and
released her hand.
“Well!
Good. In that case, you call me Aunt Min, too.” She beamed at Felicity.
Felicity
nodded, deciding to just go with it. What else could she do? “Nice
to meet you, Aunt Min.” Under the table, she kicked Josh. He jerked in
his seat. Good , she thought, meanly.
She hoped she’d given him a bruise.
Across
from her,
Troy
’s
mouth was twisted into an unhappy curl. He kept shooting irritated glances at
Josh. Felicity was not going to be the one to straighten that out.
“Nice
to meet you too,” Aunt Min said, setting her little green purse on the table.
Felicity
noted that it perfectly matched her little flat shoes. The linen sundress she
wore complemented her brown eyes. This old lady definitely knows how to make
an appearance , Felicity thought.
“So,
what do you do, Felicity?” She waved down the server and ordered herself a cup
of jasmine tea.
“I’m a
copywriter. I also do some IT for my company,” Felicity replied. Josh had his
hand on her shoulder now and she debated whether she wanted to lean into it and
the comfort it offered, or smack it down for telling his aunt that she was his
girlfriend. Somehow, she was going to make him pay for this. She had a feeling
Troy
would help.
“Huh.
You’re normal. Good!” Aunt Min grinned at her, eyes twinkling. “He and
Troy
are good together,
but I want more nieces and nephews.”
Felicity
froze. Kids? What? And also, what did she mean about
Josh and
Troy
?
“Aunt
Min! We just met. We are not talking about kids.” He covered his face
with a hand. “Oh my God,” he mumbled.
Felicity
kicked him again. The least he could do was not cower.
“We
haven’t talked about that,” she said, hoping Aunt Min would drop the subject.
“Why not? You not getting any
younger,” the old lady said, eyeing her up and down.
Felicity
could swear the woman was laughing at the three of them.
“Uh,
well, we haven’t been dating that long yet.” She shrugged apologetically. “It’s
taken me a while to get over my husband’s death.” She glanced at
Troy
to see how he would
take that statement. His eyebrows lifted in surprise, but then compassion
filled his face.
“You
were married? Oh, that’s terrible. How long ago did it happen?” Aunt Min patted
her kindly.
Felicity
smiled shakily. Aunt Min was sweet, but mentioning it had brought the whole
awful thing to mind. She decided she needed comfort and leaned into Josh’s arm. He’d better not chicken out now , she thought. “Peter died about three
years ago in a car crash. We were in the parking lot where he worked, just sitting and talking, and someone lost control
of their car.” Felicity shrugged. “It was a freak accident.”
“God,
that’s terrible, Felicity,” Josh said, hugging her.
Unexpectedly,
Felicity’s eyes filled with tears. She blinked them back. She wasn’t prepared
for this, dammit . Across from her,
Troy
nodded.
“That
must have been awful. It’s always awful,”
Troy
said quietly, leaning over and putting a hand on hers.
Felicity
stared down. His dark fingers slid in between her light ones. When Josh put a
hand over theirs, the three different colored skin tones had Felicity shaking
her head bemusedly. She hadn’t expected this level of understanding from them,
though she should have. They’d been nothing but perceptive since the moment
she’d met them. They’d always focused on her comfort. And pleasure , she
thought.
“It’s
okay. I’m okay,” she said, realizing that it was true. Maybe
for the first time.
“Josh
and
Troy
lost
their dads when they were ten,” Aunt Min said, sipping her tea. “Terrible, terrible car crash. But their moms are best
friends. They got through it okay.”
Felicity
sat back, shocked. “I’m so sorry,” she said to the men. She’d had no idea. Was
this why they were so nice? Because they understood what it was like? God.
“It was
a long time ago,”
Troy
said, shrugging.
Josh
nodded. “We had each other
released her hand.
“Well!
Good. In that case, you call me Aunt Min, too.” She beamed at Felicity.
Felicity
nodded, deciding to just go with it. What else could she do? “Nice
to meet you, Aunt Min.” Under the table, she kicked Josh. He jerked in
his seat. Good , she thought, meanly.
She hoped she’d given him a bruise.
Across
from her,
Troy
’s
mouth was twisted into an unhappy curl. He kept shooting irritated glances at
Josh. Felicity was not going to be the one to straighten that out.
“Nice
to meet you too,” Aunt Min said, setting her little green purse on the table.
Felicity
noted that it perfectly matched her little flat shoes. The linen sundress she
wore complemented her brown eyes. This old lady definitely knows how to make
an appearance , Felicity thought.
“So,
what do you do, Felicity?” She waved down the server and ordered herself a cup
of jasmine tea.
“I’m a
copywriter. I also do some IT for my company,” Felicity replied. Josh had his
hand on her shoulder now and she debated whether she wanted to lean into it and
the comfort it offered, or smack it down for telling his aunt that she was his
girlfriend. Somehow, she was going to make him pay for this. She had a feeling
Troy
would help.
“Huh.
You’re normal. Good!” Aunt Min grinned at her, eyes twinkling. “He and
Troy
are good together,
but I want more nieces and nephews.”
Felicity
froze. Kids? What? And also, what did she mean about
Josh and
Troy
?
“Aunt
Min! We just met. We are not talking about kids.” He covered his face
with a hand. “Oh my God,” he mumbled.
Felicity
kicked him again. The least he could do was not cower.
“We
haven’t talked about that,” she said, hoping Aunt Min would drop the subject.
“Why not? You not getting any
younger,” the old lady said, eyeing her up and down.
Felicity
could swear the woman was laughing at the three of them.
“Uh,
well, we haven’t been dating that long yet.” She shrugged apologetically. “It’s
taken me a while to get over my husband’s death.” She glanced at
Troy
to see how he would
take that statement. His eyebrows lifted in surprise, but then compassion
filled his face.
“You
were married? Oh, that’s terrible. How long ago did it happen?” Aunt Min patted
her kindly.
Felicity
smiled shakily. Aunt Min was sweet, but mentioning it had brought the whole
awful thing to mind. She decided she needed comfort and leaned into Josh’s arm. He’d better not chicken out now , she thought. “Peter died about three
years ago in a car crash. We were in the parking lot where he worked, just sitting and talking, and someone lost control
of their car.” Felicity shrugged. “It was a freak accident.”
“God,
that’s terrible, Felicity,” Josh said, hugging her.
Unexpectedly,
Felicity’s eyes filled with tears. She blinked them back. She wasn’t prepared
for this, dammit . Across from her,
Troy
nodded.
“That
must have been awful. It’s always awful,”
Troy
said quietly, leaning over and putting a hand on hers.
Felicity
stared down. His dark fingers slid in between her light ones. When Josh put a
hand over theirs, the three different colored skin tones had Felicity shaking
her head bemusedly. She hadn’t expected this level of understanding from them,
though she should have. They’d been nothing but perceptive since the moment
she’d met them. They’d always focused on her comfort. And pleasure , she
thought.
“It’s
okay. I’m okay,” she said, realizing that it was true. Maybe
for the first time.
“Josh
and
Troy
lost
their dads when they were ten,” Aunt Min said, sipping her tea. “Terrible, terrible car crash. But their moms are best
friends. They got through it okay.”
Felicity
sat back, shocked. “I’m so sorry,” she said to the men. She’d had no idea. Was
this why they were so nice? Because they understood what it was like? God.
“It was
a long time ago,”
Troy
said, shrugging.
Josh
nodded. “We had each other
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