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“Thank you. I can see where Amelia gets her beauty from.”
She stared, trying to piece together the man she had just spent the car ride with and the man that was talking to her mother. She then remembered how he looked in the car. He had been preparing himself for this.
He knew exactly how to fake a relationship.
“Nice to meet you, son.” Her dad, Randy, walked up to shake Daniel’s hand. “Glad you could make it.”
Daniel nodded. His smile was still there, but his lips tightened almost imperceptibly.
“Why do you look so constipated?”
Amelia jumped and turned to her brother, who had snuck behind her.
“Is that my cardigan?” she asked.
“Is it?” John looked down. “How could that have possibly happened?”
“I wore it at Christmas. If you didn’t steal it, did you buy it to copy me?”
“Oh, my sweet sister. How I’ve missed you. Can’t we talk without all this discussion of clothing ownership?”
She shook her head. “Don’t play innocent. I know how you work.”
“And yet you still leave your things where I can find them,” he said.
John looked stunning, as always. He wore her baby blue cardigan with a pink tank top and fitted jeans. It was such a cute outfit; she wondered if she could take some inspiration from it.
“So, a boyfriend?” he asked.
“Yep.” She turned to Daniel, only to find him looking back at her. She waved him over. “Daniel, this is my brother, John.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Hey, man. I can’t believe you actually came,” John said, shaking Daniel’s hand. “I thought Amelia was faking it for a while there.”
“Ha,” Amelia replied dryly. Daniel raised an eyebrow at her. “You think you’re so funny.”
John beamed. “I could be a comedian.”
“I should get our things,” Daniel said into her ear. “Be right back.”
He returned shortly with the two bags, and her mom trailed behind him. After Amelia grabbed her suitcase from him, her mom asked, “How was your drive?”
“Oh, you know. We just narrowly avoided being sandwiched in between two cars.”
Her mom stopped, eyes wide with worry. “Are you okay?”
“Amelia’s quick thinking saved us from crashing,” Daniel said. “She pulled to the side of the road when someone stopped too fast. The driver behind us didn’t react as quickly.”
“Oh my God,” she muttered, but Amelia was too busy feeling the warmth grow in her cheeks at his compliment. She repeated, “Are you okay?”
Amelia waved her off. “I’m fine. Daniel drove the rest of the way.”
“That’s good to hear,” she said. “I’m glad you had your partner with you to help.”
The words felt pointed, as if Amelia needed to learn something from it. She could only fake a smile, trying to keep her nerves at bay.
She was fine being single. She knew that.
