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Her agreement was on the tip of her tongue when Niall’s voice popped into her brain.The good luck charm… Damn it! There was no truth to it and yet… Maybe she should lay off dating for a while. She’d be setting herself up for heartbreak. The last thing she wanted was another guy finding the love of his life, akanot her, after she went out with him.
Wait, was that his motive?
Her eyes narrowed. “You heard the rumor, didn’t you?” Made sense. He was getting older, probably looking to settle down…date her a few times andBAM!Connect with the love of his life.
He looked genuinely confused. “What rumor?”
She sighed. “About me being the magic link to you and your soul mate.”
“I’m not following.”
Her cheeks flushed. Obviously, he hadn’t heard. Damn, why had she said anything? “Never mind.”
“No, I definitely need to hear this,” he said, looking amused. “You’re not getting out of it now.”
“It’s just a silly rumor that if you date me, once we end things, you’ll find your true love. It’s happened several times,” she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
He laughed. “I tell you what, you have dinner with me and I promise you that I will not fall in love with the next person I meet. In fact, I promise not to fall in love with anyone.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt aboutthatexactly… Didn’t “anyone” include her?
“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” he said, giving her a second to compose herself as he diverted his attention to scan the kitchen. “Now, where do we start?”
…
Opening the door to his family home half an hour later, Mitch’s sense of foreboding hadn’t completely subsided, but maybe being home for a few weeks wouldn’t be as torturous as he’d thought. Since leaving the bakery, his mood was considerably better and it wasn’t completely from having done a good deed.
In fact, his awkward lack of basic skills in the kitchen had probably put Jess even further off her schedule, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret hanging around while she worked. He vaguely remembered her from when she’d spend time at their family pool with his sister after school and on summer break. She was always the smiling, nice one out of all of Lia’s friends.
And she’d grown up to be quite a beauty. He hoped the ten-year age gap between them wouldn’t freak her out, because he already knew one dinner with her wouldn’t be enough. She was interesting and intriguing and hilarious. Her story about the Good Luck Charm curse had made him laugh harder than he had in over a year, and laughing with her had felt good.
Almost exactly the cure he’d been needing.
The sight of the holiday decor throughout the house as he entered immediately brought him back to his childhood. The garland wrapped around the staircase railing and his mother’s collection of different-colored trees—different heights and thickness—in the center of the foyer were all familiar. The big white snowflakes hanging from the ceiling were now yellowing from so many years of use, and the number of snow globes positioned on every flat surface in the house had to be reaching close to two hundred by now. She’d collected them since she was a child.
His mother believed in traditions. She decorated the same way every year. She cooked the same foods. And their Christmas morning routine had always been the same. Awake before sunrise, stockings first, then hot chocolate and cookies for breakfast, and last, gift opening under the tree.
Voices and laughter drifted to him from the dining room, making him the slightest bit uneasy. He missed his family when he was away, but he knew they’d drill him with questions about his missions. They were interested. That was a good thing. He knew his parents were proud. But he wasn’t in the mood to talk about the last tour overseas.
Man, he wished he was still at the bakery, where the conversation had been flirty and light.
Carrying the boxes of desserts, he entered the dining room, where it appeared his entire extended family were gathered. As usual, his mother had gone completely overboard. A bigWelcome Homebanner hung on the wall, and photos he’d sent from various missions had been blown up and displayed on racks all over the dining room. The shrine-like feel made his stomach twist, his high from meeting Jess unfortunately not enough to counteract the weight of the pressure bringing him back to earth.
Obviously, there’d be no deflecting the conversation away from his last mission.
His gaze fell on an image of him playing soccer with a group of kids in Cambodia, the smile on his face the last one before the incident. It took little to feel as though he were back there, living the nightmarish moments.
“My baby!” The joy in his mother’s voice made him feel like an asshole for not visiting more, but this over-the-top setup was precisely the reason why.
He set the desserts down just in time to receive her hug, and kissed her cheek when she refused to let go. “Hey, Mom. Went a little overboard, don’t you think?” Trying to keep his tone light and trying not to offend was difficult. He knew she meant well, but she could never quite understand that he’d chosen his field of work to help others, to serve…not to be treated with this kind of reverence. He didn’t like the spotlight she insisted on putting him under all the time.
“No such thing as overboard,” she said, squeezing him even tighter.
He laughed awkwardly as he scanned the room, and his other family members smiled and waved in greeting. His father came to his rescue.
“Okay, okay, let the poor man breathe, Ally,” he said, gently pulling his wife away and then extending a hand to Mitch. “Great to see you, son.”
Mitch shook it. “You, too, Dad.” He greeted the rest of the family and made small talk as they took their seats around the table. His mother opted for the one next to him instead of her usual chair. It was the same each visit, as though she were afraid to let him out of her sight, for fear that she may never see him again.
