Chapter 6
SIX
ALEC
“Oops, I left my phone in my car.” Tally excused herself from my kitchen, shooting a meaningful look at me on her way out.
I grimaced, knowing this was when I was supposed to break the news to my parents—who were serving steak and vegetables onto plates on the kitchen counter—that she and I were going to pretend to be dating to save her pride at Lake’s wedding.
After our initial conversation, we’d gone back and forth about whether we really needed to say anything about it, but considering my high profile existence, there was every chance that a photo of us looking like a couple would make its way into the tabloids and I didn’t want them to be caught off guard if it did.
I breathed in the delicious aroma of a well-cooked meal and steeled myself.
“The thing is,” I began, looking down at my hands to avoid Mom’s curious gaze, “Tally and I have… I mean, we’re…”
Why was this so hard?
I hadn’t expected it to be. It was a simple situation.
I’d offered—almost insisted—on helping her, and I’d made a point of letting her know that Mom and Dad wouldn’t be bothered by it, which was true.
They’d probably even be proud of me for looking out for her, but for some reason, the words were sticking in the back of my throat.
“We’re going to—”
At that moment, Tally reentered the room.
Damn. She hadn’t been gone long enough for me to get it all out.
Tally raised an eyebrow at me. Mom caught the expression and glanced from me to her and back. Her eyes widened.
“Oh, my God, it’s finally happened.” She giggled gleefully. “You’re dating. This is so exciting. I’m happy for you both.”
“We always knew you’d make a perfect couple,” Dad chimed in, his face relaxing into a smile. “You took your time about it though.”
I stared at them both, wondering what the hell was going on. They thought we made a good couple?
“Y-you don’t understand,” Tally stammered, the whites of her eyes showing as Mom flew across the room and swept her into a hug. “We’re not—”
“You don’t have to hide anything from us, darling,” Mom assured her, squeezing her tightly. “We’re thrilled. Just thrilled.”
Tally glared at me over her shoulder, her eyes spearing me like a sword. “Fix this,” she mouthed.
I shrugged helplessly. They seemed so happy. I couldn’t bear to disappoint them by saying it was only fake.
“How did it happen?” Dad asked, sliding the last steak onto a plate and circling around the counter to close the distance between us.
“It isn’t how it—”
“It was after Tally’s breakup,” I blurted out, cutting her off.
Mom cocked her head. “That’s right. You were seeing that finance guy. What was his name? Chad? Brad?”
“Thad,” Tally corrected stiffly. I could feel her glare burning into my forehead.
“Right, right. What happened with him?”
I hadn’t told them any details because Tally was embarrassed, and even though she had no reason to be, I didn’t want to spread gossip that might make her uncomfortable.
Tally’s upper lip curled. “He turned out to be a cheating asshole.”
“Want me to break his kneecaps?” Dad asked, deadpan. I knew—just knew—that he was channeling a character from his favorite show about the mob. It was in the way he suddenly had a New Jersey drawl.
To my surprise, Tally giggled. “No. But it’s sweet of you to offer.”
Dad looked a little miffed that his vengeful offer had been called “sweet,” but he nodded and leaned against the counter, crossing his legs at the ankles.
“Anyway, she called me after the breakup, and I went over to her place, and one thing led to another and…” I trailed off, hoping they’d extrapolate from there.
Mom beamed. “So romantic.”
Guilt twisted in my gut like a knife. I really shouldn’t lie to them. But they were so pleased, and now I couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing them. Better to just pretend to break up down the road and tell them we’d decided we were meant to be friends, not lovers.
Finally, I turned to Tally, acknowledging her furious glare. Silently, I implored her to just go along with this for a while. We could fix it later. My parents had dropped hints over the years that I might like to settle down, but I hadn’t realized just how much joy it would bring them if I did.
Tally tilted her head to the side, capitulating, but her expression told me that we would be having words later. Stern words.
“Should we eat before dinner gets cold?” Dad suggested. “We can talk over the meal.”
“Sounds good.” I waited for each of them to grab a plate before following them to the glass dining table.
Mom and Dad sat at the far end and the left side. Tally sat on the right, so I took the chair kitty corner to her, at the nearest end of the table. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder and a wave of sweet-scented air drifted toward me.
I peeked at her out of the corner of my eye. How would it feel to actually be dating her? To know that this beautiful woman, who’d always made me smile, was mine?
A surprising sense of satisfaction rippled through me. Strange. Did I actually like the idea of dating Tally?
I’d always known she was pretty, and it hadn’t taken long to learn that she was kind and capable too. Those were good qualities in a friend, but I’d never allowed myself to think more on the matter than that.
Now, I found myself uncertain of what to do or how to act.
She was mad at me. Meanwhile, I was in the midst of a crisis and potentially having some more-than-friendly thoughts about my best friend. Like, would she smell sweet and fruity if I buried my face in the crook of her neck? Would her eyes burn in a different way if I dared to kiss her?
I tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Mom say, “...know it’s a bit premature, but we’ve always thought of you as part of the family.”
Tally’s eyes were panicked, her smile forced. Mom and Dad must have noticed, but perhaps they chalked it up to nerves and that’s why they were going so far out of their way to make it clear they approved.
Unfortunately, Tally was blatantly uncomfortable and my mood soured. What had I been thinking, pressuring her into this? She was going through enough without me adding another layer of complication.
I set my cutlery down. “Mom, Dad, there’s something I need to tell you. We aren’t actually—”
“Going to be here during bye week.” Tally cut me off. “Because Alec is coming to Lake’s wedding in Hawaii with me.”
I frowned at her. I’d been about to give her a way out. Why had she stopped me?
But she didn’t make eye contact, just sliced into her steak after jabbing her fork into a juicy piece of it.
“What a perfect way to spend the break,” Mom exclaimed.
“Just make sure not to let your training slip,” Dad added, his tone implying that he was being one hundred percent serious for once.
“I won’t.” I’d worked too hard to earn my place on the team to lose it over a measly few days off.
“Speaking of hockey,” he continued, pointing the tip of his knife at me. “Let’s talk about that righteous goal you scored today.”
The conversation shifted away from our supposed new relationship to focus on the game we all loved.
Dad had opinions as always, and I listened to them with a grain of salt because while he was undoubtedly a legend, he’d also played in a different time—and a different position.
Some things he said would be helpful, and others, less so.
Once we’d finished eating, Tally started clearing the dishes away.
“I’ll help,” I said, rising to my feet.
“No, no, I’ve got it,” Mom said, sending Dad a meaningful look and nudging him with her elbow. “You can clean up next time.”
I frowned. Clearly, something was going on.
I waited as Mom got up to help Tally. When Dad and I were alone, he leaned across the table, resting on his forearms.
“I’m glad you and Tally are giving this thing a shot.” He kept his voice low, so they wouldn’t hear him from the kitchen. “We really think she’s the girl for you; no pressure, but we’d love to have her as a daughter-in-law.”
The knife blade of guilt twisted again. I should admit the truth, but he looked so earnest and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
When Mom and Tally returned, Mom and Dad exchanged the kind of speaking glance only people who knew each other inside out could.
She tilted her head slightly toward me and he responded with the faintest of nods, then checked his watch and said they’d better get home before they turned into pumpkins.
“Do you need a ride back to your apartment?” Mom asked Tally as she fished the car keys from her pocket and twirled them around her finger.
Tally glanced at me. “No, thanks, Mrs. W. I brought my car over earlier. It’s parked down the block.”
Dad waggled his eyebrows. Mom looked delighted.
We walked them to the door and I watched as they got into their car and drove away, wishing that I could stand on the porch all night, where Tally wouldn’t be able to lay into me. Eventually, I closed the door and turned to face my fate.
Her arms were crossed over her chest, her foot tapping impatiently, and she gave me the evil eye. “Why did you make them think we’re together for real?”
“I didn’t mean to.” My cheeks were hot, and I had no doubt they were blazing red. I had the kind of complexion that showed my blushes easily. “I was trying to explain when you came back in, and they leapt to conclusions.”
“And you didn’t correct them because…?”
I shrunk under her glare. “They seemed so happy, and I didn’t want to ruin it.”
She sighed, and her arms dropped to her sides. “I don’t like lying to them, but they did seem really pleased.”
“Weirdly so, right?” I asked, scratching the back of my head.
She nodded and her gaze raked down my body as if she were evaluating me, wondering what made my parents think we’d be the “perfect couple”.
I drew in a lungful of air. “I hate to ask, but do you mind just going along with it for a little while?”
She nodded again. “If I minded, I’d have let you set the record straight when you tried to during dinner.” She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, the curve of her hip popping out and drawing my gaze. “Let’s just do what we can to make this as painless as possible.”
Relieved, I reached out to her. She took my hand and let me pull her into a hug.
“Everything will work out fine,” I promised, breathing in the sweetness of tropical fruit with an underlying hint of chocolate.
“I hope so.” She held me tighter. “I don’t want anything to ruin this.”
“Then we won’t let it.”
Somehow, I suspected it wouldn’t be that simple, but I’d gotten us into this mess, so I’d get us out of it again, whatever it took.
“I have to go too,” she said, stepping away from me. “I need to work tomorrow, to make sure the shop is stocked for Monday.”
“Early start?” I asked.
“Nah, not too bad.” She drew her keys from her pocket. “I’ll see you later in the week. Train hard and stay safe.”
I patted her arm as she walked past me, hoping the touch would reassure her. She let herself out and I waited until I heard her car door slam and saw the headlights flash before locking the door behind her.
As I wandered back to the living room, at loose ends about what to do with myself, my phone buzzed. I checked the screen and noticed that I had a message from my sister.
Jane: How long have you been dating Tally and why did no one tell me?