Thirteen
Gavin
The whiskey swirled in the glass as I sat at my bar waiting for the door to ring. Dinner was starting in a little more than an hour, and I told Maddie to arrive early. She was already getting on my nerves, and our pretend relationship hadn’t even started yet.
Mom was ecstatic when I asked about dinner later that night. I told her I was planning a dinner with Maddie and wanted her help, and she insisted on having it at her house. According to mom, Maddie and I were practically in our honeymoon phase already, and I knew I would have to act the part. Still, I sent over the first half of the money the day after I received Maddie’s signature on the contract, and while it hardly made a dent in my various bank accounts, it still stung nonetheless. It was the principal of the matter.
I didn’t want to even be in the same room as her.
But mom was so happy that she made the dinner menu herself, and decided on cooking everything from scratch. I begged her not to. I offered to hire a top chef from one of her favorite restaurants to come over and cook in her own kitchen, but mom had gotten offended and asked if her cooking wasn’t good enough.
“Of course it’s good enough,” I said. “I just don’t want you getting tired.”
“I’m always tired. If I did nothing while I was tired, I wouldn’t ever do anything again.” she said and went back to her menu planning.
All I knew was that it would be a night of Italian cuisine, mom’s specialty. I wasn’t sure where she got her energy from, but something about dinner with Maddie and me gave her such a boost. Even Karen had noticed and had commented on how alive mom was acting. She had even eaten more than a pudding cup mixed with protein powder.
My stomach rumbled at the thought. I’d had a double workout earlier and had time to enjoy only an extra-large protein shake before meeting Ron on my boat. The lake hadn’t given him a bucket full of fish, and he was upset at his takeaway. I offered for us to grab lunch together, but he refused and said he was meeting with a woman from the other night.
My mind had been too full of thoughts that it wasn’t until the early evening I realized I hadn’t gotten lunch myself. A single protein shake later, and I was desperate for food.
But I still had to wait on Maddie.
I finished my drink just as she knocked on the door. I opened it and returned to the bar without a single glance her way.
“Hey,” she said as she followed me. “I’m sorry—”
“You’re sorry you’re late,” I finished for her. “I’m sure you are.”
There was no point in acting the part until we had an audience. She sat beside me, and I took in her outfit for the night. A tight, red dress that practically molded to her tiny waist and hung in loose waves around her thighs. Her off-the-shoulder sleeves hugged her forearms, and the front of the dress was a modest top that touched her collarbone. I wondered if it was a new dress that she purchased with my money.
Still, she looked alluring and beautiful, and I forced my eyes to the bar beneath us.
“We’re having dinner with my mother,” I said. “You could have dressed a little more modest.”
I caught a frown on her face as she glanced at her outfit. Her long hair fell over her shoulders in soft waves with the light creating a red tint. She looked at me with those eyes that always reminded me of lily pads. She smelled amazing, like an early morning on top of a hill, when the grass was still damp from the night’s mist, and flowers were beginning to bloom.
I took another sip of whiskey and forced those thoughts out of my head.
“Unless your mother is a governess from the late 1800s, I don’t think she’ll have a problem with my outfit,” she said. “But last I checked she was a modern 21st-century woman.”
“My mother isn’t modern,” I argued. “She still makes her toast with an electric burner.”
“She’s more modern than you,” Maddie said. “She followed all of my accounts the other day.”
I nearly choked on my drink. Of course, mom would follow Maddie; she was hoping for a daughter-in-law soon. But somehow it still rubbed me the wrong way.
“Don’t forget to post those pictures,” I said. “If she is following you.”
“Let’s take one now,” Maddie suggested and took out her phone. I shook my head, snatched it, and shoved it back into her purse for her.
“After dinner,” I said. “We’re going over to my mother’s house first, and then we’ll take a picture.” I couldn’t handle taking a picture with her before another few drinks.
“Okay,” she said and clutched her bag to her side. “Where does your mom live?”
“On my property,” I said and looked at her. “Listen, you need to act like you’re falling in love with me, and that we’ve had a thing between us since we were kids, okay? My mom has a soft spot for fairy-tale endings.”
Maddie crossed her legs, and my gaze immediately moved to her smooth thigh. It was so damn close to mine. So hot.
“I can do that,” she said. “Might be my easiest role yet.” She smiled at me, obviously comfortable with the animosity I’d been throwing at her the whole time. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn that she was even attempting to flirt with me.
“Tell my mother one thing that you like about me, something realistic sounding, at least. And you can make up stories if you need. Just nothing embarrassing or too complicated. And hand holding and shoulder touching is okay, but nothing too romantic in front of her, got it?” I asked.
“So, pretend I’m in love with you, flirt with you by bumping our shoulders, but I can’t actually touch anything other than your hand,” she summed everything up and I nodded. “Got it.”
I stood abruptly and picked up the gray tie from a table near the foyer.
“That doesn’t match,” Maddie said and gestured at my suit. I wore a cream-colored blazer with navy trousers, an outfit that I used frequently.
