Nerd Girl(72)

“We’re not that serious,” I mumbled. “I’m not that into him. I’m not sure why Anna even mentioned him.” I rolled my eyes and feigned boredom. I didn’t look at Anna because I knew she would see right through me.

“That’s so not true, Julia!” she insisted. “You’re totally into him.”

I realized she wasn’t on my side and groaned, one step away from banging my head on the table. I couldn’t blame her, though. She had no idea what had transpired over the course of this past week. I had hoped to wait until after the wedding to tell her. I didn’t want to steal her thunder and have her worry about me during one of the best days of her life.

In my attempt to change the subject, I said, “Tonight is about you and Ethan, not me.” I gave her another warning look.

“It’s not a big deal, Julia.” She rolled her eyes and looked over at my parents. “Ryan is great, you guys will love him.”

My eyes were downcast and my mouth grew tight. When I looked up, I saw that Anna was watching me. Anna was studying me now and appeared a little confused by my reaction. I noticed she had the Hayes wrinkle between her eyes, too. She was slowly catching on that something wasn’t right.

“So, did you ask him to the wedding?” my mom asked.

Everyone looked at me expectantly.

“Yes, but he had previous commitments,” I said quietly.

My mom noticed Anna and I looking at each other, trying to communicate with only our eyes. My mom could read each of her children like a hawk; she could always see through our secret twin communication. Maybe this was because raising twins must’ve been an interesting and unique experience. As kids and as teenagers, I swore she had some freakish clairvoyance of some sort because she always knew when we were lying, if something was up, or if we were working on some secret sisterly collaborative scheme. Anna and I learned early on that we were better off just telling her the truth. Or, maybe I was just a really bad liar. My mom and Anna both looked at me, waiting for further explanation. I didn’t provide any. Instead, I took a large gulp of my wine.

“Julia,” my mom said knowingly, “what are you not telling us?”

I sighed loudly. Hoping to shut them all up, I decided to confess. “We’re not together anymore, okay?” I blurted out. “It was short-lived and that’s why I never mentioned anything to you, Mom. Don’t worry about it, okay? Can we just focus on Anna and Ethan?”

My mom’s brows furrowed again. She looked disappointed. Anna looked confused. Ethan gave me an inquisitive but sad gaze. I could tell he really liked Ryan and I think he’d been looking forward to the idea of the two of them becoming better friends. Well, so did I!

The subject was closed, but I knew my mom wouldn’t let it rest until I answered her questions to her satisfaction. And she finally cornered me, albeit twenty-four hours later, desperate for answers. She linked her arm into mine as she walked with me to the reception bar.

“Mom, I’m fine,” I repeated.

She eyed me curiously and arched an eyebrow—she wasn’t buying it.

“Okay, yes, I was a little sad because things didn’t work out with Ryan and me. But I’m over it. I’m fine, really. Can we talk about this some other time? Maybe we can go out to lunch next week and can catch up,” I suggested, hoping this would temporarily get her off my back.

As usual, she saw right through me and chose to ignore everything I’d just said. “I have to ask Anna about what’s going on with you sometimes, because you close yourself off when things aren’t going well and you don’t tell me things.”

I heard a lecture coming and braced myself, but just before she could start on her tirade, I was rescued by the sound of static coming from the microphone. Kelli was about to announce the arrival of the happy couple.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my great pleasure to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Ethan and Anna Kinnear!”

The room exploded in applause and in walked my sister and my new brother-in-law. I clapped along with everyone else, both for Ethan and Anna, and equally for having put off my mom for at least a few more hours, if not another day.

As the mother of the bride, Mom was a popular target for many of the guests, and when the applause died down, it took only seconds before guests were also congratulating my mom on a beautiful wedding and for inheriting a new son-in-law. With the distraction of Anna and Ethan’s entry into the ballroom, I took the opportunity to release myself from my mother’s arm and walked up to Anna.

Anna caught my eye and beelined over to me. We hugged and she gave me an extra squeeze before releasing me.