28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Aiden
‘ S he is a nice girl,’ Mum declared, handing over a tote bag filled with meat and banchan . The taxi that would take us back to the venue had just pulled into the drive, the sleek black of it at odds with the soft flora of my parents’ garden.
‘She is,’ I agreed, looking over to where Charlotte was saying goodbye to Louise. She stood with her phone thrust out before her and Charlotte was dutifully inputting what could only be her contact information. Ugh. I’d have to message Louise later and tell her to leave Charlotte alone.
‘You should date her.’
I whirled around to Mum, gaping and taking a second to process her words and their implications before I managed to stutter out that I was dating her, wincing at the taste of the lie on my tongue. But she just watched me, a superior smirk twisting her lips that let me know she didn’t buy it.
With a sigh, I braced myself for the Power Pose of Disappointment, or the “June Park Special” as Louise liked to call it. ‘How long have you known?’
‘Does it matter?’
My eyes bulged. Did it matter? Of course it mattered, we’d—
‘Did you know before last night?’ I asked as my mind raced through the events of the night before, searching for some sign or tell that she’d known the entire time.
‘Maybe,’ she said with a shrug.
‘Mum!’ I stared down at her, sure that my eyes were about to pop out of my skull. ‘If you knew, why did you insist we sleep in the same room?’
‘I was helping,’ she said, looking up at me with an earnest expression. ‘Sometimes these things need a little push.’ She made a nudging gesture with her hands.
‘Mum!’ I groaned, dropping my head back and screwing my eyes shut. Thanks to her help , I’d woken up with a painful hard-on, surrounded by the smell of jasmine. ‘There’s nothing to push. Charlotte’s just my neighbour.’
Mum pursed her lips, folding her arms across her chest as she settled into the June Park Special. Fuck. I could practically feel myself growing smaller in the face of that pose.
‘She is!’ I repeated, not daring to meet her eye.
‘Aiden,’ she said sternly, looking over to the taxi where Charlotte was now saying goodbye to Dad. ‘Why did you take her to the wedding?’
‘Because Louise told everyone that—’
‘No, no, no.’ Mum waved her hand through the air, cutting me off. ‘Why did you take her? ‘
‘She owed me a favour.’ I couldn’t see where she was going with this.
‘There was no one else?’
‘No.’ I frowned.
‘Did you look?’
‘What?’
‘Did. You. Look.’ Mum enunciated each word slowly, making me feel like an errant child.
‘Yes!’ No. Not really. Well—not very hard. Mum shot me a knowing look as we made our way down the front steps and towards the others.
‘It seems to me that your sister gave you the perfect excuse to spend time with this lovely woman.’ A grunt of begrudging agreement was all I could muster. ‘The question is,’ Mum continued, ‘what are you going to do now that that time is almost up?’
‘Nothing,’ I said immediately.
‘I’m going to do nothing, Mum,’ I repeated, moderating my tone. ‘It’s not like that. Charlotte and I…. we don’t see each other that way.’ My stomach twisted uncomfortably as I forced the words out. I felt bad. I did. Mum had obviously got her hopes up. But she’d known the truth. So, it wasn’t my fault that she refused to face facts.
‘Whatever you need to tell yourself,’ she whispered. For fuck’s sake. And then, with a condescending pat to my shoulder, called out, ‘It was nice to meet you, Charlotte.’
‘You too, Ms Park.’ Charlotte offered her a serene smile and hugged her goodbye. ‘Thank you again for having me.’
‘Of course,’ Mum said, as I rounded the car and climbed into the back seat. ‘I packed enough Galbi-jim and Japchae for the both of you.’ She pointed to the tote bag that I’d just set down in the footwell. ‘Make sure he shares.’ She was talking to Charlotte, but she was giving me the “I’m watching you” fingers. I rolled my eyes, ignoring the soft trill of Charlotte’s laughter as she lowered herself into the seat beside me.
‘Don’t worry,’ Charlotte said, leaning over conspiratorially, ‘you don’t have to share. I won’t tell.’