Or maybe he was just an idiot.
Either was an option at this point.
“So, what’s the next question on the list?” he prompted, needing to break up the silence and hoped she still wanted to play at getting to know you.
“Oh, um…let me pull the quiz back up,” she said, staring down at her phone. “Oooh…this one’s interesting. Do you believe success comes in the form of money or happiness?”
“Wow, that is a good one.” And one he was all-too-familiar with. “Happiness. Definitely happiness.”
“Tell me why.”
“Well, there’s the old adage how money can’t buy you love or happiness, so…”
“Okay, but what about personal experience?” she challenged.
“Well, take my job. You mentioned earlier how your parents wouldn’t approve of my being a bartender, but…I’m very happy at my job. And I’m making good money.”
“But that sort of disproves what you’re saying. Maybe you’re happy at your job because you’re making good money.”
Wait…was he?
Well, shit.
Levi let that settle in for a minute and then shook his head. “Nope. I was happy with the pub before I was making good money, so I stand by my original answer. I felt successful because I had a job I loved.” And with a big smile, he glanced at her. “Your turn.”
“Hmm…if I listen to my parents, then I would have to say money equals success.”
“But that’s not what the question asks,” he reminded her. “It asks what you believe.”
“Oh. Right,” she mumbled before letting out a long sigh and continuing. “I think being happy makes you successful and it shouldn’t matter what it is that you do for a living or where you live or who you’re with. I mean, some of the wealthiest people in the world are miserable while some of the poorest are happy.”
“Exactly.” Reaching for her hand again, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “Remember that when you’re around your parents.”
“Ugh…you’ll have to remind me.” She stared down at her phone and laughed.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“The next question.”
“Uh-oh…”
“How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?” Looking at him, she said, “You better go first.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she didn’t need to answer at all, but…maybe there was more to the story than he realized. Instead, he was more than happy to talk about his own relationship with his mother. “I know it sounds corny but…my mom is literally one of my best friends.”
“Really?” she asked, her voice laced with awe.
“Yeah. She’s been my biggest fan and champion my whole life. She’s been to every event, every game, every…everything for me. I can tell her anything, and she’s perfectly happy to call me out when I’m doing something stupid or when she thinks I need to work on something.”
“Wow.”
“I know. But you have to understand, I’ve got three older sisters–two that you’re going to meet in the next two days–and I was a little outnumbered growing up.”
“And what about your relationship with your dad? Is he…you know…are you close to him too?”
“We are. I think my dad was psyched to finally get a son, and we do a lot of stuff together, but he’s just a big softie with my sister’s too.”
“That sounds…weird.” Then she let out a laugh that was a little more of a snort. “Sorry. That was mean of me to say.”
“It’s okay, Willow. It’s obvious we grew up with very different family dynamics. Most of the time when you mention your parents, I feel like you just did; it seems weird to me. I can’t imagine not laughing and having fun with my folks.” He was still holding her hand and squeezed it again. “Maybe when we get back home after this trip, I’ll introduce you to them.”
“After…after the trip? Why?”
He shrugged. “Um…because I thought you might like them?”
“But…we won’t be fake dating anymore.”
Damn. He hadn’t thought of that.
“Yeah, but…we’ll still be friends, and all my friends have met my parents.” Then he held his breath and waited to see how she responded.
“Oh,” she said, smiling. “Then that sounds wonderful. I can’t wait!”
At some point, Levi knew he was going to have to come to grips with his feelings for Willow. When he first offered to be her fake boyfriend, it seemed like a nice thing to do. A way to help a friend out. But deep down, he knew he was lying. He had feelings for Willow. Real feelings that had nothing to do with being her friend and everything to do with her meaning much more.
Unfortunately, this trip was not the time to be introducing that topic. It seemed she was already tense enough about being around her parents and pulling off this whole fake relationship thing and he didn’t want to add any more pressure to her.
But once the trip was over…all bets were off.
“So…do you want to answer the question?” he asked cautiously.
“Believe it or not, I have a good relationship with my mother. It’s not perfect, but…it’s good. She genuinely wants me to be happy, but she doesn’t always agree with what exactly that means.”
“Huh?”
“To her, I should be happy going into a field where I can make a good living. Her theory is that I went to school for it, I’m educated in it, so, therefore, I will succeed and then be happy. She can’t grasp the flaw in that logic.”
“I’m guessing you’ve discussed this with her.”
“Too many times to count.”
“How does she feel about you walking the dogs?”
“She doesn’t quite…understand it,” she said slowly. “My father is not a dog person, so we were never allowed to have one when I was growing up. So she doesn’t quite get why I’d choose to do this or why that was the job I chose instead of something more stable.”
“And what do you tell her when she asks?”
“I change the subject,” she said, laughing. “There’s no way to explain to her that I love the feeling of these dogs just loving me for
