Page 105 of Let's Kiss and Tell

“I get that you’re having fun, Marsh, but Julia’s here.”

“So?” I frown.

“So, it’s embarrassing. Chad couldn’t make it so now she’s by herself having to watch your display of affection with someone new.”

“You’re joking,” I scoff. “She’s getting married in a few weeks!”

“If you’re so mad about it, why did you break up with her?”

“Mom—”

“Come on, Marshall.” My mom clicks her tongue. “Enough of this. You know how Julia feels about you. Why are you being so stubborn?”

“I’m not having this conversation again, Mom,” I say. “I know you love Julia and she’s ‘the daughter you never had,’ which, I might add, is incredibly insulting to Quinn, but it’s over, okay? It’s over and I’m with someone else now. So, instead of trying to play matchmaker, why don’t you play the role of supportive mom and leave it.”

My mom just looks at me. “You are just like your father.”

I’m only like my father in moments of disdain. “So you’ve told me,” I say.

“If that’s how you want to behave, then do what you want. You’re a grown man.”

“Exactly, I’m an adult—”

“You go ahead and let Julia get married because you wasted all those years with her and never proposed. Now go ahead and do the exact same thing with Lucy. See how she likes it when you start working those late nights.”

I look at her and sigh. “Are you done?”

“I guess I am.”

“Great talking.” I walk away.

The rest of the birthday party is as good as a six-year-old’s birthday party can be. Lucy and I stay clear of Julia for the rest of the day,and my interactions with my mom stay sparse. Oliver and Quinn beg for Lucy and me to come back in the next few weeks, to which we reluctantly agree.

A part of me should feel bad about introducing my family to Lucy. Knowing that after the wedding we’ll be going through a “breakup” and they’ll never see her again. But then I think of how we all invested nine years of our lives into my past relationship and I no longer feel bad. Relationships start and end and that’s life.

“Do you want to go to the hotel first?” I turn to Lucy as we start driving. The sun is beaming through the window, casting an auburn hue around her hair, and I take a mental snapshot.

“Are you tired?” she asks.

“Surprisingly, no.”

“What would you say if I proposed having lobster rolls at Fisherman’s Wharf during sunset?” She smiles.

“I’d say it sounds like you’re trying to curate the most romantic date.”

“Sooo, is that a yes?”

I put my sunglasses on. “That’s a yes.”

For the rest of the drive, we sit in silence listening to a seventies playlist. I can tell we’re reflecting on the day we just had, processing what this means for the both of us. Once we get to Fisherman’s Wharf the sun is slowly starting to set along the water. I grab a crewneck from my bag, Lucy wraps a wool cardigan around her, and we find a spot along the pier.

“Holy shit, that’s good,” Lucy says through a mouthful of lobster.

“Oh wow.” I savor the taste of fresh seafood, a thick buttery sauce, and a soft brioche bun.

“Okay.” Lucy licks butter off her thumb and I immediately look away. “Would you rather be rich or famous?”

“Rich,” I say, not even slightly fazed by the sudden pivot to awould you rathergame.