Don't Bite the Bridesmaid by Tiffany Allee

couple.” How did she explain without making her mother sound nuts? Who was she kidding—her mom was a little nuts. But she was also a strong, wonderful woman who loved her family dearly. “He’s been gone for a really long time. She gets lonely.”
    “I understand,” Noah said.
    He couldn’t—not really. But then, he wouldn’t really grasp the loving insanity of her mother until he spent some time with her. But Alice appreciated his words. “All right, then. Let’s go eat.”
    Sconces on the walls and small lights designed to look like candles set on the tables lit the room, and a quiet hum of classical music made the place feel relaxing and a bit romantic.
    Most of their party was already there. Cindy’s soon-to-be husband, Robert, and his cousin were laughing loudly and jovially as only the best of friends could. Cindy sat glowing between Robert and her mother. Edna’s escort was in attendance, and as Cindy had dished earlier in the week, he was far too young. Edna was pushing sixty, and the man on her left couldn’t be a day over forty. Only three seats remained, two right across from Edna and her escort, with the last on one end of the table.
    Alice glanced sharply at her sister and Cindy shrugged. They exchanged greetings. Noah pulled out her chair for her, and she gave him a small smile before turning to face her mother.
    “Brent said Kristen isn’t feeling well, so they moved us to a smaller table,” Edna said as Alice’s hand closed over her cloth napkin. “He’ll be along later.”
    She nodded politely, when she really wanted to point out that she hadn’t asked, nor did she care, where Brent was. She didn’t.
    “Funny,” Noah said, waving the waiter over, “she looked fine when we saw her a less than an hour ago.” The waiter arrived and Noah ordered something that sounded suspiciously French, but she didn’t catch the exact wording.
    “Oh,” Edna said, leaning over the table to peer at Noah. “You’ve met Brent, then?”
    Noah opened his mouth, no doubt to give her mother an education both of his opinion of Brent and knowledge of swear words, but Alice cut him off. “Mother, you haven’t introduced us to your friend.”
    “I’m sorry, dear. This is Jake. Jake, say hello to my daughter and her friend.”
    Jake nodded politely. The man was handsome; she’d give her mother that. He had hazel eyes, and the lines around his mouth suggested he always wore a smile. A fun guy, then. Just what Edna preferred.
    “Boyfriend,” Noah corrected. Cindy choked on her wine, turning wide eyes to her sister.
    “Boyfriend?” Edna asked, enunciating the word just so, to make sure she’d heard right. “I knew you wanted to add a friend to the group, but I didn’t realize it was someone you were seeing.” Edna laughed. “To be honest Noah, I had expected you to be a girl.”
    Noah didn’t reply vocally, but jerked his head in a quick nod.
    Alice closed her eyes. You can do this. It’s a tiny lie .
    Crap . This wasn’t fair. A little ruse to fool Brent was justifiable, deserved even. But lying to her mother? She’d planned to call Noah a friend—sort of true—and let her always-hopeful mom fill in the details of that friendship. That way it wouldn’t be such a lie.
    And she wouldn’t be such a liar.
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing a boyfriend?” Edna asked.
    “I—”
    “She didn’t want to steal Robert and Cindy’s thunder,” Noah replied smoothly.
    She shot him a thankful glance.
    “You should know your sister wouldn’t mind.” She picked up her wine glass and waved a hand over it at one of the waiters. The man, dressed in a suit, regally refilled her glass and even returned her wink with a small grin.
    “You know Alice. Far too considerate for her own good,” Noah said.
    Edna grinned at Noah. Alice’s throat tightened painfully, and she nudged her plate toward the center of the table. No way was she going to be able to eat now. It wasn’t Noah’s fault.