Lisa took the hand that was offered. “I’m Lisa.” Then glanced briefly about Ryan, still scowling. What was his problem? He’d interrupted her dinner, not the other way around.
Just as she was about to stand up and leave, Ryan grabbed her arm. “Don’t think about it; you’re eating with us.” He said, boring into her with anI-dare-you-to-movestare. “It’s Mom’s birthday; there will be cake.”
“Oh, no, don’t let me interrupt your birthday.”
“Girl, please, the more the merrier. And it looked like you didn’t even get to order over there. You must be hungry.” Tammie said, all smiles.
“You’re staying,” Ryan said with some force and beckoned over her head. A well-dressed server arrived. Lisa ordered pasta, wondering why she was staying, but an inner urge kept her seated.
Ryan poured her a glass of wine, and she smiled thanks at him, lifting the glass. “Happy Birthday, Tammie.”
“Thank you, honey. I feel all forty-nine of my years.”
She couldn’t stop the little slip of a groan as she lowered her head into her glass. She was only seven years younger than Ryan’s mother.
She heard a deep, rumbling male laugh and glanced up at him.
“What?” his mom asked. “What am I missing?”
“Lisa realizes you guys are only seven years apart in age.”
If she could have pelted him over the head with the bread basket, she would have, but bread was her one weakness, so she just glared at him. The monster laughed again, enhancing the crinkles around his youthful face.
Tammie exclaimed. “You only look thirty! I need your skincare routine before we leave, okay?”
That’s all she had to say about an older woman who once dated her son?
Okay, then. Relieved, Lisa smiled. “Happy to share, I don’t gatekeep wrinkle-free skin.”
“Amen.” They clinked glasses, and Lisa saw Ryan smirking.
And then the dreaded question came from Tammie, which no woman wanted to be asked by a relative.
“So, how did you meet Ryan? When did you break up? Forgive my nosiness, Lisa, but this is exciting for me. You’re the first girlfriend of Ryan’s I’ve ever met. If not hearing about his antics from others, I would assume he wanted to become a monk.”
Lisa choked on wine and covered her mouth. Ryan as a monk would be world-shattering news.
His prowl alone said he was a man all about his sexual appetite.
She’d once known intimately how hungry he could get. And it had nothing to do with good-smelling bread.
“Ah, well...” she started and darted a gaze to the man, imploring him silently to step in and change the subject.
“It was a few years ago, Mom.” Bless him, she thought. But her smile fell when he added, “I got dumped.” That rotten jerk.
“Oh!” exclaimed Tammy. “Good for you, honey. I’m sure he gave you lots of trouble.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He smirked, drinking from a bottle of beer, leaving his lips wet. He licked them while looking directly at Lisa.
“You forget I know you. If Lisa dumped you, she had a good reason. You can’t get by on your pretty face for long, you know.”
Mother and son bantered back and forth for a minute, and Lisa regained her composure. She was glad Tammie wasn’t asking why she ended things with Ryan. It wasn’t something she could share.
Dinner went surprisingly smoothly. The conversation with Tammie was easy, and she learned that she also went to Nina’s salon regularly.
Lisa left for the bathroom during coffee and cake. After she was done, she went to the hostess desk to pay, but just as she was giving them her card, someone grabbed her wrist.
“Don’t think about it, sweetheart,” Ryan said huskily. He gave them his card, and the hostess glanced worriedly at both of them before swiping it.
