and watched him take a seat by his wife.
Nathan sighed. “Dad’s been crushing on you for months, Eve. We just hoped he’d get his nerve up to do something about his feelings for you while we were all gone.”
“Why were you hoping that?” Eve asked, crossing her arms. It was hard, pretending to be miffed, but she wanted to hear the explanation of their investment.
Megan sighed. “Because we think we have the best parents in the world and we think they’d be great together. You two always get starry-eyed and giggly when the other one is around. We were hoping the kiss the other day might have pointed out to both of you what we’ve been noticing for a while. You seem to really like each other—more than just as friends. You should probably be dating.”
Eve sighed and uncrossed her arms. “What do you think would happen if we did get together, but it ultimately didn’t work out? Where would we all be then?”
“You’d still be our parents,” Rick said. “And hopefully, you’d still be friends. At least you would have taken a chance, Mom.”
“Or maybe we’d end up hating each other and never be able to speak to each other again,” Eve said.
“Or maybe you’d fall in love and get married—which would be weird, but nice,” Nathan said.
Eve shook her head even as four heads nodded. “I’m not dating Sam just to make the four of you happy. The only reason I would ever date any man is if he made my toes curl and my insides go mushy.”
“Now you’re just being gross,” Rick said, laughing at his wife’s elbow to his ribs.
Eve snorted. “Doesn’t Jill do that for you?”
“Well yeah . . . but you’re my mother. Old people don’t do that sort of thing,” Rick said.
Rolling her eyes, Eve stormed to the wall and yanked a menu off it. She stalked back to the table. “Order pizza. There’s cash on the mantle. Use that to pay for it. You may have to pool for tip money if it’s not enough. I’m going to go talk to Sam and ask him if it’s true that he’s got the hots for me.”
“Mom—don’t do that. Wait for him to make the first move. We won’t tease you anymore,” Rick said.
“Too late. I have to know now. A woman can’t wait forever. Neither Vin Diesel nor Dwayne Johnson showed up naked this year. At least Sam is cute. Don’t wait for me to eat. I may decide to tear his clothes off and see how it goes. My New Year’s resolution is to be impetuous. With Megan’s new vocabulary, I’m sure she can tell you all what that means if you don’t know,” Eve said, dragging on her coat as she headed out the back door.
Rick looked around the table as his mother stormed out, his gaze finally resting on Nathan’s. “Dude, are you sure your Dad said they were sleeping together? Mom sure isn’t acting like it.”
Nathan shrugged. “He said he stayed all night with her on Christmas Eve. I presumed the obvious from the comment. Who knew he would wimp out?”
Megan chewed her lip. “If they did sleep together, why wouldn’t Mom want us to know?”
“Because she’d not sure how she feels about him,” Jill said quietly. “Maybe she just needs time to think about it. My mother takes a long time to make decisions. Some people are like that.”
***
“Stop laughing, Sam. They confronted me and I choked,” Eve said. “I didn’t know how to explain it to them.”
Sam saved his work and closed his computer. “Are you embarrassed about us being lovers?”
Eve shook her head. “No. Not exactly.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Sam asked.
Eve rose from the chair she’d been sitting in to pace around his office. “I’m being unreasonable and I can’t seem to help myself. I don’t want to share my feelings for you with my children. I don’t want the pressure of their expectations influencing my need to rip off your clothes every time I look at you now. I would like to keep those urges private for a bit longer.”
Sam chuckled as his eyebrows raised. “Glad you
Nathan sighed. “Dad’s been crushing on you for months, Eve. We just hoped he’d get his nerve up to do something about his feelings for you while we were all gone.”
“Why were you hoping that?” Eve asked, crossing her arms. It was hard, pretending to be miffed, but she wanted to hear the explanation of their investment.
Megan sighed. “Because we think we have the best parents in the world and we think they’d be great together. You two always get starry-eyed and giggly when the other one is around. We were hoping the kiss the other day might have pointed out to both of you what we’ve been noticing for a while. You seem to really like each other—more than just as friends. You should probably be dating.”
Eve sighed and uncrossed her arms. “What do you think would happen if we did get together, but it ultimately didn’t work out? Where would we all be then?”
“You’d still be our parents,” Rick said. “And hopefully, you’d still be friends. At least you would have taken a chance, Mom.”
“Or maybe we’d end up hating each other and never be able to speak to each other again,” Eve said.
“Or maybe you’d fall in love and get married—which would be weird, but nice,” Nathan said.
Eve shook her head even as four heads nodded. “I’m not dating Sam just to make the four of you happy. The only reason I would ever date any man is if he made my toes curl and my insides go mushy.”
“Now you’re just being gross,” Rick said, laughing at his wife’s elbow to his ribs.
Eve snorted. “Doesn’t Jill do that for you?”
“Well yeah . . . but you’re my mother. Old people don’t do that sort of thing,” Rick said.
Rolling her eyes, Eve stormed to the wall and yanked a menu off it. She stalked back to the table. “Order pizza. There’s cash on the mantle. Use that to pay for it. You may have to pool for tip money if it’s not enough. I’m going to go talk to Sam and ask him if it’s true that he’s got the hots for me.”
“Mom—don’t do that. Wait for him to make the first move. We won’t tease you anymore,” Rick said.
“Too late. I have to know now. A woman can’t wait forever. Neither Vin Diesel nor Dwayne Johnson showed up naked this year. At least Sam is cute. Don’t wait for me to eat. I may decide to tear his clothes off and see how it goes. My New Year’s resolution is to be impetuous. With Megan’s new vocabulary, I’m sure she can tell you all what that means if you don’t know,” Eve said, dragging on her coat as she headed out the back door.
Rick looked around the table as his mother stormed out, his gaze finally resting on Nathan’s. “Dude, are you sure your Dad said they were sleeping together? Mom sure isn’t acting like it.”
Nathan shrugged. “He said he stayed all night with her on Christmas Eve. I presumed the obvious from the comment. Who knew he would wimp out?”
Megan chewed her lip. “If they did sleep together, why wouldn’t Mom want us to know?”
“Because she’d not sure how she feels about him,” Jill said quietly. “Maybe she just needs time to think about it. My mother takes a long time to make decisions. Some people are like that.”
***
“Stop laughing, Sam. They confronted me and I choked,” Eve said. “I didn’t know how to explain it to them.”
Sam saved his work and closed his computer. “Are you embarrassed about us being lovers?”
Eve shook her head. “No. Not exactly.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Sam asked.
Eve rose from the chair she’d been sitting in to pace around his office. “I’m being unreasonable and I can’t seem to help myself. I don’t want to share my feelings for you with my children. I don’t want the pressure of their expectations influencing my need to rip off your clothes every time I look at you now. I would like to keep those urges private for a bit longer.”
Sam chuckled as his eyebrows raised. “Glad you
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