7 - Joanna

7

Joanna

"Danicka," I said. "Sorry, you startled me."

"I know you're lying," she repeated as I washed my hands. "There's one thing you need to know about me: I'm like a human lie detector. I can always tell."

Well, shit. Thanks for not warning me about that, Landon.

"Uhh…" I stammered. "Danicka, I…"

"Marisa's dress," she barked. "You don't really like it, do you?"

I froze with my hands underneath the faucet. That's what this was all about? The stupid dress? Without any good options, I decided to leap at the opportunity.

"Okay, you got me. I don't like the dress. It's not really my style. But I didn't want to be mean about it."

Danicka's eyes bore into me while I dried my hands. Then a huge smile split her face in half. "That dress is hideous. I would rather slash my wrists than wear that on the most important day of my life."

"It's so bad!" I agreed. "It looks like an ugly prom dress that someone dipped in white-out."

Danicka threw her head back and cackled loudly. "Oh that's good . I'm so glad you have better taste." She held onto my arm as we left the bathroom. "Don't worry, this will be our little secret."

"It won't be a secret when she walks down the aisle next weekend," I replied. "You think Bradyn will like it?"

"Landon got all the good taste. Bradyn will be happy if he makes it through his vows without sweating. That boy perspires like a whore at the Vatican." Danicka gave me a cutting smirk. "I wanted to set Landon up with one of my colleagues. I'm glad I don't have to, now. You and I can be catty together!"

Landon raised a brow as we returned to the table, giggling together. I gave him a satisfied smile.

Hell yeah. I was nailing it.

Danicka was now my best friend. After the food arrived, she kept nudging me and telling me stories about all the girls Landon used to have crushes on when he was a teenager.

"Do we really need to go over this, mother?" he eventually asked.

"You could've had anyone you wanted, but you insisted on dating that pale goth girl," Danicka said.

"Greta liked me for me," he insisted. "All the other girls just wanted to date a football player."

"You played football?" I asked.

"Of course he did!" Clark replied. "Quarterback, just like his old man. He never told you?"

"I don't like to live in the past," Landon replied, giving me cover. "I don't talk much about high school anymore."

"It's all Bradyn talks about," Marisa chimed in. "He was an offensive lineman."

I took a longer look at the boys. The three of them were big men; it was clear that Clark and Bradyn had muscle underneath what were now pudgier bodies. Landon was leaner than them, but I could definitely see the football physique now that I was looking closely.

"I would've had such a crush on you in high school," I told Landon, leaning into him affectionately. "I always had a thing for football players."

"Did you see who the Lions drafted in the third round?" Clark suddenly asked. "They got that boy from Notre Dame. The one with six fingers!"

"Every meal eventually turns into football talk," Danicka said, rolling her eyes.

"You'll get used to it after a few years," Marisa said. Then her eyes widened like she had swallowed something. "I mean. If you and Landon date that long. Not that you won't . I didn't want to imply. But if you do…"

"No offense taken; I know what you mean. Watch this." I turned back to the guys. "You seriously think it was a mistake to trade Justin Fields?"

Clark blinked at me. "Absolutely. They never gave him a real shot."

"He had three full seasons!" I argued back. "His style of play doesn't match our team. Every time he dropped back in the pocket to pass, he froze. We need someone who can stay composed under pressure, because our offensive line isn't going to give him any freebies."

Bradyn pointed at me. "I've been telling Dad that all year!"

"You may have a point," Clark admitted. "I just wish they had given him one last shot before trading him to Pittsburgh. Landon, I didn't know your girlfriend was a football fan."

"Football and hockey," I said proudly.

"You see that hit Bedard took last night?" Clark asked. "Can't believe the refs didn't call a five-minute major."

I started to open my mouth to brag about seeing Bedard last night, then stopped myself. It would be difficult to explain why I was on a date with the Blackhawks dentist if I was also Landon's girlfriend.

"You like sports?" Danicka asked. "Oh, that's a shame. I was just starting to like you!"

She laughed, but the comment still stung with a barb of truth. I could feel Danicka's approval draining away.

"I'm going to hit the bathroom," Landon said, excusing himself.

Less than a minute later, my phone vibrated in my purse. I glanced at the message:

Landon : You're supposed to make my mother like you, not my dad.

Me : I'm trying! You should have warned me she hates sports.

Landon : I didn't expect you to chime in with a passionate Justin Fields opinion. Just focus on Mom. Tell her whatever she wants to hear.

Me : I will. Chill the fuck out.

Landon : Don't tell me to chill out. You're the one fucking this up.

"Is everything okay?" Danicka asked, pointedly glancing at my phone in annoyance.

"Sorry, it was work stuff," I replied. "I heard you're a school teacher?"

"I'm the vice principal. I haven't taught a class in over a decade. Good thing, too. Kids these days can't go ten minutes without looking at a screen."

"I bet that's hard," I agreed.

Marisa cleared her throat. "I bet you have to work a lot with your job, Joanna."

"It's not bad," I said. "I usually get to work from home, unless my boss is in court. And I pretty much never have to work weekends."

"Oh." Marisa frowned. "Landon said you were working next weekend…"

I took a sip of wine to give myself a moment to think. I had a slight buzz, which made thinking difficult. I didn't want to contradict Landon. That would make them suspicious.

"Originally I was working next weekend, but we settled one of our cases out of court."

"So you're free next Saturday?" Marisa pushed.

"I guess I am! Which is nice, because the Blackhawks are playing that night." I felt Danicka's eyes on me, and I remembered what Landon said about needing to impress her. "Unless you guys wanted to get together? Maybe a girl's night?"

