Page 44 of The Comeback

Weston clutches my hand and lays it on his thigh. “Mom, I don’t want to talk about Helena. Charlotte knows about her, so we don’t need to rehash it.”

“You’re right.” Andrea nods and straightens her shoulders. “Weston said you’ve been helping him with ballet?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Pft.” She rolls her eyes and lays her hand on mine. “Ma’am is for old ladies. I’m refusing to believe I’m over thirty-five years old. Please, call me Andrea.”

“Okay….” I pause before I continue. “My parents pushed manners on me, so I’ll try to remember that.”

“That’s so wonderful. There are so few people with good manners. It’s so easy to communicate via social media and never have a face-to-face conversation.”

After the waitress takes our order, we chat about the dance studio and discovering the healing and strength-building benefits of dance while Weston sings my praises.

“I never thought I’d see the day.” Piper grabs her water glass and takes a drink. “My brother, gaga over a girl.”

He bristles. “I’m not gaga. I’m….” His shoulders sag. “I’m not going to finish that statement.”

“See.” Piper waggles her eyebrows. “I’m going to use this for ammunition for years.”

I laugh at his expression. He’s caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. “You’re adorable when you’re flustered.”

“Thank you,” he mutters and snatches a roll out of the basket. “I’m going to stuff my face to keep from getting into trouble.”

“Dear….” Andrea clutches my hand. “Don’t worry. I can tell my son likes you. You don’t need to stress over him not being able to come right out and say it yet. He will in time. It says so much that he’s already inviting you to meet us. We only met Helena once, and it was when he was in the hospital, the night of his injury.”

“I thought we were going to skip talking about Helena.”

“You’re right.”

Piper crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m still using this against you.”

Andrea stares at her across the table. “And ignore Piper. She’s going through a goth stage where her mouth works when her brain isn’t engaged. We’re hoping she grows out of it.”

“At least I’m only wearing black.” Piper turns her attention to me and smirks. “When we got back to the hotel last night, I thought Weston would knock you through the door.”

He squeezes my hand and chews. This is worse than dinner with my family. I’m going to die.

“Piper!” Andrea’s jaw flexes as she shoots eye darts at her. “That’s enough.”

“But it sounded like he was going to break her legs off, and unlike a Barbie doll, I don’t think they’re going to be able to soak Charlotte’s legs in a glass of hot water and snap them back in.”

Oh, fuck. Heat floods over my face, and I fight the urge to crawl under the table and die.

“Piper, enough.” She turns her attention to us. “It’s perfectly natural for two attractive, healthy adults in your mid-twenties to explore your sexual appetites.” She gives Weston a stern look. “But you need to be careful. I don’t want to get a phone call from you at 3:00 a.m. saying Charlotte’s in the ER because you broke her.”

Weston nods slowly and swallows. “I’ll remember that.”

“But….” She leans back and clasps her hands together. “It’s good news that you’re feeling that confident in your ankle.” She turns her head and glances behind us. “Oh, there’s our food. Let’s eat and talk about Piper’s rehab. I can’t wait to hear about her potential prognosis.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

An Hour Later

Weston

“Wow. I would understand completely if you wanted to stop seeing me.”

She leans back into her seat as my mom and sister head to the exit. “It was pretty rough.” She glances out of the corner of her eye and laughs.

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