Page 99 of The Great Dating Fake Off
Nora
Intent on not noticing Sebastian’s dizzying proximity or his rough palm on my thigh, I set my sights on Enzo as I wait for his answer.
“We aren’t talking.” He swallows, his throat working. “She’s staying at Gia’s.”
Alessia’s brow furrows. “For good?”
He loops a finger through his gold chain as he leans back in his seat. “I don’t know. I hope not.”
My lips tip into a frown. “I’m sorry. That’s hard. What happened after Rosalina walked out of brunch?”
He lets out a balloon-deflating noise. “Man, where to even begin.”
Sebastian takes the liquor bottle that Enzo has been manning all night, pours a shot, and slides it toward Enzo. “We’ve got time.”
Alessia slowly deals another hand as Sebastian’s thumb absently strokes my leg. I want to take his hand in mine, but there’s the small issue of me having no idea what’s going on between us and wondering if this whole night is a figment of my tipsy imagination.
Enzo’s fingers drum the table. “I found her right after brunch. She said I need to try harder to get my family to like her, because she doesn’t want to spend the next however many years feeling like the bane of her in-laws’ existence. And I said she needs to try harder with my family too, then.” He shrugs. “She left with Gia. Then I went and packed my stuff and drove our car back alone.”
Alessia grimaces. “Yikes.”
Sebastian’s grandmother reenters the room. “What did I miss?”
“Just wedding chatter,” Sebastian says, stealing the blender so she can sit down. “Relax, I’ve got this. You’ve done enough.”
“These old arms can still pour.”
“I have no doubt. Now let your freeloading grandson handle it, please.” He shoots her a wink.
She guffaws. “Freeloader my tuchus. You pay more of my mortgage than I do.”
My stomach does a cartwheel off a cliff. I was today years old when I discovered how unbearably hot it is when men dote on their grandmothers.
I force my attention back to Enzo. “I’m hearing you both wish the other person would try harder with your respective families.”
“Rosalina tried to be friends with me, if that helps,” Alessia offers. “She was friendly at the bachelorette party and always tried to make me feel welcome at the wedding. Did you try with Benji, Z?”
“I thought Benji and I were cool,” Enzo replies. His forehead creases in consideration. “I kept his secret, didn’t I?”
“You did keep all the secrets.” I say. “And we appreciate you so much for that. Benji is just a tough guy to get close to. But he likes you, and that’s more than he can say about most people.”
“I like the guy, too. But according to Rosalina, I haven’t tried hard enough with her family, so I’m at a loss.”
“It’s probably her parents she wants you to make an effort with,” Alessia says with a shrug. “Not everyone has issues with their dad like we do. She’ll want them to approve of you.”
His sigh is mighty. “You’d think having a good job and taking care of their daughter would be enough to earn this mythical ‘approval.’ I am not optimistic when it comes to them. But it’d be great if our relationship was enough for her. It used to be, before we told people about us. Oh well. Life’s a bitch and then you die, you know?” He peeks at his dealt hand and leaves the cards facedown on the table, expression neutral. “This has been a good night, though. A nice distraction. We should do this again sometime.”
“You’re welcome here every Friday,” Sebastian reminds him. “This isn’t a one-time deal.”
Alessia nods. “Yeah, Sebastian’ll be gone soon, but Nella and the rest of us will still play. Nora, you’ll keep coming too, right?” She looks at Enzo, then me.
Sebastian’s hand squeezes my thigh under the table. Maybe it’s meant to be reassuring, or even friendly, but the contact shoots up and settles between my legs.
“You should,” he says firmly. His hand drifts just high enough to make my breath catch. “They get wild sometimes. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Alessia snorts. “Don’t worry about what we do when you’re not around, Rossi.”
Not around.
