Page 40 of Lowering His Guard

I open the door, and there she is standing at the hostess station, smiling at her dad. She spots me and scowls.

Why is she scowling?

“What’s wrong?” I grumble.

She smiles at me but it isn’t real. Her eyes don’t twinkle, and her jaw is set. “Nothing. How many?”

“Don’t lie to me.”

She blinks. “Why would I lie to you? I don’t know you. We’re not friends.”

My brow wrinkles. Not friends? We’ve been hanging out. She’s my son’s instructor. “We’re friends.”

She snorts. “Yeah, right.” She grabs some menus and motions for me to follow her.

She hurries through the restaurant. I can barely keep up with her as she easily maneuvers her way around tables, chairs, and other diners. She arrives at an empty table and slams the menus down.

“Your waitress will be with you in a minute.”

She smiles at my teammates before whirling around and stomping away.

Tanner whistles. “Someone’s in trouble.”

“Geez, Brock.” Gage shakes his head. “What did you do to that poor woman? She’s ready to shove you into a defensive line.”

I stare after her. “I don’t know.”

Nolan kicks me under the table. “Go find out.”

I hesitate. Maybe it’s better this way. Maybe I can resist the temptation of May if she isn’t beaming her sunshine toward me.

But I hurt her. I don’t want her to hurt.

Before I can stand to follow May, her mother flies out of the kitchen and hurries to our table.

“Brock! You’re here. You didn’t tell me you were coming. I could have made your favorites.” She glances around. “Where’s my boy?”

I stand to offer her my hand but she wraps her arms around me. “Families hug,” she says as she strangles me. She’s strong for a small woman. Like her daughter. Her daughter who’s barreling toward us with daggers in her eyes.

“Mom.” She shackles her mother’s wrist and pulls her away from me. “You shouldn’t hug strangers.”

“Stranger? Brock is no stranger. He’s your boyfriend.”

“Brock is not my boyfriend,” she grits out between clenched teeth.

“Don’t be silly. He’s your boyfriend. Why else did you bring him and his son to meet us?” She scans the restaurant. “Where’s Jace? I need to make him egg rolls.”

“Jace is out with friends,” I say.

Lin pats my arm. “I’ll make his egg rolls to go.”

“Mom.”

Lin ignores her daughter and rushes off to the kitchen. May follows her. I start after her but she disappears into the kitchen. I collapse in my chair.

Tanner claps. “I didn’t realize a show was included with dinner.”

I reach past Corbin to strangle him. My life is not a show.