“Really?” Shay asked, eyeing her grandmother. “That’s funny, she hadn’t mentioned it to me.”
“It must’ve slipped my mind,” Maria said to Shay before giving her a kiss on the cheek. “But we’re so happy he’s here, right, Shay?”
Shay smiled a tiny grin. “I guess it’s fine.” Her phone went off, and she was quick to answer the message that came through. “It seems Mom is running late. Bella chewed through her favorite pair of shoes.”
“And she thought a dog would be better than a man,” Maria remarked, making me raise an eyebrow, but I wouldn’t question it. That seemed right up there in the “none of my damn business” category.
“Well, she’ll take her spot at the table once she and Bella show up,” Maria said. “For now, let’s all go sit to eat before the food gets cold.”
We all did as she said as she went to the kitchen area to grab the bottle of wine I brought.
Shay took a seat across from me and said, “Last night when we were at your place, you must’ve forgotten to tell me you were coming to my grandmother’s house tonight.”
“It was hard to talk with my mouth pressed against your pussy,” I quietly replied with a smug smirk.
Shay instantly blushed and swatted my hand across the table. “Landon!”
“Sorry.” I laughed. “That situation with your legs over my shoulders last night is just burned into my memory.”
Shay nervously rubbed her chest in a slow circular motion. “Burned into mine, too.”
“Good.” I hoped she’d get off by herself solely from the thought of eating her out. I hoped the thoughts of us haunted her psyche.
The conversation shifted when Maria came back into the room, and I was so grateful for how effortless it all seemed. We didn’t run out of things to talk about. If anything, the conversation flowed without thought. We laughed, we drank wine, and we felt... right. Everything at that table that night felt exactly how I’d wanted life to feel like.
This was the closest to heaven I’d ever been.
Shay’s mother, Camila, was still running behind, so Shay, Maria, and I finished our dinner. I wasn’t completely disappointed to not see Camila, but that was mainly because I remembered our past. The last time we talked was when Shay and I were still teenagers and Camila told me to leave her daughter alone. I didn’t resent her for it, though. I felt the same way. If anything, we agreed with one another. Still, I was worried about being in the same room as the woman who told me I wasn’t good enough for her daughter. I worried that she’d still think the same thing.
“Who’s ready for pie?” Maria asked as she went to stand.
Just then, the front door opened, and Camila came barging into the room. “Sorry we’re late!” she exclaimed, the biggest grin on her face known to mankind.
I waited to see her dog, Bella, trotting in behind her, but instead, a full-grown man walked in with two bottles of wine and a smile. Everyone’s eyes were wide as we all stared at the stranger.
“Who are you?” Maria asked, looking at the man.
He gave her the friendliest smile and hurried over to her side. He placed the bottles of wine on the table and pulled Maria into a hug. “Oh my gosh, you must be Camila’s mother. Though that’s shocking, seeing as how you look young enough to be her sister.”
Maria seemed confused by the whole interaction, but her cheeks flushed with color from the compliment. “Well, thank you. But again, who are you?”
“Oh, right.” He stood tall and smoothed out his suit. “I’m David.”
“David,” Shay said, echoing his name.
“Yes, his name is David,” Camila said, grinning wider than I’d ever seen her grin. “He’s my fiancé.”
48Shay
What was going on? A stranger—David, apparently—was standing tall in Mima’s dining room and claiming to be my mother’s fiancé.
I cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?”
“He’s my fiancé,” Mom said, confident as ever. As if she didn’t hear how ludicrous the words leaving her mouth were. My mother didn’t have a fiancé. Heck, my mother didn’t even have a boyfriend. My mother was the freaking CEO of WWLTHMC—Women Who Love to Hate Men Club. She didn’t date men; she passionately hated them. I could thank my dear, disgusting father for that fact.
David walked over to Mom and wrapped his arms around her. She held him back, too. Yup. That was right. My mother’s body was pressed against a man.
Again—what in the world was going on?