“Gray goes with everything,” I argued.
She shrugged as she got ready to leave.
I led her across my property over to mom’s house, which had been cleaned by professionals throughout the day. The garden was perfect, with lush bushes and colorful flowers greeting us as we walked toward the door. Maddie took her time admiring the fountains and statues that mom had picked out when I had the house built. She brushed her fingers along the bird feeder on top of the fountain.
“It’s like a house you’d see in a garden magazine,” she murmured. “It’s beautiful.”
“Don’t tell me,” I said and opened the door. “Tell my mom.”
My mother was waiting at the golden oak dining table when we arrived. Her thin hair was in a loose bun, and she wore a baggy blue dress that was tied at the waist with a belt. Everything looked big on her. She must have lost another couple pounds within the last few days.
She smiled deeply as Maddie bent over to offer a quick hug, and she pulled me into an even deeper hug before I took my seat.
“How are you, dear?” she asked Maddie. “It’s so upsetting that I’ve seen you only once in the past decade.”
“I’m good, Ms. Hayward,” Maddie said. “It’s been a busy decade, at least.”
“Mona, please,” Mom said.
I played with my utensils, and the ladies caught each other up on their lives. Maddie told her about her promoting business and her acting and modeling jobs, all the while mentioning times that I’ve supported her from afar. Mom would never have known that I hadn’t said more than a word to Maddie within the past six years.
“Your son has probably been my biggest supporter throughout it all,” Maddie said. “Every time I wanted to quit, he was always there to make me feel better.”
Mom sighed. “I’m so glad to hear that. A woman like you deserves all the support she can get. It’s not easy to make a name for yourself these days.”
“Exactly,” Maddie leaned forward. “It’s so nice to have someone understand.”
Maddie grabbed my hand and squeezed, and it startled me enough that I dropped my fork onto the floor. I apologized and bent to grab it. Maddie’s mouth brushed by my ear as we were beneath the table together.
“Can you at least try to act like you like me?” she whispered.
“Yeah, sorry,” I said and put my fork back on the table.
“Such a klutz,” mom said and shook her head at me.
“Maddie’s getting used to it, right?” I looked at her and smiled. It was forced, but I knew it would look real enough to my mother. Maddie blushed, she was a true actress and nodded.
“Then again, you’ve always been sort of a klutz,” Maddie said. “Oh, like the time that you and Ron went out TP-ing the neighbors’ houses? He loves that story!”
Mom leaned forward with a curious look.
I opened my mouth to shut her up, but she continued without a second glance toward me.
“So, when they were like 13 or 12, Ron and Gavin would run around the neighborhood with like three giant packs of toilet paper. Ron was the fastest at it, but Gavin would take his time because he wanted everything to be even. Like, the entire tree covered in toilet paper.”
Mom broke out in laughter, and I groaned, knowing exactly where the story was going.
“So one night Ron is holding the pack and Gavin is in the tree, but not that high. I think like just five or six feet up there. He wrapped toilet paper around several of the branches and the branch fell. Of course little Gavin thought the best thing to do was throw the rest of the toilet paper on a different branch and try to hang from it. So, he jumped and threw it, and he fell so hard I think he broke his arm!” Maddie covered her mouth as she laughed.
“I remember that!” mom exclaimed and looked over at me. “You told me you fell off your bike!”
I shrugged. “I didn’t want to make you or dad mad.”
Mom laughed and shook her head. “Oh, that’s great. I can picture the whole thing.”
Karen brought out our plates, homemade lasagna with a side salad and glasses of wine for Maddie and me.
“It’s delicious, Mona,” Maddie said, and we ate. “I’ve never had such amazing lasagna before.”
“It’s an old family recipe,” mom said. “Gavin used to eat up the whole pan.”
Maddie brushed her shoulder against mine, and it took everything in me not to push her away.
“That reminds me,” Maddie said. “Would you happen to have those old stories Gavin used to write? We’ve been talking about them lately, but he said he doesn’t have them anymore. I figured as a mother you might have kept them.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said. “I doubt she kept them.”
“Of course I have them!” mom said. “I know exactly where they are. If you’ll just excuse me.” She stood, and I pushed myself off of the table and helped her balance.
“Mom, really, sit down. You don’t need to get those,” I said. Maddie was also on her feet, a fork in her hand, as she told mom not to worry about it.
“I want to read them, too,” mom said. “I’ll just be right back. Finish your food.”
Maddie and I both sat back down in silence. I was having trouble keeping my anger hidden, and Maddie looked just as embarrassed as I had been earlier.
“I’m sorry, Gavin,” she said. “I didn’t think she’d actually go and look for them.”
I took a deep breath and ignored her as mom returned with a binder. She gave it to Maddie, who flipped through printed pages of stories that I had written a long time ago.
“Thank you, Mona,” Maddie said, and it almost sounded heartfelt. “I’ll return them soon, I promise.”
