Page 58 of If You Were Mine (After We Fall 3)
Theo’s face turned a deep shade of purple. He seemed completely unnerved by my mother, which I found kind of funny. He was so cool when playing a role, but being himself around people was a challenge. Poor guy.
“How cute, he’s blushing!” My mother’s tinkly laugh rang out. “Claire, he’s too adorable for words. Where have you been hiding him, you silly girl?”
“Mom, that’s enough. I haven’t been hiding him anywhere.” I tried to meet Theo’s eyes to reassure him, but he wasn’t looking at me. And was I imagining things, or was he slowly inching toward the back door?
“Well, how long have you been dating?”
“Not that long.”
“A month?”
“Something like that.” Flustered, I tried again to make eye contact, but he had this strange blank look on his face as he stared at the wall behind me.
“Theo.” She turned to him, her hands clasped. “What are you doing tomorrow night for Christmas Eve?”
“Uh.” He swallowed. “I’m not sure.”
“You must come by the house. Claire can tell you where it is.” She gestured toward me. “Claire’s father and sister would love to meet you, and I make a delicious glazed ham.”
“Mom, don’t pressure him.”
She dismissed me with a click of her tongue. “Nonsense, I’m not pressuring him! I’m simply extending an invitation. It’s not often you have a boyfriend to bring to Christmas dinner.” She turned back to Theo. “Au gratin potatoes. French bread. Onion tarts. Candied pecans. Sound good?”
Oh, Jesus. “OK, that’s enough.” Taking her by the shoulders, I turned her around and marched her through the dining room into the living room. “I’m sure you have to be on your way now. Lots of prep to do for tomorrow night.”
“OK, OK, I’ll leave you two alone.” She called out to Theo. “Nice meeting you, dear. Hope you can make it to dinner.”
“Nice meeting you, too.” Theo came into the dining room and lifted one hand in farewell.
I walked my mother to the door. “Thanks for the groceries.”
“You’re welcome.” She lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “He’s so good-looking!”
I frowned at the surprise in her tone. “Does that shock you or something?”
“Well, he’s much better looking than anyone else I’ve ever seen you with.”
“Thanks.” I opened the front door. She was right, I should keep it locked.
“Where’s his family from?”
“Connecticut,” I lied. It was surprisingly easy.
“Connecticut!” Her eyes lit up. “What about college? Do you know where he went? Was it somewhere out East? Yale’s in Connecticut. Was it Yale?”
“Bye, Mom.” I practically pushed her out. “Thanks for dropping by.”
“Bye, dear.” She blew her air kisses at me and pulled on her gloves. “I’ll let dad know you might be dating a Yale man. His alma mater—he’ll be thrilled!”
“Night.” I shut the door. I think she was still talking.
When I turned around, Theo was standing in the living room too.
With his coat on.
“Are you leaving?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah. I can’t—this was—” He stopped, his lips pressed together, one leg twitching restlessly. “I have to go.”
