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“Oh yeah?” I say, eyeing him. “Like what?”
“Well my charming good looks for one, and my—” I shut him up with another kiss and shake my head. “No,” I say with a laugh. “That isn’t why I like you. I like how you thought I was an idiot for refusing to date because of my bad experiences…”
“I never thought that,” he interjects but I shake my head and continue. “It’s okay, I know you did. You thought I was being stubborn and denying myself relationships for no good reason. But what I like about you is that you never told me that. You never made fun of me or gave up on me. You just let me figure it out on my own.”
Tyler’s eyes peer into mine and he holds me tightly to him. “That’s a perfect answer.”
My phone bursts into a ring again, totally ruining the moment. I groan and Tyler lets me go, saying I should probably get it. I move to the other side of the bed and fish my phone out from under the comforter.
My stomach clenches as I read the name that blinks across the screen.
“Are you okay?” Tyler asks, concern stitched across his features. “Who is it?”
I bite my lip. “It’s my mother.”
Chapter 10
Tyler doesn’t know much of anything about the life I left back home and my strained relations with my mother and sister, but he doesn’t question why getting a phone call from her is a bad thing. The phone keeps ringing in my hand, the ringtone loud and annoying as if my mother had picked it out herself. With a sigh, I slide my thumb across the screen and try to smile. “Hi, Mom.”
“This isn’t your mother.” I roll my eyes as Maggie’s voice meets me on the other end of the line.
“Maggie,” I say, not hiding the annoyance in my voice. I glance over at Tyler, but seeing him shirtless would put me in a mental state that clashes too much with the one I’m in while talking to my sister. I get up and walk over to my closet. “What’s going on? Is Mom okay?”
“She’s just fine. She’s barely old enough to get the senior citizen discount, Robin. You don’t have to think she’s gone and dropped dead every time I call.”
I sigh,
loudly, into the phone. “Then what the hell do you want?”
“Mom wants me to call and invite you to Thanksgiving dinner this week.” After a beat she adds, “And Miranda, too, I guess.”
“It bothers me that you’re so nonchalant about your own child’s whereabouts,” I say, pulling open my closet door and looking for an outfit to wear today. After a shower, of course.
“Are you coming, or not?” Maggie says. “Mom gave me instructions to persuade you into coming, even if you don’t want to.”
“It’s Thanksgiving, which is traditionally known as a family holiday,” I say, choosing a grey tank top and a pair of jeans. “We’ll be there. When is it?”
“On Thursday. Thanksgiving.” I can see the face she’s making. The face that means I am a total idiot.
“I know that. I mean what time? I’m assuming it’s at Mom’s house?”
“Seven. And yes.” Maggie covers the phone and I can hear muffled murmurs on the other side of the line. The static goes away and Maggie’s voice is clear again. “See you then,” she says. I don’t even have time to reply before the line goes dead and the call is over.
Whirling around, I throw my chosen clothes on the bed and let out an exasperated sigh. “God. She is horrible.”
“Thanksgiving with your family, huh?” Tyler’s head tilts to the side as he studies me. I really hate that our first morning waking up together has been ruined with a dose of my family drama. I don’t want him to think I’m some crazy screwed up girl who will drag her relationships through the mud that is her life. So I fake a smile and wiggle the phone in my hand. “Yeah. They want us to come over for dinner.”
“How long are you staying?”
I snort. “As short as humanly possible. I don’t think Miranda will mind one bit if we drive three hours there, eat and then drive all the way back home in the same day.”
“That’s good,” Tyler says, grabbing his shirt off the nightstand and tugging it over his head. “Because Marcus and I would love to have you guys at our Thanksgiving.”
I lift any eyebrow. “There’s no way I can make two dinners in one day. It’s too far of a drive.”
“No worries. We have a tradition here. Family Thanksgiving on Thursday and then friend Thanksgiving on Friday. Marcus and some of our buddies all get together and grill, drink beer, you know, the usual.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “It’s a way to detox from all the annoying family time. Y’all will have fun. I promise.”
I smile as a warm feeling washes over me. “That sounds awesome. How many people show up?” What I’m really thinking is how many girls show up, but I can’t ask that.