“No rush, dear,” mom said. “Well, as long as it’s before six months.” She laughed, and Maddie bit her lip and looked at the table.
“I don’t know if dark humor is appropriate yet, mom,” I said. We all had finished our dinner and were waiting for a dessert that mom insisted on making as well.
“An old lady has to get her kicks in somewhere,” she said as Karen brought over three small plates. They each had two miniature cannolis, with chocolate chips and powdered sugar sprinkled on the ends.
“These are my favorite!” Maddie ate the first one in practically a single bite. “My roommate begged me to stop bringing these home. We both were eating way too much.”
“Take it from me, sweetie,” Mom said. “Eat as many cannolis as your stomach can handle. You’ll never know which one might be your last.”
“They’re good,” I said and ate mine.
Mom had a forlorn look on her face, eyes cast downward, and shoulders slumped. I picked up the second cannoli and brought it toward Maddie’s mouth. She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth as I fed it to her. A crumb fell onto her lip, and she blushed as I wiped it away.
It was a romantic gesture, and I was rewarded with my mother sniffling beside us before breaking out into a grin. I didn’t realize how much it meant to her that I was happy with a woman.
“Thank you so much,” she said to Maddie. “This dinner meant a lot to me.”
“Thank you for inviting me,” she said. “If there’s one thing I love about Gavin, it’s how much he loves you. I hope we can make this a regular thing. Maybe once a week?”
Maddie had crossed off two things on the checklist in a single sentence. Compliment one thing about me, and plan to have one dinner a week with us. I was almost impressed with her.
“Of course, darling,” Mom said. “I’ll have Gavin set up the schedule.”
Mom was beginning to sway a little, and I realized she must have been exhausted from cooking all day and then having dinner with us. Karen was hovering nearby, and she also noticed mom’s lack of energy.
“I’ll start the bath,” Karen whispered into mom’s ear and left for the restroom.
“I think that’s my cue,” mom said. “It was so nice having you here, Maddie. I’ll see you again soon.”
I stood, excused myself from the table, and helped mom to the restroom.
“Don’t leave her alone too long,” mom said. “You don’t want that one running away.”
I grunted and moved her in front of the tub. Karen was checking the temperature and getting a washcloth ready.
“You looked happy,” mom said and sat on the toilet lid. “And you have no idea how happy that makes me.”
I kneeled in front of her. “She does make me happy,” I said. “You never have to worry about that.”
“My sweet boy,” mom pressed a palm against my cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you,” I said. “So impossibly much.”
“Nothing’s impossible,” she said and kissed my forehead. “Now go finish your date.”
I said goodbye to them both and returned to Maddie typing on her phone in the dining room.
“Is she okay?” Maddie asked and put away her phone.
“Yeah,” I said. “She’s fine. Time for you to go home.”
Maddie rummaged in her purse. “My keys are in your house,” she said. “At the bar, I think.”
“Just get them and go,” I whispered and left mom’s house. Maddie followed behind me while holding the binder full of my stories.
The moment I closed my front door behind us and I grabbed her arm and forced her to look at me. The binder fell in between our feet.
“And don’t you dare tell her any more stories that would make me look bad. I’m not trying to make my dying mother disappointed in me,” I barked.
“What are you talking about?” Maddie’s eyes glared at me as she squared her shoulders. “Your mom laughed at it. She loved that story.”
“Just no more,” I said. “Or else I take back the first half.”
“Fine,” she spat. “No more cute, innocent stories about little Gavin.”
I squeezed her arm, and she winced. A tinge of guilt hit me just as she seemed to remember something.
“Oh, right, that picture,” she said and pulled out her phone. “Come on, Gavin, let’s take our first official couple picture.”
I rolled my eyes and moved in front of the camera while still holding her arm, nearly an entire person’s length away from her.
“No one is going to believe we’re even friends if you’re that distant. Get closer,” she said. I hesitated. She pursed her lips and tried kissing my cheek, but I ducked it at the last minute.
“What are you doing?” I demanded. “No physical relations.”
“You’re my boyfriend,” she said. “We’ll have to kiss at some point. Might as well get it over with.”
My hand had slipped up her arm and onto her shoulder, where her skin was soft and smooth and hot. She was facing me, the phone in her hand dropped beside her thigh, and her lips tilted at an angle toward mine. My fingers pressed into her skin harder as I pressed a quick kiss on her lips and backed away.
“There,” I said, hoping that she would leave it alone. But I still didn’t let go of her shoulder.
“That wasn’t believable,” she said and pressed her body against mine. I reacted instantly; I couldn’t help it. Her soft breasts pressed against my chest, and her breath tickled my ears as she said, “Try it again.”
I growled and pushed her away.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I said and pushed her against the wall beside the foyer. I kissed her, hard and forceful, as my fingers got caught in the tangles of her hair and pulled. She gasped and lifted her thigh as one of my hands slid up her dress. “Don’t you ever tell me what to do. It’s not your place.”