Page 96 of The Great Dating Fake Off
But I can’t come right out and say what it actually is—an intervention in which we get Enzo drunk and make him talk about where he stands with Ro so we can figure out how to fix things—with Enzo present.
Alessia is first out of the car, followed closely by El and Enzo. They bound toward the front door, stopping to clap Nora on the shoulder or give her cheek a kiss as they pass. “No man left behind” doesn’t apply to my friends, obviously, since they left me in the dust in their haste to get inside.
Nora waits for me on the paved walkway. I feel like I’m moving in slow motion as I come to a stop beside her.
There’s something about nighttime, warm summer air, and this woman that makes it hard to string together a coherent greeting. Her summer dress is short and clingy. But it’s seeing her bright lipstick and the clear effort she made to curl her hair that twists the wrench she puts on my heart even harder.
I want her to get dressed up like that for a date with me. I want to pretend she’s here for me.
“Hey.” I put on a polite smile. “Glad you could make it.”
“Thanks for having me. Hopefully this goes well.” She offers me the dish in her hands. “This is for you.”
There’s a joke on the tip of my tongue about how we now will have enough food to feed two armies thanks to Nella’s prep, but it dissolves at how excited she looks to give it to me. “Great. Come on in.”
The foyer feels smaller than usual as she trails me. I walk fast toward the kitchen so she’s not tempted to slow down and look at any photos on the wall.
Her jaw drops. “Holy moly. Look at all these—”
“No thank you.” I usher her into the kitchen as she giggles.
“Party don’t start till they walk in,” Eloise sings as she flounces around the kitchen with a frozie already in hand.
Let the games begin.
Alessia grabs one of the pre-poured frozen drinks and hands it to Enzo. “Nella, you remember my brother, Enzo.”
“Enzo. It’s been a long time, good to see you.” Nella gives an affirming nod. “How’s your poker game?”
He scratches his neck, eying the unconscionable amount of fake greenery decorating the top of Nella’s cabinets. “It’s decent. I guess I’m about to find out, competing with all of you.”
“He’s bluffing already,” Alessia says with a wink.
“Nella, this is Nora,” I say.
Nella, apparently, has already prepared an overflowing plate of food for Nora.
“Hello.” Nella slides the plate across the island. “I made this for you.”
I try to step in. “Nella, she doesn’t need ten pounds of manicotti—”
“Wow! Thank you so much.” Nora slides past me. “I’m starving.”
“That’s great news,” Nella says, nearly cooing. “And plenty more where that came from.”
Frankly I can’t imagine there being any more left, given the quantity on Nora’s plate.
Nella overtly studies her. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like a celebrity? There’s one I’m thinking of but for the life of me I can’t think of her name. Sebastian, what’s that show I like?”
I sigh. “You like a lot of shows. Can you narrow it down?”
“The one with the beautiful woman, I think she’s shipwrecked on an island? It’ll come to me.” She keeps studying Nora with naked curiosity. “Hmm. This is going to bother me.”
Someone needs to put her out of her misery. “You’ve seen her at the Y,” I say. “Nora swims there, too. That’s probably why she looks familiar.”
Nella’s expression screams betrayal. “Why didn’t you tell me, Sebastian?” She turns to Nora. “My grandson never told me or I would’ve said hello.”
I’ll be paying for that one later.
