Jesus, I really had done a shitty job as a parent lately. Even more than I’d originally thought. No wonder Evan had started acting out. “I’d like it to be. Look, sweetheart, I’m trying here. I don’t want us to be at each other’s throats constantly. Whether you believe it or not, I love you, more than anyone else. That’s why I moved us here. This move wasn’t a way to try and punish you.”
She let out a snort and mumbled, “Could’ve fooled me. This town blows.”
“Hey, watch your mouth,” I scolded.
“Well it does,” she insisted passionately. “I mean, there’s nothing to do here. I don’t have any friends because they’re all back in San Francisco, so I don’t have anyone to hang out with or talk to. It’s totally lame.”
“Those kids you hung with back in San Francisco weren’t your friends. They were part of the problem. You can make new friends here.” I hoped to Christ they were better than the ones she’d picked before.
“Easy for you to say,” she muttered as she moved things around on her plate. “You’re old. You don’t get it.”
I pointed my fork in her direction. “First off, forty isn’t old. I’ll have you know, I’m in the best shape of my life, thank you very much.”
She curled her top lip. “Gross.”
“Second,” I continued, choosing to ignore the disgust on her face, “I understand more than you give me credit for. I left a life behind too. I don’t have any friends in this town either, so I have to make new ones, just like you do.”
“You mean like that woman from earlier today?” she asked snidely.
“What woman?” I asked in confusion.
She pinned me with a chilly glare. “You know, the one from your office. The redhead. She is your friend, right? I would think so, considering you guys slept together.”
Fucking hell. I’d really hoped she hadn’t heard that part of the argument earlier. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be prepared for a conversation like this with my daughter, but as much as I wanted to sweep it under the rug, I knew doing so would only make things worse.
“That’s... complicated.”
“How?” Evan prodded. “You did sleep with that woman, right? That was what I heard you talking about, anyway. Which, by the way, yuck! I really didn’t need to hear that. But still, if you slept with her, that obviously means you like her.”
No way in hell was I about to explain to my fourteen-year-old kid what had transpired the night I’d met Luna. “Yeah, sure,” I hedged, my brain desperately trying to come up with anything to get me out of this situation. “I mean, I like her fine.” For a woman I didn’t know the first thing about, I thought grimly.
“So are you two like, dating now?”
I nearly choked on the bite of fish I’d just taken. I lifted my glass and threw back more wine to clear my throat. “What?” I wheezed. “Christ. No! No, of course not. I barely—I mean, that’s just not—”
“Because you told Grandma you weren’t dating right now.”
“That’s right. I’m not,” I agreed quickly.
Jesus, was it hot in here? And why the hell did my shirt feel like it was too tight. I tugged at my collar, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. I had no clue how to navigate the minefield Evan had just shoved me into.
“Is she going to work for you?”
“Who?” I asked, using the back of my hand to wipe the beads of sweat off my forehead.
“The woman from your office today. She came in to interview, right? Are you going to hire her?”
“No.”
“Why not? You said you guys were friends, right?” Her brows went up, her gaze shrewder than it should have been for a kid her age. “Because you slept together. And Grandma said she’d be perfect for the job. So why aren’t you hiring her?”
“She just wasn’t a good fit. That’s all.”
I could tell she didn’t believe me by the look on her face, but I’d be damned if I said anything else. Picking up my fork, I shoved a bite into my mouth and chewed viciously. Thanks to our current topic of conversation, I couldn’t tell if it was good or not, considering everything tasted like sand in my mouth. “If it’s all right with you, I think I’d like to talk about something else.”
“Whatever,” she said with a shrug, and at that whatever I swore I felt a tick behind my temple and my eyelid started to twitch. “This whole family dinner was your idea. I’m just doing what you wanted.”
Damn her. Damn her to hell for being too goddamn smart for her own good.