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She’s been pestering me more lately, pretty much ever since she and my dad got back together. After being divorced for the past twenty years, they started seeing each other again. I think that’s part of why she’s so hell-bent on matching me with someone, she’s all amped up on their rekindled romance.
“Thanks for the offer Mom, but I don’t need you to set me up, okay?”
She makes a pssshhh sound. “Of course you need me to set you up. Clearly whatever you’ve been doing hasn’t been working. All you do is swipe on those apps and go on a million dates.”
I bite my tongue and stay quiet as she lectures me on the importance of finding my soul mate as soon as possible.
“You’re thirty-three years old, anak. Almost thirty-four. It’s time to get serious about finding a wife.”
“Mom, I really don’t want to talk about this right now.”
“Your brother and sister have managed to find lovely partners. You can too. You’re such a catch. I tell all my coworkers about my handsome and funny oldest son. So many of them have daughters and nieces who are your age that they’d love to set up with you.”
I swallow a groan at the thought of my mom texting and calling me nearly every day for the next several months as she goads me into going on a million blind dates with her co-workers’ daughters. It’s going to be a million times worse now that both my brother and sister will have weddings coming up.
I huff out a frustrated breath. “Mom, I have to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Love you.”
I hang up and see that everyone is looking at me now.
Maya flashes a sympathetic look. “Mom’s trying to set you up for our wedding, isn’t she?”
I let out a tired sigh. “Yeah.”
I notice Tori’s expression changes. She’s frowning like she’s annoyed. Or upset. I can’t really tell. But then a customer walks in and she rushes over to help with a cheery smile on her face.
I tell everyone I should get going. I congratulate Maya and Theo one more time before running into the back to grab my wallet. I tuck it into my back pocket and say bye to Tori. She flashes me a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
The whole drive to Se’bon, I wonder what’s bothering her.
Chapter 3
Tori
“Oh my god,” I moan around a bite of the most delicious BLT I’ve ever had.
“Good?” Tyler asks. He’s standing across from me at my kitchen island, his gaze adorably hopeful as he watches me eat.
Like nothing in the world would make him happier than to hear that I love the sandwich he made for me. Like my pleasure gives him pure joy.
My stomach does that flippy thing again. I really, really need to figure out how to make that stop.
I shove aside that thought and refocus on the burst of flavors and textures on my tongue. The saltiness of the crispy bacon, the juicy tomato, the crunchy lettuce, the warm, hearty bread.
I close my eyes and hum at the garlicky mayonnaise he made from scratch minutes ago. When I finish up my bite, I look at Tyler and let out a happy, satisfied sigh.
He laughs.
“What?” I ask as I wipe my mouth with a napkin.
“Should I give you and the sandwich some alone time? I feel like the third wheel,” he jokes.
I lightly shove his shoulder. He just laughs harder.
“It’s perfectly normal to make sex noises when you eat delicious food,” he teases.
I shove his shoulder again but I’m laughing too.
“I don’t make sex noises when I eat,” I say.
