Page 33 of Miss Understanding

“He definitely is.” At least it was something we could agree on.

As we all dished up and sat at the dining room table, it soon became obvious there was something off in the dynamic. After grace, Clara remarked, “Freddie’s favorite food was Mexican. He loved it when I made him tacos for dinner.”

Liam’s jaw tick clued me in that I was missing something.

But I was always one to mind my manners, so I forged ahead. “I was very sorry to hear of your loss, Mrs. Davenport.”

“Oh, thank you, dear. Please call me Clara. It was just so unexpected. He would’ve loved this meal. He wasn’t a bad cook himself.”

“You don’t say?” I gave her a smile, but when I glanced over toward her son, he seemed tense and uneasy. I didn’t get it. And evidently I wasn’t to be enlightened anytime soon.

“You know anything about making a good margarita, Kendall?” Allison asked straight after dinner. She looked as though she needed a drink.

“I do. You in the mood for frozen or on the rocks?”

She grinned. “Frozen would be divine. I bought tequila and lime juice. I also have a mix, but it’s kind of nasty.”

She led me into her kitchen.

“Tequila and lime juice are good,” I said. “Do you have triple sec? And some sugar?”

She fished through the cabinet and came out with a bottle. “Yes. I have it.”

“Great. I only need a small sauce pan and sugar to make the simple syrup.” Margaritas always tasted better to me with a balance of sweet and sour.

“How do you know all this?”

“I bartend on the weekends.”

“You do?” came Liam’s voice as he entered the kitchen with plates from the table.

Shit. I hadn’t meant for him to overhear me. Not that my moonlighting was against the firm rules, but I didn’t want him asking questions. “Yeah. On Friday and Saturday nights.”

“Where?”

“Um, at a dance club. Do you have a blender?” I inquired toward Allison, hoping to change the subject.

“So, you work full-time, go to school, and work part-time on the weekends?” she asked.

“I like to stay busy.” I stole a glance at Liam and saw his scowl and a throb in his jaw. Did it piss him off to hear I had a life outside of him? The only thing missing was his sigh of disapproval, and it would have been like old times in the office. Deciding to ignore him, I went about making the best possible margaritas.

An hour later, I noticed my boss hadn’t indulged in anything alcoholic. Too bad. It probably would have improved his mood.

After the dishes were done, we all piled in the cars to head to bowling. I chanced a glance at my driver, whose mood seemed to be worsening by the moment. “Everything okay?” I asked.

“Fine.”

The word almost made me snap. I started to second-guess my decision to come tonight. Or to get in the car alone with him while everyone else had ridden in the minivan. At least I could be grateful the bowling alley was only five minutes away.

Once we arrived and got situated with our rental shoes, we decided on two lanes and were put on the far side. Bumpers were put up for the kids which meant no gutter balls. Probably a good thing since I hadn’t bowled in years.

Allison came over with a pitcher of beer and some cups. “My bowling game gets better with beer,” she joked.

I winced a bit since it seemed everyone was into this little family outing except for their mother, who’d been quiet so far. She’d decided not to bowl and was only helping her granddaughters with their shoes. But who was I to point this out? Perhaps this was the way her children hoped to put a smile on her face.

Finding a yellow six-pound ball, I was relieved to find it would fit my small hands and wasn’t a weight that would embarrass me.

“You realize your ball is a child’s ball?” Liam smirked.