Drunk on Love(19)

He still didn’t know if quitting had been the right decision. Probably not. When he remembered the relief he’d felt on his last day, he was so glad he’d quit. But when he thought about how impulsive his decision had been, that he had no idea what to do next, he doubted it.

He wished he could just . . . not tell his mom about this. But he’d fucked that up on his own by deciding to move back to Napa, and then getting the damn job at Noble so he’d have something to do all day.

But then, he couldn’t have blown off Avery like that when she needed him. She’d been his best friend since high school; she’d been there for him for everything both good and bad for well over a decade. Her breakup had hit her hard, and now that he could actually be there for her at a difficult time, he was glad he was able to do it. She so rarely ever let anyone know she actually needed help, and he couldn’t regret being here for her, when she’d been so relieved that he’d been there to help her move, and she’d seemed so happy to make plans with him for tomorrow night. And she hadn’t even flipped out about him quitting his job, and had even seemed happy for him.

At least he’d have a story for Avery when he saw her. He laughed. She would freak out when he told her about Margot.

When he got to his mom’s house, he walked up the path to the front door and knocked firmly on the door. This wasn’t the house he’d grown up in; his mom had sold that house and moved into this smaller one when he’d been in college, and Pete had moved in here a few years later. She’d used some of the money from the old house to help pay Luke’s tuition, which was one of the many reasons he felt guilty for quitting his job.

His mom threw open the door, a huge smile on her face, and he smiled back at her. He hadn’t seen her in a few months; he hadn’t realized how much he missed her. Now he felt bad for how much he’d been dreading this.

“Hey, Mom,” he said, and pulled her into a hug.

She gave him a very tight hug in return and then took a step back.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” she asked, with that look on her face that he knew meant she was trying not to smile at him. “Dinner with my son, on a Monday night, when it’s not a holiday?”

He followed her into the house. This might not be the house he grew up in, but it smelled like home.

“Something smells incredible in here,” he said, bypassing her question for the moment. “Don’t tell me you made short ribs?”

She took the lid off the big pot on the stove and gave it a stir.

“Well, I know they’re your favorite, and even though it’s the end of April, there’s still a chill in the air in the evenings, so I thought we’d all like something cozy tonight. And you gave me enough warning that you’d be up here so I could start this early and have it simmering all afternoon.”

Luke lifted his hand to Pete, who was standing by the refrigerator. His mom and Pete had met because of him—he’d worked for Pete one summer in high school, and then a year or so later, his mom and Pete had started dating.

“Hi, Pete,” Luke said. “Good to see you.”

It was true, even though he’d had a full year there—at least—when he’d been furious at Pete for dating his mom. And furious at his mom for dating Pete, though he’d been more mad at Pete. At that point, it had been only a few years since his parents had gotten divorced and his dad had moved away. His parents were much better as friends than as a married couple, but he still hadn’t liked the idea of either of them with anyone else. But he’d moved past that eventually. It had helped—once he’d gotten over himself—to see how happy his mom was around Pete.

“Hey, Luke,” Pete said. He opened the refrigerator and pulled two beers out. “Want a beer?”

Luke grinned at him.

“Sure, thanks.” Though a beer made him think about the bar last night, which made him think about Margot, which made him think about things he did not need to be thinking about right now.

“Need any help, Mom?”

“No, no, it’s almost ready,” she said as she drained a pot of potatoes.

Within minutes, she’d mashed the potatoes, tossed the salad and ordered Luke to put it on the table, and dished up bowls of short ribs on top of creamy mashed potatoes for all three of them. Luke’s stomach rumbled as he carried the food to the table.

“So?” she said as soon as they all sat down. “Are you going to tell us what you’re doing in Napa on a Monday night? Is there a conference or something?”

Luke picked up his fork. And then he lost his head.

“I’m on sabbatical, so I moved back up here for a little while.”

Why had he said that? He wasn’t on sabbatical!

His mom raised her eyebrows.

“Sabbatical?”

Now he just had to go with it.

“Yeah, we can take sabbaticals after five years, and I’m overdue for one.” What was he even saying? “And I came up last week to help Avery move, and well, one thing led to another, and—”

A wide smile spread across his mom’s face.

“Oh, really? You and Avery? Oh, I’m so glad.”

She beamed at him.

Shit. His mom thought he meant he’d gotten back together with Avery?

“Oh, that’s not what I—”