"He's nice to let me stay," I agree.
"You should move in with Beck," Dad says. "You can help him with my granddaughter."
"Dad," Beck says with a sigh. "She's not free childcare. We've discussed this at length."
We have. I busy myself with a piece of bread. The conversation drifts on. Alex returns, and eventually food is delivered.
"And this is all nut-free?" Alex asks the waiter.
"Yes. Everything but the pasta, which has pistachio cream, and the rockfish, which has slivered almonds."
"Put those on the other side of the table," Alex grumbles.
The waiter complies, and the tension at the table dissipates. I let the words flow over me, humming at my King salmon and asparagus. The dinner proceeds without another incident, until my mom insists on ordering banana gianduja gelato.
"It says it's loaded with nuts," Alex says, reading from his dessert menu. "I'm not sure that bringing it to the table would be a good idea."
"Alex." I blush and shake my head. "It's fine. Really."
“Everyone relax.” Beck cuts in, shaking his head. “Mom, Dad, we need to get going. We can take some dessert to go.”
“I’ll have two scoops. I just love that flavor,” my mom says.
I screw my face up. It’s just banana gelato, but it almost seems like my mom is trying to rub it in my face. Which is crazy.
“Well.” A muscle tics in Alex’s jaw. "You know what? I'm pretty tired anyway. Why don't I get you some ice cream from Crawford's on the way home?"
I screw up my face. "I love Crawford's, but I can't just leave my car here."
“It’s fine. I’ll have one of the rookies retrieve it.” He doesn’t ask, which is annoying. But at the same time, I find myself wanting to cheer Alex on. If anyone else at the table realized he was my boyfriend, they’d probably cheer too.
"Well, we should go to Beck’s house. I haven't spent enough time with that adorable grandbaby of mine." My mom pouts.
Beck sighs and tosses his napkin on his plate. “Fine by me. Thorne, thanks for taking care of Mollie. Are you sure that you can deal with her car?” He eyes me. “It’s past time to buy her something new.”
“We’re agreed on that,” Alex says.
“Don’t team up on me. It’s not fair. My car gets me everywhere I want to go,” I say, particularly petulant.
“Sorry to interrupt.” A statuesque blonde appears out of nowhere, blushing. “Thorne, hey. It’s been a while.”
Everyone at our table freezes in place as the blonde casually puts a hand on his shoulder. Alex looks horrified for a second until he manages to control his facial expression. Catching her hand, he removes it. “Amy. It’s not a good time.”
Her eyebrows rise. “Answer your texts, then. I’ve messaged you twice this month.”
His gaze slides to me and then Beck. “Later.”
I raise my hands to my face; my cheeks are so hot that they’re nuclear. This is embarrassing. Mostly because Alex can’t exactly come out and say he’s with me.
If he evens want to. Oh god, now that I think about it, I have nothing compared with Amy. She’s tall, thin, has big boobs, and she’s dressed like she just walked out of shooting a Fendi ad.
Fuck. What if he’s tempted by Miss Glamorous?
“Now Alex.” My mom smiles at Alex and Amy like they’re soulmates. “Don’t be shy. Introduce us!”
Beck coughs a laugh into his hand, but doesn’t help otherwise. Alex stands up, forcing Amy to move back or literally topple over.
He glares at her. “Amy, I don’t want to talk about this here, since I’m clearly with people. But I haven’tanswered your messages because I don’t want to talk to you.”
