Page 90 of Off the Mark
Alice made a hush gesture. “If you knew how long I’ve been waiting for my grandson to bring someone home for me to meet… Well, it’s felt like forever. And let me say, I always knew the one for him would be a woman like you.”
Rowan paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “You had this all figured out the whole time and you didn’t tell me?”
Under the table, he slid his foot over mine and pressed down.
Alice sniffed. “Would you have listened? You never take a word of advice. Stubborn as your father.”
“And just as handsome,” he said with a wink.
“What kind of woman do you think I am?” I asked.
She looked back and forth between Rowan and me. “If you’re anything like the way Rowan described you this morning, then you’re brave, fearless, and determined.” She cocked her head. “What else did you say?”
He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “A fighter.”
“You said that?” I asked.
“It’s the truth. I would never lie about something like that.”
I sensed the hidden meaning, buried under his words—all the truths connecting us that made our fake relationship feel effortless.
“I can already tell Charlie keeps you in line. Doesn’t tolerate any of your nonsense,” Alice added, chewing thoughtfully.
Rowan coughed into his hand, a light pink in his cheeks. I set my fork down and pinned him with a smirk. “Do I keep you in line?”
“Yes, ma’am, she sure does. Charlie’s the one in charge,” he said smoothly.
But under the table, his hand covered my knee. Squeezed.
“Your grandson has been a friend of mine for a long time now, and I’m not one to have a ton of friends,” I said, hesitant. “The fact that he puts up with me is also appreciated.”
I could feel the heat of Rowan’s attention, but I stayed focused on Alice. She was beaming.
“Oh, I don’t think he’s putting up with much of anything, my dear,” she said. “There’s nothing tolerating about the way Rowan’s looking at you right now. And I should know since I had a soul mate for a husband. And was lucky enough to see my son find his as well, in Rowan’s very sweet and lovely mother.”
Rowan was fighting the emotions scrawled across his expression. He managed to wrangle them and flashed a wide smile I didn’t quite believe. “My grandmother is a saint. If she hadn’t been here, who knows what would have happened to me and Dean.”
Dean grinned. “My mothers would have sent us both to a terrifying boarding school. Then I never would have met Tabitha.”
Tabitha clicked her tongue. “Don’t you worry, Mr. Machine. Soul mates find each other either way. You think I would have let you go just because of a boarding school? You were always mine.”
I swallowed around the lump that formed in my throat. I didn’t know Dean or Tabitha all that well, but their love was obvious. And I never thought lovecouldbe obvious. Even when my mom was hanging around with my dad, it wasn’t like they had the kind of healthy, affectionate relationship I saw between parents on sitcoms.
Being together seemed to exhaust them and annoy them in equal measure.
Truthfully, I felt the same way about the various men I’d picked up over the last few years. They were a way to pass the time, not a person I wanted to have family dinners with.
I wasn’t so much confused by Dean and Tabitha’s adorable banter as intrigued. And when I flicked a glance at Rowan, he seemed just as curious.
Under the table, his fingers tightened on my skin. I was extremely, extremely aware of every point of contact between us.
“What’s your family like, Charlie?” Alice asked. “Have you introduced them to Rowan?”
“You know…uh, not yet,” I stumbled. “Not for lack of trying, it’s more because of my racing schedule. And Rowan and I just started dating. I don’t want to scare him off.”
“Charlie’s dad is a famous dirt bike racer too. He has a few more tattoos than Charlie does, but between me and the people at this table, she has a more sophisticated style.”
I arched an eyebrow his way. “Sophisticated? I’ve never heard it described that way. Usually people say I’m all brute force and poor track manners.”
