Page 62 of Imperfect Match (Imperfect Match 1)
“Well, I want you to learn. What if I have a late night at work sometime? It would be really nice to come home and discover a hot meal waiting for me.”
“Oh, I can give you a hot meal any night you want.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re really not going to do this one thing for me?”
I sigh heavily. “Fine. I guess if you’re offering to teach me, I should at least try. Will you wear a frilly apron and heels? And nothing else?”
One of her brows cocks up. “Don’t push your luck.”
“And where have you two been?” Aspen eyes us suspiciously as we walk into the family room. The guests have all left, and Willow’s family is watching the slide show again.
“On the beach,” Willow says. “We went for a walk.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Aspen gives us a sly grin.
“Darlings, come sit.” Mrs. Hays gestures to the open end of the large, L-shaped sectional. “Willow, you did such a nice job on this presentation. Thank you so much. I don’t even know how you found some of these old photos!”
Willow smiles and sits down. “I have my ways.”
I drop onto the couch next to her. “You haven’t changed a bit, Mrs. Hayes,” I tell her as a wedding photo comes on the screen. “You look exactly the same as you did the day you were married.”
Willow’s mom laughs and tosses her hair. “Thank you, you flatterer. Sometimes I can’t believe it’s really been thirty-five years.”
“Just look at Dad’s hairline if you need proof,” quips Willow, prompting her father to throw a pillow at her. But he laughs along with everyone else, and it occurs to me how different my family is from the Hayeses. In fact, I can’t think of one time when we all just sat in a room together and watched a movie, let alone a slideshow celebrating the love between our parents. If there were wedding photos, I never saw them.
I look over at Willow, who’s smiling and laughing at photos of Mrs. Hayes when she was pregnant. “Look at that belly,” she says. “Holy cow, you were huge.”
“Well, you weighed nine pounds,” Mrs. Hayes reminds her. “You took up a lot of space.”
The smile stays on Willow’s face as we watch the family grow from two to three, and finally four with the birth of Aspen. I see photos of Willow growing up that I’ve never seen before—adorable baby pics, gap-toothed elementary school portraits, awkward teenage photos, a family shot at her high school graduation. The final photo in the slideshow is a picture I actually took of the Hayes family at Willow’s birthday dinner last spring.
Mrs. Hayes sighs. “What a beautiful journey it’s been so far. I wish the same for both my girls.”
“I wish to go to bed,” says Willow’s dad, rising from the couch. “I’m beat.”
“Same,” says Willow. “Mom, we thought we’d stay over rather than drive back. Is that okay with you?”
“Sure, honey.” Her mom smiles at us. “Your room is all ready for you.”
“Thanks.”
“And don’t worry about making noise tonight, your father sleeps like a rock.”
“Mom!” Willow rolls her eyes. “Jeez. We’re not going to make any noise tonight.”
“They already made noise,” says Aspen. “That’s why they went for a walk.” She makes little air quotes around the word walk, and Willow throws a couch cushion at her.
“Come on, Reid. Let’s say goodnight before my family embarrasses me any further.” She grabs my hand and pulls me from the room. “Goodnight, family.”
“Goodnight, family,” I say over my shoulder.
“Goodnight, dears!” calls Mrs. Hayes.
We head out to the car to grab our overnight bags and head straight upstairs to Willow’s room. I’ve stayed at this house a bunch of times before, but never in the same bedroom with her.
She shuts the door behind us. “Sorry about that. My family can be kind of ridiculous.”
“I think it’s nice you guys are all so close.”
