Page 42 of The Taste of Deceit

She raises both hands.

“I’m just saying.” Her smile softens. “You seem smitten.”

She glances toward the doorway.

“And he looks at you the way your Daddy looks at me.”

“Stop.”

Mama only smiles.

“I raised you. I know that look.”

I roll my eyes and wander back into the living room.

Daddy has the Weather Channel on, though it seems less like he’s watching it and more like he’s narrating it for Luca.

“…if we don’t get enough moisture this week, we’ll have to rotate the cattle earlier than I planned.”

Luca nods.

“That makes sense.”

I raise an eyebrow. I know for a fact he has no idea what Daddy’s talking about. Luca looks up when he sees me. I smile and sink down onto the couch beside him.

“Daddy,” I say, “don’t bore Luca with the weather.”

“No,” Luca says before Daddy can answer. “He’s not boring me.”

Daddy grins.

“See?”

I shake my head. “Mama says dinner’s almost ready.”

Dinner is exactly the way I remember it. Mama fills the table with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, homemade rolls, green beans, and enough food to feed twice as many people as we’re expecting.

The conversation never really stays in one place. Daddy asks Luca about Los Angeles. Mama asks me about USC. Somewhere in the middle, they start telling stories from when I was little, and I spend half the meal insisting they’re exaggerating.

I reach for the butter, but before my fingers get there, Luca slides it in front of me.

“Thanks.”

He nods once before turning his attention back to whatever Daddy’s saying about the ranch.

A few minutes later, I laugh so hard at one of Daddy’s stories that I forget about the piece of chicken sitting on my plate.

Luca nudges my elbow with his.

“Eat, Baby Girl.”

I smile and take a bite.

Mama keeps talking, and somewhere between stories, I empty my glass without realizing it. By the time I look for the pitcher, Luca is already standing. He refills it, sets it back beside my plate, and picks up his own conversation with Daddy.

I glance across the table just in time to catch Daddy looking at Luca. Our eyes meet for the briefest second. Then he goes back to talking to Luca.

Dinner winds down almost an hour later. By the time the last roll disappears, we’re all leaning back in our chairs, too full to move.