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“Tough shit—my mom would kill me if I let you cookandwash the dishes.”
Theo gives me a quick sideways glance. “Was it okay what I said earlier? About your mom?”
“Yeah, of course.” Our shoulders brush as she takes her place beside me. Our knuckles touch when I hand her a dripping mixing bowl. “You liked her movies?”
She nods. “I used to watchSnowboundevery Christmas.”
That place in my chest twists again.
Reese filling a mug with more marshmallows than cocoa, my parents playing cribbage, Mom’s chortle as she turns over her cards, me sweating in front of the fireplace because I begged to have it on even though it’s sixty-six degrees outside. On the tinsel-wreathed TV, a younger version of our mother twirls through a snowy Central Park…
“Us, too,” I say.
“Your dad wasn’t upset? I shouldn’t have?—“
“He’s not upset. It’s been good for him, having you here. He likes talking to you.”
“Really?” The tips of her ears turn pink.
I know this is a need for her, she told me frankly:I like taking care of people.
I could have guessed she’d try to take care of my dad. But never in a million years did I believe it would actually work.
“You saw—he was looking better today.” I clear my throat. “I’m grateful.”
Theo ducks her head. “I didn’t do anything.”
“He sure doesn’t put on a clean shirt forme.”
She laughs. “I like your dad. He’s honest.”
“That he is.” I give her a beady look. “But why does that feel pointed at me?”
Her expression is saucy. “Guilty conscience?”
“I’m honest.” I step closer. “With you.”
She tilts up her chin, arms folded over her chest. “Then tell me what your dad said when he was leaving.”
I’m electrified. “How did you know we were talking about you?”
She shrugs. “You’re not that sneaky. And what gives? I thought we were pretending to be dating?”
“Not to him.”
“I thought you said to everyone?”
“My dad doesn’t know Angus. They’re not gonna hang out.”
She frowns at me. “Don’t be patronizing. You made a big deal about it—how we couldn’t tellanyonethe truth.”
“Well, you can’t.”
“But you just did!”
“I saidyoucan’t.”
Theo stares at me, outraged. “How is that fair?”