"No, silly," Marisa said. "The wedding! Landon doesn't have a plus-one. I'd love for you to come."

"Depends on what food you're serving," I joked back.

"Wagyu filets and garlic mashed potatoes."

"Say no more. I'm in."

"Oh yay!" Marisa exclaimed. She patted Bradyn's arm. "Joanna says she can come to the wedding."

"Landon said she couldn't come."

"I know! But she says she's free now."

"That's wonderful," Clark said.

I could feel it all spiraling out of control. Laughing, I said, "I was mostly joking. I'm technically on-call for work, and I'll need to check my workload, because my boss likes to randomly dump assignments on us…"

Danicka put her hand over mine and leaned close. "Oh, Joanna. It would mean so much to me, and this family, if you came to the wedding. To see both of my boys with beautiful, smart women… it's every mother's dream."

Make her happy , Landon had insisted. Tell her what she wants to hear .

"Okay, you've convinced me," I said. "I'll come to the wedding."

Danicka threw her arms around me and gave me a motherly hug. "That's what I was hoping you would say. We're going to have so much fun! We need to talk about the dress you're going to wear…"

"What'd I miss?" Landon asked while returning from the bathroom.

"Joanna's coming to the wedding!" Marisa said.

Landon gave me a blank look. "Really? Because I thought—"

"That big case I was supposed to work this weekend? They settled out of court. I'm free now."

"That's… wonderful," Landon carefully said. "But Marisa, I don't want you to have to rearrange everything at the wedding just for my date."

"It's no problem at all! The wedding planner said she keeps one or two extra seats in case someone shows up who forgot to RSVP."

"That's Landon for you," Danicka said, reaching around me to pinch her son's arm. "Always hiding his girlfriends away where we don't get to see them. Not this time! Joanna and I are going to have so much fun."

The rest of dinner went smoothly. Everyone ordered dessert, except for Marisa, who said she wanted to make sure she fit into her dress next week.

Landon and I walked outside ahead of the others. As soon as we were alone, he spun me around and growled at me, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Making your mother happy. Like you told me to."

"Tonight's dinner was supposed to be an isolated event. An encore wasn't part of the deal."

"It's fine!" I insisted, glancing back at the restaurant to make sure they wouldn't see us arguing. "Wait a few days, then make up some excuse about why I can't come. No problem."

" Yes , problem," Landon gritted out at me. His chiseled face was red with frustration. "My mother hates people who can't keep their promises. If you don't show up, she's going to spend the entire wedding trying to get me to break up with you and date one of her colleagues."

I smiled sweetly at him. "That sounds like a you problem. I met my end of the bargain tonight, and then some."

"You ruined the evening," Landon shot back. "I'm not helping you get that job, now."

My body went stiff. "Don't you dare renege on our deal."

"You messed the evening up. The deal is off."

I jabbed a finger into his chest. It was like poking a brick wall. "If you don't get me that job, I'll tell them the truth about tonight."

Landon's eyes flared angrily. He started to say something back, but his family was walking outside now. "Joanna, I'm so glad you're dating my son," Danicka said while giving me a big, tight hug. "And I can't wait to see you next weekend. We can be catty together."

"Catty about what?" Marisa asked.

"The other women at the wedding," Danicka replied smoothly. "Gossiping about who has good taste, and who couldn't buy it at the dollar store."

Marisa giggled. "Cousin Sara is coming to the wedding. She always wears the tackiest dresses!"

I said my goodbyes to the rest of the family. Clark gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me to take good care of his son. No matter what Landon thought, tonight felt like a big success.

"We're parked out back," Clark announced.

"Me too," Landon said.

I pointed to the left. "I'm double-parked on the street this way."

Everyone was standing around, and it took me a moment to figure out why. They were waiting for me and Landon to say goodbye to each other.

"I'll walk you to your car," Landon said.

"Oh, don't be so shy," Danicka exclaimed. "You can kiss in front of us. We won't tease you."

Landon and I turned toward each other. I was still angry that he wanted to bail on the deal, and there was barely-withheld anger behind his dark eyes.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," I said, giving him a hug.

He hugged me back. "Text me when you get home safe."

"Will do."

We pulled apart slightly, and Landon gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. The charade was over. We could go home, now.

"Aw, what's that all about?" Clark teased. "Kiss her like you mean it."

"We can turn our backs if you want," Danicka said.

I was ready to leave. I was mentally drained from the evening, and I knew I was going to be arguing with Landon about the terms of our deal. But he was giving me a pointed look. We have to make it look real .

Hoping that meant he would stick to the agreement, I said fuck it , and threw myself into a passionate kiss.

Landon was a good-looking guy, but we didn't have any chemistry together. We'd been faking it all night, and just barely, at that. And he was kind of an asshole.

But something came alive inside me as I kissed him goodnight. Our lips connected in just the right way, and his body was warm and hard and sturdy against mine.

And the strangest part? I could sense the same thing from Landon.

His arms tightened around me like he meant it, one palm holding me possessively at the lower back. He pushed into the kiss with desire, making the tiniest little groan deep in his throat. I was surrounded by his scent, a cologne that was like leather and smoke, with his musk deeper underneath…

"Okay, settle down you two," Clark said. "I was only teasing."

We pulled away a few inches. Landon's dark eyes were wide, and I saw the same surprise I felt mirrored back at me. Neither of us had expected that .

"Text me when you get home," he whispered.

For the first time that night, I couldn't tell if he was being genuine or not.