Seduced by Audra Cole, Bella Love-Wins Read Free Book Online Page B

a seat at the breakfast nook table. He pulls out his phone and starts texting a mile-a-minute, not paying any attention to the rest of us.
    There is a groan from the floor and I turn to see Brandon writhing. Apparently Marky landed a kick in the wrong place…oops. I smother a laugh, as he gives me his best ’pity me’ face. The wrestling match is called off, and I haul Brandon off the floor.
    Marky looks incredibly guilty, but Brandon plays it off and calls him “champ” which seems to help.
    A few minutes later, Brandon’s dad, Rick, arrives home with the groceries.
    “Charity! So glad you could make it,” he says. He sets down the bags on the counter before coming over to give me a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.
    “Thanks for having me.”
    “Anytime. Su casa, mi casa. Or however that goes.” He laughs.
    Brandon rolls his eyes at his dad’s terrible Spanish.
    “All right, boys. Go wash up. Dinner is just about ready.” Sandy turns to Steve and Marky, who are both engrossed with their cellphones at the small kitchen table. After a long pause, they both get up and stash their phones, before heading off in the direction of the bathroom down the hall.
    “Why don’t you guys go get comfortable. There’s some wine on the table. Help yourselves,” she says, turning back to us.
     
     
    Fifteen minutes later, everyone is seated around the formal dining room table and the dishes are being passed around. Rick asks about my job and I tell him about the café. Brandon waits until I finish, and then proceeds to tell them all about my cookbook project. They seem truly interested, and ask a few questions before the conversation moves on.
    “How is your family? Are your mom and dad still over on Hillcrest?” Sandy asks.
    I nod and swallow my bite. “Yeah. My dad is still working at the school, and my mom has been doing some wedding planning on the side, to keep busy.”
    Brandon and I share a secret smile, remembering the night I ran into him at the airport when waiting to pick up a groomsman as one of the ’favors’ I was doing for my mom. If not for that night, I’m not sure any of this would be happening.
    “What about Valerie?”
    “Valerie recently got married and is about seven months pregnant with their first baby.” I answer. “It’s a girl.”
    “Oh, how exciting!” Sandy cheers. “I bet your mom is so excited to be having a grandbaby!”
    “Yeah, she is.” I try to force myself to smile. I’m happy for my sister and can’t wait to be an auntie, but sometimes I get tired of hearing about “baby this, baby that” whenever I’m around either my mom or sister. Neither of them call me just to talk or see how things are with me. When they call, it is always to talk through some imaginary crisis with the baby shower or with one of my mom’s wedding disasters. “I’m actually helping to plan the baby shower.”
    “That’s great. What a sweet thing to do,” she gushes. Sandy is the type of person who, if she wasn’t 100% genuine, would probably come across as borderline annoying, because she’s always happy and bubbly. It seems that even cancer has not taken away her enthusiastic spirit.
    We fall into an easy conversation as we eat. I keep pretty quiet and watch the interactions around me. No one brings up the past or asks any awkward questions. I guess I figured the evening would have an “elephant in the room” vibe, but it seems to be quite the opposite—very comfortable and natural.
    When dinner is done, Brandon insists his mom stay seated as he and his brothers clear the dishes. I reach to gather up a few of the serving bowls to help them, but Sandy grabs my hand. “Let’s go to the den and catch up. Let the men do the cleaning,” she says with a wink.
    I nod and try to smile, but inwardly, I feel like one of the contestants on the show The Bachelor , being dragged off to “have a little chat” when they meet his parents for the first time.
     

Chapter Nine
    I follow Sandy to