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"What?" Oliver asked. "We're just sitting here minding our own business."
"Is that why it looks like you fell onto the couch when you realized I was coming this way and you were about to get caught? I may not have kids yet, so I lack the eyeballs in the back of my head like Mom, but I know you assholes," I laughed. "This is Enzo. Save us the protective brother shit, because he'll wipe the floor with you."
Penny chuckled. "Mom says their ears will fall off if they keep eavesdropping."
"Is that my Sadie? Come help!" Mom called from the kitchen. I dropped my head to my chest, tugging on Enzo's hand to drag him to the center of my misery that was Mom's kitchen in total disarray.
"You can leave your friend with the boys," Dad said. "We won't bite."
"Can I introduce him to the gossip police first? Mom will start stabbing things if she has to wait any longer, and I don't particularly feel like dealing with the mess today."
"His funeral," Dad chuckled, dropping into his favorite recliner. Moving toward the kitchen and shoving open the door, I drew in a deep breath to steady myself. There was no Rebel to help ground me, and I realized how much I'd come to rely on her unique distraction. Wyatt and Lily had joined Penny in rubbing Rebel's tummy while she wiggled on the floor. I wasn't selfish enough to take her away from the joy of the attention the kids gave her.
"Mama," I said as I stepped into the chaotic space. Nina and Joy worked to arrange the plates on the table, Mom's fine china proudly on display. The royal blue and gold decorations on the plates stood out from across the room as the two women leveled us with wide eyes. "This is Enzo."
I kept it simple. A name introduction, rather than assigning a label to whatever we were. I didn't want to think about that given his assertion the day before that we were heading towards something I wasn't ready for. Boyfriend didn't seem to fit a man like Enzo and introducing him as my man felt too intimate. Like I'd be shouting, he fucked me on his motorcycle for all my family to hear.
Awkward as fuck, that was.
"Hello, Enzo," Mama said, stepping up to lean onto her toes as he bent down. She kissed him sweetly on the cheek, touching his other with her hand. "How do you know my baby?"
"Mom," I groaned.
"Fine, fine," she said, waving a towel in our direction. "Help us get the table ready. Enzo, would you be so kind as to let the boys know that dinner is ready? I'll interrogate you while we eat." She shot a bland look in my direction before turning sneaky eyes that glimmered with mischief back to Enzo.
"Sure thing, Mrs. Hicks," Enzo said, smooth as ever. He kissed my temple, lingering for just a moment past what was appropriate.
"Sadie!" Nina whispered with a hiss as she rounded the table and came over to draw me away from the door. "Who was that?"
"I already told you. His name is Enzo," I said, turning my back to the mess in the kitchen. If I couldn't see it, then it might not bother me so much.
Even I knew that was bullshit.
"I know that," she said. "But how do you know him? Where did you meet?" she asked.
"Have you gotten a piece of that ass?" Joy asked. "I could bounce quarters off it."
"Joy!" Mom laughed. "Of course she has. A man does not look at a woman the way he looks at Sadie unless he has sampled the merchandise and loved it."
"Mama!" I shrieked. "Can we please not talk about my sex life? Don't be weird."
"Last I knew, you had sworn off men after Patrick proved what a useless shit he was," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Forgive me for being curious, since it hasn't even been 10 days since I've seen you. Does he want kids?"
Deciding to just ignore them all in favor of moving to clean the kitchen, I made for the sink and the pile of dishes inside it. "Leave that. We'll clean after dinner," Mama said, grabbing one of the bowls off the counter and setting it on a pan holder on the table.
"If you're going to stand here and question me relentlessly, I might as well get some of it done now," I snapped, my patience fraying at the edges to begin with. Not wanting to come out and admit that the mess bothered me put me at a distinct disadvantage.
Enzo and the others entered through the kitchen door, lured in by the smell of the food and Enzo's warning that dinner was ready. Realistically, I knew that he must have suffered his own interrogation because it didn't take five minutes to tell a bunch of men they could eat. In my experience, they moved pretty quickly once they knew food was on the table.
With a sigh, I turned the water off and set the last of the three mixing bowls I'd washed on the rack to dry. Plastering a fake smile on my face, I spun away from it and made for the table like nothing was wrong. The smile felt brittle, like it was suddenly at risk of cracking when I'd kept it in place for so many years without fault. Enzo made me vulnerable. He made it harder to keep lying to people I knew loved me.
Because for the first time I felt accepted and had to wonder if they would take me as I was too.
His gaze went to the sink behind me, watching as I forced myself to ignore it, with a sympathetic smile on his face. Moving to take a seat with my back to the kitchen, I watched as Enzo hurried to pull out my chair. Ever the perfect gentleman, at least when he had clothes on. Mom sighed in happiness at the move.
Like a sign that he was worthy of me. Because he pulled out my chair. If she knew the filthy things he liked to do to me, she might not be so supportive. Though, given how casual she was about acknowledging my sex life, that may not be entirely true.
Gross.
