Page 34 of Made of Steele
“Hook, line, and sinker, as my grandad would say.” Teagan grinned. “All I need is the new phone.”
“If we do this, you could take on the character’s other background and job if it works. Would be easier to remember that way.”
“It works. I’d be a sous chef between jobs. I quit in a fit over differences with the head chef and recently moved back to Portland after being away.”
A knock sounded on the door. Teagan cast a wary eye at it. “Yeah.”
The door opened and a stylish woman with long silvery hair and a round face entered. Drew put the woman in her mid to late fifties. She carried a tray holding two steaming mugs and eyed Teagan. “Thought you might be too busy to offer your guest a refreshment, so I made some hot cocoa for this cold day.”
Teagan seemed to deflate.
Interesting.
“I’m Teagan’s mother.” The woman shifted the tray to one hand and held out the other, her fingernail polish powder blue. “Ruby Steele.”
Drew started to rise to shake hands.
Ruby waved him off, then clutched his hand firmly. “No need to stand on my account.”
“Dr—Dylan Crane.” At her forceful stare, he almost forgot he was UC and blurted out his real name. This was a woman to be reckoned with, and she’d produced an equally strong daughter.
“Are you a friend or business acquaintance of Teagan’s?” Ruby asked.
“Umm—”
“We went on a date last night,” Teagan said, her tone flat.
Ruby shot a surprised look at her daughter, who shook her head. “It was only one date, Mom. No need to make a big deal of it or go running in to tell everyone.”
She swung her focus back to Dylan. “I get all the girls together during the week for dinner or they don’t take care of themselves. They skip meals and never take any downtime.” She shifted her attention to her daughter. “Dinner will be on the table in ten minutes. Have you invited Dylan?”
Teagan’s face paled. “No.”
Ruby turned to Drew. “Then, Dylan, I insist that you stay, and I won’t take no for an answer. I made a nice beef stew for this cold night. My mother-in-law contributed several loaves of her famous crusty bread and a rich chocolate chip cheesecake.”
His stomach grumbled, and he gave Teagan a sheepish look. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a real home-cooked dinner.”
“It’s settled.” Ruby clapped her hands, an elated look on her face, and faced Teagan. “Finish up here, and I’ll see you both at the table in ten minutes.” She marched out and closed the door.
Teagan let out a long breath. “As you can see, my mom likes to take charge.”
“You’re like that too, you know. In fact, I recently had that same thought. You stand your ground.”
“Yeah, I’ve been told that. Funny how it drives me crazy in her, but I act the same way.” She looked like she wanted to sigh but held it in. “You can ignore her, though, and take off if you want to.” She reached for her mug, her pink nails glittering in the light.
Was she trying to get rid of him? If so, he didn’t like it. Maybe he should leave, but the smell coming from the kitchen was enticing. And he would like to have a meal with good people for once.
That was decided. He would stay. “I’m glad for the meal, but we’ll need to get a few things straight about our dating life and who I am before I sit at a table with your family.”
“I already told Mackenzie that you work with the Conti brothers, and we met yesterday morning when I went over to World of Crafts to decide what I wanted to do about what happened in the warehouse.” She sipped the cocoa, leaving a hint of it on her upper lip.
He had to work hard to ignore it. “Does she know I’m the one who restrained you that night?”
“No. No one knows that. My cousins and parents don’t know about the incident at all, and I would like to leave it that way.”
“Me too. I could see your mother kicking my behind out the door.” He chuckled.
Teagan laughed with him. He loved how she’d relaxed, and he could easily imagine really dating her and being here with her. Chilling out. Maybe reading a book. Just enjoying the quiet together.
