Page 45 of Captivating Anika

“What?” I finally break down.

“Is this a family thing?” he asks.

“Is what a family thing?”

“This need to feed. Your mom has it.”

I wince at the comparison. Mom definitely has a need to feed, but I never realized that trait rubbed off on me. It makes you wonder what other traits you may have inherited.

It reminds me of my conversation with her last night.

“Speaking of my mother—she called me last night. I think Bodhi talked to her, because she demanded I show up for Sunday dinner.”

I pause and wait for him to meet my gaze before I finish.

“And insisted I bring you.”

It’s clear he’s not reading the situation the way I do, because he looks excited at the prospect.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had your mom’s cooking. Looking forward to it.”

Yup. Not the same takeaway at all.

I turn onto my street and pull into the driveway. Then I shut off the engine and turn to face him.

“You’re missing the point.”

He looks confused.

“I am?”

“Yeah. First of all, she’s asking me to bring you, which means Bodhi talked to her. She’s already pissed at me I didn’t call her yesterday, and now she obviously heard from my brother you and I are a thing, which she’s gonna be even more pissed about. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my mother likes to be in the know.”

“Is that what we are? A thing?”

“Still missing the point,” I bite off. It’s possible I growled.

Hog lifts his hands defensively, palms out, and I take a deep breath. I may have inherited my mother’s quick temper as well. Shit.

“This isn’t gonna be about food,” I explain, at a more moderate tone. “It’s going to be an inquisition. There will be prying and probing, likely some inappropriate and premature questions regarding intentions, and my mother will most definitely test the waters on her prospects of becoming a grandmother anytime soon.”

“We’ll deal with it,” he calmly states, cupping my face with his hand.

I love that he says that, but I’m afraid he doesn’t understand the full scope.

“I’m also thinking of telling them about my RA. It’s not gonna be fun already, I figure I might as well get it all over with at once.”

He deserves fair warning, and I wouldn’t blame him if he opted not to be part of the family drama I’m about to unleash.

“We’ll deal with that too,” he comments instead.

He either is too good to be true, or utterly clueless.

“You can still back out,” I offer.

“Not my style.”

I shake my head. “Well, you were warned. It’s going to be a shit show, and I’m sorry in advance for putting you through that.”