“Good,” I mumbled and turned to face three angry people. “What?”
“Go get her,” Ma ordered.
“But, Ma. She’s irrational. Who reacts like that at getting a gift? She broke her favorite shoes, and I thought I’d be nice and replace them.”
“There’s obviously a misunderstanding, beta.”
“Yeah, she thinks she owes you sex?” Jahn asked, and Ma glared at him. “Sorry, Ma. But she did. Maybe some stupid guy did something like this once and he expected her to return the favor.” He shrugged. “There’s always something more to what women say.”
Ma waved me away. “Go. Hurry before she leaves.”
I groaned. “Yes, Ma.” But I did not hurry.
Jahn took the box, and everyone else, inside.
“And invite her to dinner!” Ma called as I turned the corner.
What? Our family dinners were not for anyone else. I clenched my jaw, but there was no point in denying Ma’s good heart. I found Liya tapping a foot in front of the elevator and biting her thumbnail.
“That’s not going to make the elevator come any quicker,” I said, standing beside her.
“Go away,” she snapped.
In a more level tone, I replied, “Listen. We were about to eat dinner. Do you want to join us?”
She stared at me, baffled. “Are you joking?”
“No.”
“Go away.”
The elevator dinged. “Please?”
“So you can parade me in front of your family and rile me up for amusement?”
“Well, you are easy to rile, and that’s your problem.” The doors opened. “But my family, especially Ma, insists that you come in for dinner.”
“Tell them thanks for the invitation.” She stepped into the elevator, but I stood in the doorway to prevent it from closing. “You’re going to set off the alarm.”
“I promise I will not argue. I’m not setting you up. In fact, I don’t intend to speak to you outside of work-related matters after tonight.”
An uninterested Liya replied, “I have nothing to gain by going in there.”
“Shilpa,” I reminded.
“I can see her another time.”
“She’ll be too busy with the baby soon.”
Liya took a step toward me, her arms crossed as her discerning eyes met mine. “Are you going to get yelled at if I don’t go?”
“How can you sense the truth so easily and still be hardheaded about me truly wanting to date you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Because good liars can hide well.”
“Are you coming inside or not?”
“Nope.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. I wasn’t going to force her.
“Liya?” Shilpa called from behind me.
I stepped back but held my hand out to keep the elevator doors from closing. Liya’s defensive demeanor was quickly dismantled. Her arms dropped to her sides, her sour face turned friendly.
“Come on. Dinner’s getting cold,” Shilpa said.
“Another time. You know? Without him.”
Shilpa took Liya’s hand and pulled her along anyway. “Don’t mind Jay and whatever idiotic thing he did.”
Liya quirked her brows at me in passing.
“Why am I the idiot?” I asked as I followed them into the apartment.
“Because you’re a guy,” they said in unison.
The girls sat with Ma as I pulled up another chair and Jahn grabbed an extra plate.
“What happened?” he asked quietly in the kitchen while I grabbed a cup and utensils for Liya.
“I’m nice to her, right? And I ask her out.”
He shook his head. “Rookie mistake.”
I ignored him. “And then she flips and accuses me of wanting to screw her. So when she sees the shoes I replaced, she freaks out even more, thinking that I bought those to make her owe me.”
“Another rookie mistake.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Why do you bother with her?”
“After tonight, I won’t. She’s the most maddening woman in the world.”
Jahn chuckled.
“And now look, my own mother turned against me. They just assume I’m in the wrong. I should be inconsiderate to women? Is that what they’re telling me?”
“There is no way you can win today. Give it up.” He slapped my shoulder, and we returned to the table.
I had to follow Jahn’s advice, because when it came to women banding together, it was best to leave things alone. Ma sat at the head of the table and Shilpa sat across from Jahn and beside Liya so that Liya was across from me.
Whenever Liya glanced at me, which wasn’t often, she had daggers for stares. Her annoyance level was ridiculous. But as soon as Ma engaged her in conversation, she was someone else entirely.
They spoke kindly and fondly, like old friends. Liya, not being at all traditional, displayed genuine respect for her elders with Ma. It wasn’t fake or forced, but inherent. They chatted with Shilpa about work and pregnancy and baby stuff. So much baby stuff. Liya laughed and sank her teeth into homemade falafels. Lettuce and red sauce spilled onto her plate, but she casually swiped it up with a finger and a quick lick.
Well, hell. That tongue. It wasn’t a lascivious action, or even aimed at me. But there was something mesmerizing about watching a beautiful woman eat, lost in conversation and pointedly oblivious to me.
I’d thought Liya sitting in on our prized family dinner would interrupt our flow, our calm. But once she unwound, it was almost as if she were part of the family. We might not click on every level, but she definitely clicked with my family.
After dinner, while Jahn helped me with the cleanup, Shilpa shrieked when Liya gave her permission to open the shoebox—not that Liya had any claims on it now. She’d been clear that she didn’t want the shoes.
“These. Are. Gorgeous! Tell me that you’re going to keep them!” Shilpa said as she admired the shoes.
Liya shook her head. “I’ll buy my own pair to replace the ones that broke, which I also bought myself.”
Shilpa tsked. Ma didn’t seem to understand what the big deal was. They were pretty shoes, and if she’d heard how much I’d spent on them, then she hid it well.
Seeing that we all, with the exception of Ma, had work in the morning, the family called it a night at eight. Plenty of time to drive home safely, shower, and get whatever they needed done for the morning.
“You must come to dinner again,” Ma insisted.
“Thank you. This was very nice,” Liya responded.
“You probably have family dinners of your own?”
“No. We haven’t had a family dinner since high school. Everyone’s just so…busy,” she replied, and I wondered what “busy” really meant.
Ma smiled and patted Liya on the shoulder on the way out.
Jahn waved goodbye. “Nice seeing you, Liya. You should hang out with us every week.” He purposely did not meet my glare.
Shilpa hugged Liya and told her the same thing, but she, on the other hand, gave me a purposeful grin. They all seemed to hurry out before Liya could get her shoes on.
“I’m leaving. I’m leaving,” she muttered as she struggled, her hair in her face.