Nick walks past me. “I can see where you get your competitiveness.”
My mom and I both laugh. I glance around for Briar. She and Poppy are talking while drinking mimosas.
When I make my next shot, my mom groans.
“Here, I’ll drink it,” my dad says as he walks over to her. She smiles at him while he downs the wine in the cup.
“I’m pretty sure that’s cheating,” I joke.
“You’re twice my size, which means you can drink more than me. I’m just making things even,” my mom says to me.
I laugh, then clear my throat. “Hey, thanks for talking to Briar’s mom for so long.”
“It’s my pleasure, honey. It’s been nice catching up with her.”
“You took the heat off Briar, and I think she really appreciates that.”
“Are she and her mom going through a rough patch or something?”
I rub the back of my neck. “Her parents aren’t happy that she transferred from Chicago to Denver. They’ve been arguing about it a lot. And they didn’t tell her they were coming until last night. She was pretty stressed out about it.”
She glances over to Briar. “That’s too bad. Briar is a sweet girl. Really smart too. I’m sure she had a good reason for transferring.”
“She did.”
My mom looks at me for a long second. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah. She seems really happy at Hollis.”
My mom starts to smile. “Probably because you’re here.”
I fight a smile and shrug. She starts to laugh.
“What?”
“Oh, honey. You think I don’t notice the way you look at her? The way you’ve always looked at her?”
My face heats.
“You think I haven’t noticed that you’ve never looked at anyone the way you look at her?”
I clear my throat, unsure of what to say. I wasn’t expecting my mom to read me so easily.
“We’re just friends, Mom,” I say.
“But you want something more, don’t you?”
I look at her and nod.
“Briar wants to take things slow, though. She had a bad experience with an ex at her old college, and she’s pretty skittish about relationships.”
Recognition flashes in my mom’s eyes, seeming to put it all together. “I see,” she says in a quiet voice. She glances over at Briar again. “Poor thing.”
“Yeah,” I say through an exhale.
We continue playing. A minute later, I hear raised voices in the kitchen.
Chapter 36
