A Tricky Proposition(50)
“Yes.”
“You know my thoughts on this matter.” Her mother’s gaze grew keen. “How does Jason feel about what you’re doing?”
Ming stared at the flowers that surrounded her parents’ patio. “He’s happy for me.”
“He’s a good man,” her mother said, her expression as tranquil as Ming had ever seen it. “Are you hoping he’ll help you?”
“I don’t expect him to.” Ming wondered if her mother truly understood that she was doing this on her own. “He’s busy with his own life.”
Patrick smiled. “I remember how he was with your cousins. He’s good with kids. I always thought he’d make a great father.”
“You did?” The conversation had taken on a surreal quality for Ming. Since he never intended to get married, she’d never pictured Jason as a father. But now that her dad had mentioned it, she could see Jason relishing the role.
“What I meant about Jason…is he going to help you make the baby?” her mother interjected.
“Why would you think that?”
“You two are close. It seems logical.”
Ming kept her panic off her face, but it wasn’t easy. “It would mess up our friendship.”
“Why? I’m assuming you’re going to use a clinic.”
This was all hitting a little too close to home. “That’s what I figured I’d do.” Until Jason came up with the crazy notion of them sleeping together. “I’d better give Lily a hand in the kitchen.”
Leaving her parents to process what she’d told them, Ming sidled up to her sister.
“I shared my news.” She started rinsing off dishes and stacking them in the dishwasher. “Are you going to tell them you’ve bought a house in Portland?”
“I changed my mind.”
“About the house or Portland?”
“Both.”
“Evan must be thrilled.” The words slipped out before Ming realized what she was saying. In her defense, she was rattled by her father’s speculation about Jason being a great dad and her mother’s guess that he was going to help her get pregnant.
“Evan?” Lily tried to sound confused rather than anxious, but her voice buckled beneath the weight of her dismay. “Why would Evan care?”
The cat was out of the bag. Might as well clear the air. “Because you two are dating?”
Ming was aware that keeping a secret about her and Jason while unveiling her sister’s love life was the most hypocritical thing she’d done in months.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Evan admitted it to Jason and he told me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“Don’t you think you should have?” She didn’t want to resent Lily for finding happiness.
“I honestly didn’t think anything was going to happen between us.”
“Happen between you when, exactly?” Ming’s frustration with her own love life was bubbling to the surface. “The first time you went out? The first time he kissed you?”
“I don’t want this to come between us.”
“Me, either.” But at the moment it was, and Ming couldn’t dismiss the resentment rumbling through her.
“But I don’t want to break up with him.” Beneath Lily’s determined expression was worry. “I can’t.”
Shock zipped across Ming’s nerve endings. “Is it that serious?”
“He told me he loves me.”
“Wow.” Ming exhaled in surprise.
It had taken almost a year of dating for Evan to admit such deep feelings for her. As reality smacked her in the face, she was overcome by the urge to curl into a ball and cry her eyes out. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t in love with Evan. She’d made her peace with their breakup. Why couldn’t she be happy for her sister?
“Do you feel the same?”
Lily wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I do.”
“How long have you been going out?”
“A couple months. I know it seems fast, but I’ve been interested in Evan since high school. Until recently, I had no idea he saw me as anything more than your baby sister. Emphasis on the baby.” Lily’s lips curved down at the corners.
There was a five-year difference in their ages. That gap would have seemed less daunting as Lily moved into her twenties and became a successful career woman.
“I guess he’s seen the real you at last.”
“I want you to know, I never meant for this to happen.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
“It’s just that no one has control over who they fall in love with.”