted the potatoes and nodded. “Great, now why don’t you come over here and uncork this wine? Connor get the glasses.”
Sarah easily opened the wine and poured us four proper glasses. “Is there anything else I can help with?”
“Nope. You three go to the table, and I’ll start bringing the food out.”
