Page 57 of Play Fake

“And it was love at first sight?” His mom asks, and the mention of the “L” word has me shift in my seat.

“Not quite. Uh, to be honest, we didn’t always see eye to eye. But then I was in a kind of crappy situation and Waylon volunteered to help me, and we realized we really enjoyed spending time together.”

“Waylon volunteering to help? Huh. I guess all those times I nagged you about volunteering to do things like the dishes paid off then, didn’t it?” She smiles at him.

“Yes, Mom. What would I do without you?”

There’s a lot more discussion about the team, Jake’s obsession with all thing’s horror, his mom’s book club and local tourist traps as we finish our dinner. All in all, I kind of feel at home around his family, which only makes me worry a little more about when this fake relationship is over.

“There’san ice cream place down the street if you all want to get dessert,” Waylon offers as we wind up the meal.

“Ooh. That sounds so good, but I am stuffed and exhausted, kiddo,” his mom leans back in the booth. “I think Jake and I are going to head back and try to get an early night, so we can do some sightseeing tomorrow.”

Waylon nods. “Just let me know what time and I’ll be there.”

She smiles at him, warm and proud, and it’s endearing to see the relationship they have.

“And we’d love to have you there too, Mackenzie. If you can?” She turns and gives me a questioning look.

“Um...” I stutter. I want to say yes, but I don’t know if Waylon wants me there or not, and I don’t know if I should. If I’m honest, lying to his mother like this feels awful. She is a very sweet woman. A gentle soul and while I give Waylon credit for knowing what’s best when it comes to his own family, I don’t know if I want to keep the charade going for longer than necessary.

“She has a lot of work to catch up on for class. But we’ll see,” Waylon answers for me, shooting me a sideways glance. I assume it means he’s giving me a pass.

“All right then. Well, it was lovely meeting you. I’m glad my boy has such good taste, and I can rest easy knowing I raised him right,” she winks at him.

“Ha!” Waylon grunts.

“It was lovely meeting you too.” I smile brightly back at her, a little sad I’ll probably never get to see her again.

“I’ll get valet to bring your car around, Mom, get you guys on your way.” Waylon excuses himself and heads to the host station.

Once his momand brother are safely on their way, he turns to me.

“So, ice cream?”

“You know me too well.”

“I figure I owe you a bonus for nailing it tonight.”

We get up from the table and start heading for the sidewalk.

“Hey, it was easy. Your mom is great. You’re lucky to have such a sweetheart for a mom.”

“Oh. That? Tonight? That’s her good side. You don’t want to see her bad side. If I stepped out of line, she would whoop my ass in a split second. Jekyll and Hyde, for real.”

I laugh at the idea of the petite mild-mannered woman I met tonight bringing her Viking of a son back into line, but I don’t doubt being a widowed mom to two boys made her have a spine of steel.

“If I know you, you probably deserved it,” I snicker.

“Maybe, sometimes.” He shrugs, and we both laugh.

“I hope you don’t mind I just told the truth. She just seems like a good person, and I can’t lie to someone like that. I have trouble lying in general, but to her? You know…”

“No, it’s fine. I liked hearing your version of events.”

“My version, eh?”

“Yep.”