Page 87 of The Key Holder

“Was that not already obvious?” I walked over to him and put my hands on his chest. “You mean a lot to me, Ford. Of course we’re going to stay together after this; we’re talking about telling my mother, for crying out loud.”

“Okay, okay.” Ford uncrossed his arms, grabbed my hands and brought them to his lips for a kiss. “We hadn’t talked about it. I wasn’t sure.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, sir.” I took a deep breath and started pulling him back to the living room. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“Hold it!” Ford let go of my hand. “You’re forgetting the snacks.”

Oh yeah. “Right. Snacks.”

We returned to their company with a plate of cheese, crackers, grapes and what was left of Ford’s almonds. It was a great sacrifice on his part. I joined my mom on the couch, and Ford parked on the ottoman.

He surprised me a little, when he cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention, and said, “Not sure if you noticed but, when you told us your news, neither Dylan nor I reacted much, and there’s a reason for that. We actually have some news as well.”

I wasn’t about to let him do it all himself—after all, it was my idea. “Ford and I are dating.”

My mom’s jaw dropped, and Brian choked on his beer. “Oh shit. I mean, oh.” His reaction wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t necessarily helpful either, not that it mattered much to me just now.

“Mom?” I asked, bracing himself.

“Sorry.” She blinked, processing the words, then let out a small, disbelieving laugh. “How long has this been going on?”

“It started this summer,” Ford answered.

“Oh, okay.” She said it slowly, almost to herself.

“Okay?” I expected a bit more than that.

She tilted her head back, her lips curving into a tender smile. “I mean, I can’t really be upset. I just came to tell my ex that I’m dating his brother, and now my ex is dating my son. It’s like Days of Our Lives here but I loved that soap, and I love both of you.”

Wow. A wave of relief swept through me. A glance at Ford showed me his perfect smile. Was it really going to be this easy? “You’re sure you’re okay with it?” I needed to hear it again.

“I just want my son to be happy, and you seem it. Are you?” she asked.

“Happy?”

She nodded.

“Very much, Mom. Ford is wonderful.”

“Well, everyone in this room knows that,” she said, laughing. “Now, come here.” She opened her arms for a hug, so I scooted over and collapsed on top of her, earning me a yelp.

“Love you, Mom.”

“Love you, too.”

The snack plate became less full as the conversation shifted away from our love lives and onto more generic topics. Ford and I rehashed the unexpected storm that had caused my move into Ford’s bedroom—not that I mentioned that specific detail, but my memories of those nights, the exquisite torture of sleeping so close to him without being able to touch, was certainly vivid. This led to an explanation of the repairs and, to my surprise, an honest confession from Ford about his jealousy over River’s flirtatious behavior.

My mom said something about my handsomeness, then added, “Your whole life you’ve always been beating guys off.”

It took Brian’s explosive spit-take for my mom to realize what she said.

A mortified blush crept up her neck. “With a stick!” she screamed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “It’s an expression!”

But it was too late. We were already all dying from laughter.

My mom’s faux pas was like a final cleanse, replacing the awkwardness of earlier with a brand new reason for embarrassment. But I decided not to tease her mercilessly and let her off the hook by changing the subject. “Were you planning on staying for a few days?”

“Just one night, if that’s okay,” my mom answered, looking between Ford and me.