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“Oh, well, Dylan can walk me down the aisle,” I assure him, as if this is all actually happening.

We get seated quickly in the restaurant since his mom made reservations for us. I sit next to Monty who is next to his mom, with Richard on my other side.

His mom orders wine for the table before we decide on our entrees. I try a sip, but I’ve never been much of a wine drinker, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Since Monty mentioned that his mother loves visiting vineyards and drinks it with every meal, I figure now is my chance to finally find something she’ll hate me for.

“How’s the wine?” the waiter eventually comes by and asks.

“Absolute cat piss,” I say as I hold up my glass for him to take it away without looking at him. Instead, I glance at Monty who hides an almost smirk behind his wineglass.

“She’s right.” His mom picks up the bottle and tells the waiter. “Let’s try this again. Bring us something that’s older than you, hon.”

“Mom, the wine is fine,” Monty says before taking a big sip…then immediately lets it dribble out of his mouth with a cough.

And I can’t help it. I giggle. Then I snort which makes me giggle again. The man who’s so uptight and proper just spit out wine. In public. In front of his mom and stepfather. And I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything so funny.

“So glad I amuse you.” Picking up his napkin, Monty dabs at the corners of his mouth like he’s trying to reclaim his dignity. But it’s too late. I’m snorting again and so does his mom. His stepfather doesn’t make a sound, but there is a crooked grin on his face.

Once our laughter mostly subsides, his mom lays her hand on my arm and turns to me as she says, “Monty’s not good at complaining. He’ll go along with anything rather than make waves. But I’ve always told him that life is too short to be less than happy. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. If you don’t ask for what you want, you’ll never get it.”

“You’re a wise woman, Mrs. Crawford.”

“Thank you, dear. But it’s Mrs. Irving now. Or just Nancy.” She pats my arm and then releases it, leaving her perfume on my skin.

My heart sinks a little because I don’t want her to hate me.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you that I booked you an engagement shoot for Sunday!” she exclaims excitedly.

“That’s really unnecessary,” Monty says.

“No, honey, it’s not! You two are just the most gorgeous couple. The photos are going to look amazing.”

“Sounds fun,” I agree, flashing Monty a smile. “What should I wear?” I ask his mother.

“Anything you want. You could do formal wear, a sundress, or even bathing suits on the beach. Whatever floats your boat.”

“Oh, I think my float is definitely swimsuits. I have just the perfect thing for us both to wear.”

“Great. The photographer will come by your bungalow around noon on Sunday and take photos until two.”

“Wow. Two hours of photos?” I say in disbelief.

“It’s our treat. My oldest son only gets married once,” she remarks.

11

Monty

I shouldn’t have drunk so much on the plane.

I can’t even recall all the details of how we got to the restaurant from the airport, and I just spit out my wine like a child.

I needed to be completely sober to make sure this first meeting between my mom and Kendall went according to plan.

So far, it’s not.

My mom is already imagining what our children will look like.