Not wanting to get into it, I simply shrugged and nodded. “I did.”
“How long now?”
“How long for what?”
“Dating?” She flashed a fake grin at me.
“I dunno, a few months now.”
“Huh.” She kissed her teeth, “Didn’t I just see him out with that model from the billboard in Dundas square?”
Fuck.
She had us. I’d completely forgotten that photo was taken a few weeks ago. Panic clawed at my throat as I tried to find an excuse or something as to why he would be out with some leggy model if we were supposed to have been a thing.
The sound of the patio door sliding open startled me. It was Josh. He stared right at my sister, as if challenging her. “I can answer that. And it’s a lot more innocent than what you think happened. I was out with some of the guys and she came up to us with her friends. She asked for a pic, which she obviously leaked out for whatever reason she thought mighthelp, but I went home alone and immediately called April to tell her.”
That was impressive. He was so convincing, even I believed him. May’s face morphed into disappointment while my cousin simply smiled at him. He came and stood next to me, grabbed some items to put out, until my mother whooshed everyone out of the kitchen. She pawed at Josh. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I don’t mind. I want to help.”
She glanced between us but eventually let us be. I nudged him with my shoulder. “That was quick thinking. I should probably be concerned about how well you lie.”
He frowned. “I didn’t.”
“What?”
“I was telling the truth. Mostly.”
My eyebrow arched. “Mostly?”
“Everything I said was true. And I did call you. You had that neck injury, so I was checking in on you. I should have told you about her, but I hadn’t given it a second thought until now.” He paused, his arm brushed against mine, sending a wave of goosebumps up it. He leaned into me, his cologne hitting me right in the chest. Shit, he smelled fantastic. He glanced around to see if anyone was around before he lowered his voice and said, “When I said we were doing this, I meant it. That means I’m not with anyone but you.”
My face flushed with his admission. “Josh, you don’t?—”
He rubbed his finger over my lip, silencing me. “I do. This has to work for both of us. And as you saw, one little pic and it was already enough for your sister to bring up.”
He was right. And we both had something to lose. I nodded in agreement and with that, he started grabbing dishes next to me like we were back in his kitchen. There was an odd comfort there and for the first time since we arrived, I thought maybe we could pull it off.
As if he read my mind, he turned and winked at me. “We got this.”
He moved around me, his hand grazing my waist, dropping off the trays of cut veggies before he was called away by my uncle and cousins. I flashed him a smile.
“We do.”
An hour later, the game was done and the BBQ was being served. The kids were ushered to a small table at the back and the grown-ups were divided by favorites. I was usually allocated to the back with my cousins, so I was surprised to see my mom had us next to her, wedged in between May and my Papi. I had a sneaky feeling this was only because I had brought a date. As if Josh could sense the tension in the room, he gave my knee a quick squeeze to reassure me. It was oddly comforting.
My mother stood up and gave a quick speech, thanking everyone for coming out, and my grandfather looked more annoyed than pleased. He sat tight-lipped, muttering under his breath, something about not needing a fuss. My mother did her usual trick and played it off, but I could see she wasn’t too pleased either. Sometimes, I wondered what it would be like if people listened to what other people wanted, instead of forcing them into stuff, but then that wouldn’t be the Summers’s way.
My childhood flashed in front of me. I was stuffed into things like ballet and piano, when all I wanted to do was play ball. My mother thought that wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t like May. Her ultimate, perfect daughter. She loved ballet, piano, shopping, and liked her nails painted. They often did little mommy-and-me dates. I was always invited, but never quite fit in with them, so eventually I was just left out. Itdidn’t bother me. I preferred hanging out with my Papi, anyways.
“It was nice that you could join us today.” My uncle nodded towards Josh.
“Of course. It’s a big day.” He smiled and looked right at Papi, who was busy watching his plate of food as if something was going to jump off it. He wasn’t a center-of-attention guy, but since my mom was a force to be reckoned with and she insisted on marking this occasion, everyone did their part.
“Your season seems to have picked up,” Papi added in a gruff voice.
Josh swallowed down a bit of his grilled chicken. He turned to look at me with a slight flush in his cheeks and then said, “It has. I found a lucky charm, I guess.”
