Page 26 of One Bossy Date
“Yeah. You’re right. Well, I’m glad I did. Because now I can rub it in Brody’s face.” She stepped between Ares and Hades to keep Hades—who always finished ten seconds quicker— from helping himself to Ares’s food. Not bad for someone who had barely been able to breathe in the presence of the dogs a few days ago.
“Hewantsto be your date?”
“Well, he’s certainly tried relentlessly to get it to work. He usually has good intentions, but let’s just say, things didn’t work out.”
“So, you need me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”
Something lit up in her eyes. And by “lit up” I meant she beamed like the sun. It was obvious that she hadn’t expected me to suggest anything like this, but she obviously liked it.
“I guess so, um…I mean, well, basically.” She smiled awkwardly, chewing on her lip, almost distracting me entirely. “It would be more effective if everybody thinks we’re serious about each other. Right?”
“In that case, we’ll need to know a few things about each other.”
“Right, okay.” She nodded, determined. Her entire demeanor had changed, and I could tell that the dinner party meant the world to her. She finished giving the boys—now vibrating with excitement—their food. While she was busy, I poured us each a cup of coffee and set them on the dining table, pulling out a chair for her and taking my own seat at the corner of the table. The dogs found their place under the table and curled up.
“So, what do you want to know?” she asked the moment she sat down, all businesslike, clasping the warm mug in her hands.
“Well, you tell me. I have no idea what I’ll be walking into.” I took a sip of coffee while she seemed to consider what details to give me. “Will I be meeting your parents?”
She immediately shook her head. “Ah, no. They passed a long time ago. My gran raised me. Her name is Dotty, by the way. Granny Dotty.”
“Okay, Granny Dotty. Who else in your family might be there?”
“Oh, well, there’s my aunt and uncle—my gran’s other two children. They’ll have their spouses and kids with them. My gran’s siblings will be there with their families—there are five of them.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Sounds lovely.”
“Yeah, we’re a big family. Hence why she’s so eager to have me create my own.”
“I see. And is that what you want?”
“To start a family?”
I nodded, and her eyes darted around the room, seeming to search for the right answer.
“Um…well, obviously not now. But you know, one day.” Zoe’s hazel gaze fell to her coffee mug for a moment before she lifted one shoulder. “When I find the right guy. What about you?”
“Maybe, one day.” I shrugged. “Sure, I’d like kids, but it isn’t something I’ve been planning for. You don’t have any siblings?”
“No, I always wished I did though. But luckily, a lot of my cousins are my age, so we grew up close.” She sipped her coffee before asking, “What about your family? Is it also big?”
“Not as big. I have cousins, but I don’t see them often.” I didn’t mention how much that had to do with me living in a different country most of the time. “My father died about ten months ago, so it’s just my mom, my brother, and me.”
“I’m so sorry about your father. What’s your brother like? Are you guys close?”
“Yes. Dax. He’s a lot younger than I am. He likes to swim against the current, on principle. He’s twenty-eight, and still ‘finding himself.’” I hooked my fingers in the air, using my mom’s words, though I knew he was starting to figure that out now. “But we’re close, I see him quite often.”
“He’s probably just a bit lost…he’ll get there.” She smiled, and I believed she was being genuinely empathetic. The conversation had taken us to a place of intimate talk, and I preferred to steer it back to the topic at hand.
“So, this dinner party. Will it be black tie?” I asked, drumming my fingers against the table.
“Not entirely, just formal.”
“I assume you’ll be wearing yellow,” I said, more frankly than questioning.
“What? Why?”
“Well.” My eyes dropped to her yellow top, then her yellow nail polish. “It’s been a recurring theme.”