Festive Fake

23 - No rush.

As I climbed the stairs to my apartment, relief filled my mind and put a bounce in my step. Things could've gone much worse at lunch. Whether Mother or I caused our issues, having less tension between us was a weight lifted from my shoulders.

My parents' acceptance of Joby shone a better light on them as well. Any other reaction would've been the last straw for me, no matter how Joby handled it.

Maybe we could start fresh with them—water under the bridge, can't change the past, all of that. Or maybe we'd always have a stilted and tiring relationship based on obligation. For now, as far as I was concerned, the ball was in their court. I'd put in as much effort going forward as Mother and not a drop more.

My phone rang, and I dug it out from the bottom of my purse. Laurel's name lit up the screen.

"Hello!" I answered as I slid the key in the lock and entered my apartment.

"How did it go?"

I smiled at the excitement in her voice. I should've known she'd be waiting for an update. "It went well. Mother apologized, if you can believe it. She even called me Liv. And they were cool with Joby, so that's a load off."

"Wait. What?"

"Lunch with my family. It was pleasant. Everyone played nice."

"Oh! That's great! I'm glad, and I want to hear all about it later. But I was asking about your date with Andre."

Tingles covered the back of my neck at the mention of his name. "Right, duh. I clearly need to get my priorities straight."

"Clearly," Laurel agreed. "So, where did you go?"

I left my bag in the foyer, and paced to the kitchen for a glass of water. My mouth fell open. "Aww." Andre had arranged the new flowers in a vase, and left it on the table. He must have cleaned things up when he got our dinner. I hadn't noticed in my rush out the door.

"What's aww?"

"I just realized Andre cleaned a mess we made last night and put the flowers he brought in a vase. They're so pretty."

"Hold up. What mess? I think I'm missing important details."

Warmth spread through me. "We decided to stay in."

Laurel shrieked. "Yeah, you did! That's my girl! Tell. Me. Everything."

I carried my water to the bedroom, ready to get things done and nap. As I reached the doorway, I stopped in my tracks. The sheets that had been in a heap on the floor were straightened over the bed. All traces of dinner were gone, including the wine glasses. They hadn't been in the sink. Did he wash them and put them away?

"Earth to Liv. Where did you go?"

A smaller vase holding three of the white lilies from the bouquet sat on my nightstand with a scrap of paper leaning against it. Andre had written, 'Get some rest. I'm looking forward to seeing you tonight.'

The note and Laurel's irritated huff made me giggle. "Andre cleaned my room. He even took the boxes out."

"What boxes?"

"I ordered some art supplies. He helped me rearrange the furniture and set things up."

"Jolivette Clementine Carson, if you say that man did chores and nothing else, I'm coming over there to shake some sense into you."

My huge grin caused an ache in my cheeks, but there'd be no getting rid of it. "That wasn't all. We did other things first... and later... and this morning."

"Okay!" Approving sounds came through the speaker. "What kind of things?"

"The kind I'm not telling you."