“Thank you, Daddy. I’ll take that as a compliment.” I sent my dad a huge smart-ass smile, and he just grinned slightly, lifting his cup of coffee.
“Good. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” I could hear the laughter in his voice when I looked back at Alex.
“See. You should just concede and let me buy you dinner.”
“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stood firm, going toe to toe with me. It was hot. I loved the fact that he was just as strong in his stance as I was in mine. “It wasn’t a fair race since I sprang it on you. Plus, I’m taking you on a date, so I’m buying. End of discussion.”
“He’s right, Sweet pea,” Dad spoke up from the porch, siding with Alex, who was now giving me a bigtold you sosmile.
“Traitor,” I said, making both my dad and Alex laugh.
“You could always invite him to dinner here.” Dad shrugged. “That way neither of you are—”
“You win. I’ll let you buy me dinner,” I cut my dad off. It was bad enough we were having this discussion in front of him, but to have our first date with my parents and my siblings—not going to happen.
“See you later, Daddy,” I called over my shoulder, pulling Alex with me toward my car. I had to get him out of there fast before Mom came outside too. Daddy was wrong about something. I might be stubborn, but my mom held that particular crown in our family. She put me to shame.
Alex was laughing as I hurried him to the car. “You embarrassed by me, Evie?” he teased.
“Please. I’m saving myself the embarrassment of Mom gushing over you and showing you my baby photos.” I rolled my eyes.
He laughed, thinking I was joking, but I wasn’t. God knew, if Alex went in there, my mom would be planning our wedding in her head and picking out baby names. The woman was obsessed with grandbabies and wanted some that weren’t so far away. With Noah refusing to date anyone in town, she was looking at me next, but the man I was about to go out with was a heartache waiting to happen. As soon as his bus was fixed, he’d be gone. I was sure I was just a distraction while he was stuck in Santa Claus.
“Where are we heading for dinner?” Alex asked when I pulled away from the house.
“Nona’s Kitchen. It’s the best Italian food you’ve ever had,” I promised as I turned the car back towards town.
“Is that right? I’ve had a lot of Italian food across the country.”
I smiled, “You’ll see.”
* * *
We were halfway through dinner when Noah and Penelope walked through the door hand in hand. “Well, I’m done,” I snapped, putting my fork down and sitting back in my booth.
“Everything okay?”
I sighed, “Yeah. The food is delicious, but seeing Noah come in withher,” I sneered thinking about Penelope, “that took away my appetite.”
“What happened between the two of you to make you hate her so much?” Alex settled back in his seat as he waited for me to reply.
“We were in kindergarten; she stole a toy from me,” I shrugged. “I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it got worse when we both had a crush on the same boy in junior high.”
“And let me guess, he dated her and not you?” He gave me a crooked grin.
“Actually, no.” I laughed, shaking my head. “He ended up dating Philip, another boy in our class. Last I heard, they are now married and living in San Francisco.”
Alex laughed, “And yet, you still hate her?”
I stayed silent for a few minutes before casting another glance toward Noah and Penelope’s table. They were sitting close and talking, completely unaware they were being observed. Noah appeared to be relaxed and happy, and the way he was looking at Penelope was the same way our older brother Drew looked at his wife.
“Shit,” I breathed out, finally seeing it for the first time.
“And she gets it…” Alex said, smiling at me.
I gave him a confused look. “You just got into town. How could you have known when I didn’t?”
Alex reached for his tea and took a sip before answering. “I went into your brother’s shop yesterday morning right after he got off the phone with you. He only gave you a hard time because he knew you wouldn’t want him to be happy about the date.”