4. Caius #2
The kitchen is chaos in the best way. My youngest brother, Sean, is setting the table while arguing with my sister, Nora, about something involving her boyfriend's car. Tommy's already here, looking exhausted, and Patrick is stealing rolls from the basket when he thinks Ma isn't looking.
They all freeze when they see Hallie.
"Everyone," Ma announces, her voice ringing with triumph. "Caius has brought Hallie. His girlfriend. They've been together for three months."
The explosion of noise is immediate. Questions, congratulations, Sean whooping like I've won the lottery, Nora abandoning her argument to hug Hallie, Tommy looking relieved that he's no longer the center of Ma's matchmaking attention.
We're swept into it, separated by the surge of family, and I lose track of Hallie for a moment before I spot her across the kitchen, laughing at something Patrick's saying, looking completely at ease in a way that my body something weird and tight.
She fits here. In my family's kitchen, with my siblings teasing her, my mother fussing over her, the noise and warmth and chaos that is Sunday dinner at the O'Connors.
She fits, and that scares me more than anything else about this fake relationship.
Dinner is somehow both exactly as chaotic as I expected and infinitely worse.
Ma's outdone herself with the food. Pot roast, roasted potatoes with roseMaura, green beans, fresh bread, and some kind of apple tart that's probably going to ruin me for all other desserts.
The table is packed, everyone talking over each other, and somehow Hallie's ended up next to me, our chairs close enough that her knee keeps bumping mine under the table.
Each casual touch sends sparks up my spine that have no business being there.
"So, Hallie," Tommy says, loading his plate with a third helping of potatoes. His girlfriend, the juice cleanse enthusiast, picks at her green beans with visible distaste. "How'd my brother finally get the guts to ask you out?"
Hallie glances at me, and there's mischief in her eyes that makes me nervous. "Actually, I kissed him first."
The table erupts. Ma gasps, Nora cackles, and Sean demands details immediately.
"That's not—" I start, but Hallie's already leaning into the story.
"We were at the library. He came to return a book?—"
"You read?" Patrick interrupts, looking at me like I've grown a second head.
"Shut up, Patrick."
"And he was being all charming and sweet, fixing the broken cart without being asked, and I just..." Hallie shrugs, smiling. "I thought, why not? Life's too short to wait around for things you want."
She's good at this. Too good. The story sounds real, lived-in, and I can almost see it: Hallie in the library, surrounded by books, deciding to take what she wants.
The image does things to me that are entirely inappropriate for my mother's dinner table.
"Good for you, love," Ma says approvingly. "A woman who knows her own mind. That's what Caius needs. Someone who won't put up with his nonsense."
"I don't have nonsense."
"You have nothing but nonsense," Nora says. "Remember when you tried to fix the washing machine and flooded the basement?"
"I was twelve."
"Or when you decided to rebuild that motorcycle and it caught fire in the driveway?"
"That was one time!"
Hallie's laughing now, her hand landing on my thigh under the table, probably to sell the whole loving-girlfriend thing, except the touch sends heat straight through my jeans and I nearly choke on my pot roast.
Her fingers rest there, casual and warm, like it's the most natural thing in the world. Like she touches me all the time. Like this is real.
I take a drink of water, trying to get myself under control, but she doesn't move her hand. Just keeps it there, steady and present, while she charms my entire family with stories about the library and her sister's wedding planning disasters.
"So you're the Maid of Honor?" Ma asks, passing the bread basket.
"Unfortunately. My sister is... particular."
"Bridezilla," I supply, and Hallie elbows me but doesn't argue.
"She wants everything perfect. Which means I've spent the last three months mediating fights about napkin colors and whether the bridesmaids should wear their hair up or down."
"And your ex is the Best Man," Nora says, because apparently Ryan's been talking. "That's rough."
Hallie's hand tightens on my thigh. "It's fine. I have Caius now."
The way she says it, looking at me with those big eyes. This is acting. This is fake. But God, the way she's looking at me makes me want it to be real and it’s borderline dangerous.
I cover her hand with mine under the table, threading our fingers together, and her breath catches in a way that nobody else notices but I feel like an earthquake.
"Well, Kyle's an eejit for letting you go," Ma declares, her Irish accent thickening the way it does when she's passionate about something. "And good riddance to him. Caius will treat you right. Won't you, love?"
"Yes, Ma."
"Because if he doesn't, you come straight to me. I'll sort him out."
"Ma, I'm right here."
"I know where you are. I'm just making sure Hallie knows she's got backup." Ma points her fork at me. "You've been pining after this girl since you were sixteen. Don't mess it up."
The table goes quiet.
"Ma," I say carefully, "I wasn't?—"