Page 10 of The Great Dating Fake Off
A dark laugh slips from her mouth as she flips the bill of my cap from front to back. “Oh, Sebastian, you sweet, gorgeous fool. I can’t show up at a traditional Italian wedding alone. Being a single person at the age of thirty would draw all kinds of unwanted attention. And the last time I saw some of these people, I still planned on medical school. And, since I sure as hell don’t want to discuss that topic, I need a strapping gentleman with good table manners and no criminal record by my side to ward off any questions about my ‘disappointing’ life.”
Her words hang in the summer air. Medical school was our great shared “almost.” I get why she’d want to shrivel up and play possum at family functions when the topic skirts medicine. Once upon a time I thought I’d be a doctor, like my own parents. But I learned it wasn’t going to happen for me when I failed high school chemistry. On-level chemistry—not even the advanced class. Anatomy and physiology were no easier.
Being terrible at science and mediocre at math, as it turns out, is kind of an occupational hazard when pursuing medicine.
I mull over her proposition, not that I’d deny my friend of twenty years anything. This favor would be a great way to repay Alessia for checking on Nella weekly while I’m working in other states, and for feeding me intel on the state of her house. The girl is hardwired to help others, and I don’t want to let her down. I’ll already be at the wedding anyway.
But first, the request begs a few questions. “Enzo knows about you and Eloise, doesn’t he?”
She waves this off. “He knows. Z loves Eloise. But no one else in the family knows yet. Especially not our dad. I’ll tell him after the wedding if he’s lucky.”
Alessia doesn’t tell that man anything if she can help it. The only reason he knows she opened an audiology clinic and manages the business side of things is because other people relayed the message. “How do you keep any information private from a family who all lives within spitting distance of each other?”
“It pays not to have social media of any kind. Z and I mingle with the rest of the Mazzellis only at Christmas and Easter. We see Nonna Gloria more often, but I’ve been steadily feeding her lies about my life since the dawn of time. As far as she’s concerned, I’m still considering reapplying to medical schools to follow in her footsteps and searching for a man who embodies all the qualities of my late grandfather.”
“Families are complicated,” Nella tells Alessia. “We want our loved ones to be happy and successful, but we’re blinded by our own definition of what the word means. Just because Gloria has done well for herself doesn’t mean you have to be just like her. You should be free to forge your own path, make your own choices.”
A smile touches Alessia’s lips. “Thanks, Nella. But it’s not just my family that’s the problem—there’s drama with the bride’s family. The Mazzellis and Ferraros have been at war for generations. Enzo’s fiancée is a Ferraro, and my family does not fuck with Ferraros.”
“I mean…Enzo clearly does,” I retort. “Who is this girl? What is she like?”
“I don’t know Rosalina, but I do know my dad was nearly expelled from high school his senior year because he got into a fight with Rosalina’s dad, Giuseppe. Neither family is known for being reasonable.”
“So, Enzo is marrying an enemy of your family, and the fathers of the bride and groom hate each other,” I muse.
“Everyone,” she clarifies. “Everyone hates each other.”
“This wedding ought to be fun. Bye, Nella.” I kiss her on the crown of her head so she can return to her morning, even though we both know damn well she’ll stand in the driveway waving until our car disappears from view like a wife seeing her sailor off to sea.
Alessia’s hopeful eyes meet mine. “So you’ll do it?”
“Anything for you, Mazzelli.” I grab her car door so she doesn’t have to.
Boyfriend duty starts now. But whether or not we can sell this farce remains to be seen.
Chapter Three
Nora
“Passenger princess life is great.” I crack my window to experience the fresh mountain air, creating a cross breeze that makes my hair go wild. “We should keep this up even when you aren’t my boyfriend.”
Benji cuts me a look as we lumber down a narrow road toward the Foxfire Lodge’s parking lot. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Also, I thought you were trading this in. The AC is fritzy.”
“And I thought you’d decided to leave Tairn with a sitter this week. Guess we’re both full of surprises.”
He rubs his chin. For all his blustering that he was going to keep his beard despite his mom’s opinion, he’s clean shaven. “He gets separation anxiety. I’m not leaving him with someone else for six days.”
I let this go, even though we both know it’s Benji who gets separation anxiety. “You should be glad I’ve still got the Tahoe. It fits Tairn’s portable house and our suitcases, as well as all my books. Your tiny Camry could never.”
“This vehicle is the age of a high schooler.”
“Which means it needs my parental support more than ever. I’m just not in a hurry to deal with trading it in. Tahoes have extremely high safety ratings.”
He pokes the broken button that used to reset the trip meter. “So do Honda Odysseys. Safe and affordable.”
“A minivan? What am I, a suburban mother of six? No way.”
“If my family asks, that’s what you aspire to be.”
