Page 36 of The Omega's Fake Mate
Sort of, yes.
That told him way too much about how I felt about him.
Or rather, how a younger version of me felt about him. There was no way for him to know if I was still into him like that. And I wasn't. Notobsessively.I knew now that I was just fine by myself.
Just. Fine.
“So, Nick,” my mother started with a raised eyebrow when we all had some amount of food on our plates, “tell us a little about yourself. Where did life take you after you moved away from here?”
Nick finished chewing a piece of turkey before speaking. “I wouldn't want to bore you with the story of my life, Mrs. Kerner. It's not very exciting.”
“Don't worry. I'm very interested in hearing about it. Did you know Zander never bothered to tell me you two were seeing each other? I need you to bring me up to speed on everything, since I clearly can't rely on my son.”
I met my mother's gaze with the fakest smile I had and said nothing. It wasn't my duty to keep her up to date on all my relationships. In fact, my relationships were none of her business, but she'd never understand that.
“Well,” Nick said. “My family moved to Portland, but once I finished high school there, I moved out to LA to live with my cousin for a while before striking out on my own.”
“LA? Really now? What did you do there?” my mother asked, carefully cutting her turkey into bite-sized pieces without actually eating any of it.
“Oh, this and that.”
“Was that when you worked as a model?” my sister asked. “In LA?”
“Yes.” Nick nodded. “But only for a short time that first year. It wasn't really my thing. I couldn't get over the thought that some weirdo was probably getting off to my pictures.”
Ouch.That was definitely aimed at me.
“I wasn't—” I shut up when Nick kicked me under the table again. A clear sign that my input was not wanted right now.
“That does sound quite unsavory,” my mother said, throwing me a sideways glance.
Fantastic.At this rate, my whole family was going to think I was a pervert.Thank you, sis.I glared at her. She met my gaze with a sweet smile.
“Are you still living in LA now?” my mother asked.
“Yes,” Nick confirmed.
“You'll be moving back here, though, won't you? I don't think LA is a good place to raise children, do you?”
I nearly choked on my mashed potatoes, and glancing at Nick, he didn't seem to be faring much better. Perhapsnowhe might appreciate my input?
“We haven't talked about that, yet,” I said, laying an arm around Nick's shoulders. “This is all still so new we don't talk too much when we're together.” Not information I ever really wanted to share with my mother, but I wasn't sure what else would get her to back off.
“But you do want children?” My mother's gaze was still leveled at Nick. Her words weren't a question so much as a challenge.
“I...” Nick's mouth stood open. He glanced at me. I gently squeezed his shoulder. My mother wouldn't see it, but he'd feel it. I shot him a look.This is just for show.
Almost imperceptibly, he nodded. Then he licked his lips and sat up straight. “Of course, I want children,” he said. “Tons of them. At least three girls, so I can dress them up as the witches fromCharmedfor Halloween.”
I snorted.
“What?” Nick said, turning to me. Now that I got him going, it seemed he wasn't going to stop any time soon. “Are you snorting because they're TV characters? Would you rather dress them up as people from, I don't know, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings? Do you want our children to be hobbits? Is that it? With hairy feet? I swear if all our babies turn out to be book nerds like you, I don't know what I'll do.” He finished with a dramatic hand wave.
“Lots and lots of reading to catch up,” I suggested.
Nick leaned in close. “Maybe if you'll read to me.”
His eyes danced with amusement, drawing me in even closer, until our lips were almost touching. As I breathed in, the smell of Thanksgiving dinner mixed with that of Nick. Only the scent Nick gave off was infinitely more tempting than that of any food my mother could have served tonight. “I'll read you anything you want.”