“Twenty-seven,” Vince answered for him. “He’ll be twenty-eight next month. On the first of May.”
“Oh, so you’re Dakota’s age,” my mom said with a smile as she nudged Dakota. “Dakota, how’s work going these days? I watch you on T.V. every single morning. My goodness, my DVR queue is just full of all the shows I’ve saved of yours.”
Coco and I exchanged looks. There was Tammy Lynn pretending to be Mother of the Year again. She never gave two shits about us growing up. I could recall countless track meets where I’d look up into the bleachers to find that Coco was the only person cheering me on, and the ache in my stomach from going to bed hungry so many nights never fully went away, no matter how many years had passed.
“Mom couldn’t make it,” or “Mom’s not feeling well” was how Coco would cover for her, though it was always for my benefit. Lies or no lies, I knew the truth. She was usually sleeping off a hangover or on a three-day bender with her newest boy toy.
I took a good look at my mother. In her khakis and a merino wool twin set the color of sea mist, she looked like she belonged at a country club. Never mind the pearl necklace dangling over her sun-freckled décolletage. What did Vince see in her? In his golf polo and gray slacks, he was a far cry from all of the men I’d ever seen her with.
Tofu. That was it. He could mold her and flavor her however he saw fit. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. Tammy Lynn was pretty good about picking up on what men wanted and almost shape-shifting herself to fit their mold.
She seemed happy, though.
“Addison,” Wilder whispered from across the table, reminding me of the real issue at hand. The one I refused to acknowledge until I could get my thoughts straight.
If I looked at him, I knew I’d cry. I grabbed the drink menu and searched long and hard for the strongest drink I could find.
“So how’d you two meet?” Coco asked as she sipped her water.
“I answered an ad for a job in the paper working at a real estate agency,” Mom said, the lilt in her voice suggesting she was recalling one of the greatest moments of her life. “Vince happened to own the agency.”
Vince’s lips danced into a smile, as if he recognized the impropriety of the origins of their relationship. “I couldn’t resist your mother, Dakota. I mean, look at her. She’s beautiful and kind. Everything I could want in a woman. And the way she spoke about her daughters told me she was a wonderful mother, too. A real catch.”
Wilder cleared his throat and kicked me under the table. My gaze was still transfixed on the miniature vase in the center containing a single white rose the color of a wedding day, sitting pretty and innocent amidst five complicated souls.
“So, Wilder, what is it that you do again?” My mom’s voice held a softer, more matronly quality in it than it ever did when we were kids. “Vince says you followed in his footsteps?”
“Not quite,” Wilder said. He spoke to my mom, but his eyes were on me. I could feel the weight of his stare, as if he were silently pleading for me to look at him. “I deal mostly with investments. Flipping properties. Finding buildings to renovate and rent out. I got my first taste of the business as a child, though, working in my dad’s office.”
“Smart boy, this one.” Vince beamed as he rubbed Wilder’s back. I couldn’t watch.
“My Addison works in real estate!” my mom said. “Do you two know each other?”
I shook my head fervently before Wilder had a chance to say anything. “We don’t.”
“Have we all had a chance to look at our menus?” the server asked, appearing out of nowhere.
My stomach churned. Anything I were to attempt to eat was going to come right back up.
“I can order something for you, if you’d like,” Wilder offered. “I bet you’d like the duck a l’orange.”
We’d just shared a duck dinner a week ago. Before we knew we were going to be stepsiblings. When our biggest concern was when and where our next hot and heavy fuck session was going to take place.
“No, thank you.” I closed my menu.
“Addison, don’t be rude,” my mom said with an incredulous laugh. Her elbow landed gently against my rib cage. “Your new brother is trying to be cordial to you.”
My new brother? Were we five?
Vince and mom stared at each other with a secret knowing look in their sparkling eyes. I had to admit, I’d never seen her so happy before, and Vince was a thousand steps up from her usual type.
“We have a teeny tiny little confession to make,” my mom said, her eyes shifting from Vince’s to the sparkling ring on her finger. I looked a little closer. There was an extra band next to her engagement ring.
Vince nodded, as if quietly giving her permission to go ahead and tell us their news.
“Vince and I got married two weeks ago!” Her mouth twisted into the kind of smile I’d only seen once before, in the picture on her dresser from when she was crowned homecoming queen in high school. Tammy Lynn was acting as if she’d just won the fucking lottery. “We just couldn’t wait.”
She reached across the table, placing her hand over his.
“I just love this woman so much,” Vince said. For a grown man, his fidgeting could rival a lovesick teenager’s. “I had to nail her down before she got away.”
Trust me, she’s not going anywhere. She’s like a bloodsucking leech. You’ll have to peel her off you.