Page 37 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
Seeing the Hirsts bonding made Mia miss her own parents. She saw them fairly regularly, but lately, her interactions with them had felt stilted. She worried that she’d let them down with herchoice in career and her lack of a spouse; she could see the disappointment in their eyes when she told them, yet again, that she wasn’t dating anyone. Maybe, though, Mia was the one holding herself back from a closer relationship with her family. Maybe if, like Evan, she let herself have fun with her family and overlook their occasional offhanded comments, things would be easier.
As they finished breakfast and headed outside for the painting class, Mia pulled out her phone and sent a picture from the bike ride the previous day to her parents. She added the caption,Having fun in Italy! Miss you both!
Even though it was nighttime in California, Mia got a reply a few minutes later. Her parents had been having more trouble sleeping as they got older, so she wasn’t entirely surprised that they were awake.
Looks amazing!Her mom wrote.Is that guy in the picture someone special?
Frowning, Mia tapped the picture to make it bigger and saw that Evan was standing close behind her in the photo. While Mia was grinning at the camera, he was looking at her, and there was something behind his blue eyes. Something warm. Something unreadable. Mia’s heart fluttered. She’d seen him look at her like that on the balcony last night. Even though she knew it didn’t mean anything, she couldn’t help feeling pleased.
Biting her lip, she typed out a quick reply.
No, just a friend. Sorry.
Why are you sorry?her mother replied.
I know you guys want me to date someone. I feel bad letting you down.Her heart clenched as she typed the words. There was a longer pause this time, and Evan came over.
“Look who’s distractednow,” he teased. Mia looked up from her phone. They were all outside on the lawn, and a dozen easels had been set up overlooking the sweeping countryside. Most people had already claimed one, and now Evan led her to two next to each other that were still free.
“Sorry.” Mia made a face. “I was texting my parents.”
“How are they?” Evan asked. Mia bit her lip.
“They’re fine. I miss them, actually. I wish that they could accept my job and the fact that I’m—” Mia cut herself off before she could saysingle.They were still in front of Evan’s family, and she couldn’t give their ruse away.
Evan reached out and squeezed her hand, sending tingly warmth racing up her arm. She looked up and met his eyes.
“They will,” he said. “I’m sure of it.”
“Thanks.” Mia’s voice lowered. Her hand was still in Evan’s, and he was looking down at her with the expression he’d had in the picture, as though she mattered to him. Her knees felt like jelly.
“Let’s get started, everyone!” The artist who was running the session stepped up in front of the group. He wore a white T-shirt, which seemed like an interesting choice for a painting class, and had brown hair and olive skin. “My name is Angelo Acosta, and I’ll be your instructor today.”
Mia and Evan stepped apart, and Mia tried to calm the racing of her heart. As Angelo explained how to move freely, drawinginspiration from the natural setting around them, she glanced at her phone. There was a message from her mother.
Honey, we just want you to know the same love that we do. We never meant to pressure you. We love you, always, no matter what.
Mia’s heart clenched again, this time with a mix of relief, joy, and sadness. She held her phone to her chest as though she could press her mother’s words straight into her heart. All this time, she’d felt like they were judging her for her choices, but maybe they weren’t. Or, at least, they didn’t want to be.
When she got back to California, Mia would go visit them and talk everything through, but for now, this was more than enough. She slipped her phone into her pocket and focused on Angelo’s words, hope dancing in her heart.
Within a few minutes, it was time to start painting. Both Mia and Evan methodically began to dab paint onto the canvas. Mia could tell right away that her painting wasn’t going to look all that much like the landscape, and she giggled when one of the hills she was trying to paint deformed until it looked more like green waves on a sea than hills. Evan glanced over and chuckled.
“That looks great.”
“I know, right? Cooking and painting, apparently, are two of my best skills.”
“Don’t forget wine tasting.” Evan winked.
“True. How’syourpainting?” Mia leaned over to look at it. “Wow, not bad.”
“Thanks.” Evan took a bow. They both went back to work, but every now and then, they’d pause to smile and joke witheach other. Angelo came over to offer some feedback on their paintings, and Mia felt more confident afterward. Still, she was definitely making something more impressionist than lifelike.
The Hirsts seemed very focused on creating beautiful art. Luka, particularly, grew increasingly frowny when his painting didn’t look much like the scenery, especially when Ellen expertly painted the landscape as though she’d been doing this her whole life.
“That’s amazing, Ellen,” Mia said, going over to look at it during a break from painting.
“Thanks, darling. I took art classes as a teenager.” Ellen smiled proudly at her canvas. Luka’s eyes narrowed further, and Mia moved over to him.
