Chapter 23

Nan takes their orders, complimenting Jane at every possible moment. Honestly, it's older women like this who have fully mastered the art of making women blush. Fuck men. A sweet old Italian lady complimenting you in the sweetest accent, tossing in Italian/American slang right and left, that's who you speak to if you really want to feel good about yourself.

Nan leaves the two to themselves. The second she is no longer with eyesight or earshot of them, Jane turns, glaring with all the might her little plump body possesses. Nik raises his hands up in defense, already prepared for the verbal assault about to fly at him. 'She looks sexy when she's mad,' he thinks to himself.

"You motherfucker," Jane starts.

"Hey hey, hold up. I've never fucked anyone's mom," Nik teases.

"You know that's not what I meant. You brought me here, to meet your family! Do you know how embarrassing that is?!"

"Well, you said 'simple.' This is the only simple place I know of where the food is actually good and the people aren't douchebags. It's not my fault it just so happens to be owned by my grandparents. You can't really be mad at me now, can you?" Nik brings his hands together, almost like how a child who is about to pray before bed does. He pulls the closest thing to puppy dog eyes that he can muster. Jane just sighs, unable to stay mad at him for more than a few seconds.

"Fine. Whatever. I hope she doesn't think we're together. I don't need to hear some cute little old lady harping on about my 'great birthing hips.'"

"Would it really be all that bad to just let the lady think what she wants? I mean, she is always asking me about great grandkids and seeing me marry before she dies and shit like that. We could just humor her?" Nik attempts to hide the slight pain in his voice after hearing Jane's absolute opposition to them being together. Jane's eyes soften as she reaches across the table to take his hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze.

"I guess I can play 'millionaire's hot girlfriend' for a week. You are so lucky that I like you, you big dope." Nik shoots her that million-dollar smile, the one that got her into this mess so many days ago.

"What about 'millionaire's sexy fiance?' She is asking for great-grandkids after all."

"Don't push your luck buddy," Jane retorts.

"Alright Alright. I thought I'd at least give it a shot."

Shortly after their fake lover's quarrel, Nan returns with their appetizers. Jane and Nik quickly scramble to find some way to make it seem like they are a couple before she reaches their table. In that scramble, Nik slides into the same side of the booth as Jane, draping his arm around her shoulders, and giving her a quick 'thank you' peck on the cheek.

"So . . . Friends huh?" Nan raises her eyebrows at the two younger adults.

"Oh, hey Nan. We weren't expecting those apps to get here so soon." Nik pretends to be embarrassed about getting 'caught' by the silver-haired matron. "We thought we'd at least have a few more minutes to ourselves before you made your way back over here."

Nan places the hot dishes of food in front of the other two and then steals the other side of the booth. Her gaze lowers to the two hands, grasping each other sweetly in the middle of the table. Jane, embarrassed that she is lying to Nik's grandmother about this, attempts to break away from him. Nik just squeezes tighter, trying to make the contact last as long as he can.

"S-sorry, we weren't expecting for you to find out like this. We were going to tell you later in the evening, but here you are I guess." The lie passes over Jane's lips leaving a bad taste in her mouth. Fuck. Why did she agree to trick this kind woman for him?

"Oh, that's alright dear. I could already tell something was up the moment you both entered the room. I have an eye for these things you know." Her nasally voice sounds so sweet and caring. Somehow, it manages to soothe Jane, taking the slightest bit of guilt away from her. Maybe it is okay to humor the woman. She seems awfully excited that her grandson has someone.

"Oh, could you now? I thought we did a decent job of hiding it. No hand holding when we entered, not standing too close together, not being overly touchy. I thought we were being pretty sneaky." Nik gives Jane's hand another squeeze, signalling for her to back him up.

"Yeah. I mean, how did you figure us out so quickly?"

"Well. It was a dead giveaway the moment my Nikky brought you here. He has never brought anyone of his friends here before, let alone a female friend. You must be something special Jane. Nik has always been shut off from others. Hell, even when we first met him so many years ago, he practically ignored us." This time, Nik is the one feeling guilty. He tries to push those memories from so long ago somewhere deep inside, far away. He was so cold to them when they first met. But what would you expect from someone who had just lost their mother, their whole world, and whose father is an absolute demon of a man.

"When you first met him? Did you not meet him when he was first born?" Jane naively questions, not realizing the depth of the situation.

"Well, that's a long story for another time dear." Sorrow fills her beautifully wrinkled features. Jane can feel the heartbreak emanating off of her.

Nik clears his throat, preparing to change the subject to something less grief-filled and more hopeful. "So Nan, how have you and pops been? Where is the old dog?"

"Oh you know your grandfather. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, as stubborn as an ass. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what made me fall for the old fool. He can be a real bother at times." Immediately after the last statement, a booming voice breaks through the comfortable quietness that surrounded them.

"Who are you calling an ass? Also, what're you doing lazing around when we have customers waiting for meals-" An older gentleman approaches the table. Honestly, if Jane weren't fourty years younger and already fake dating Nik, she'd be falling head over heels for the silver-fox. Something about an older man with a thick italian accent and crow's feet at the corners of his eyes is too much for Jane to handle. She can see where Nik gets some of his looks.

"What are you doing here Nikky? We weren't expecting you." Pops turns his attention to Jane now. "And who is this lovely young thing?" Jane blushes bright pink at the statement. She stands to greet him, probably looking like a teenager who is meeting her popstar crush for the first time.

"Pops, this is Jane. Jane, this is pops." Jane reaches out to shake his hand.

"You didn't need to stand on my account sweetheart." He shoots her a wink, earning him a smack on the arm from Nan.

"Oh you scoundrel." Pops just chuckles, sliding into the booth next to his wife. "What about those hungry customers, huh?"

"They can wait. This is my grandson and his lady friend. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"I'm honored that you think so highly of me pops. I had no clue how much you valued our precious time together." Nik jokes. Pops gives Nik a hearty handshake and sits back in his seat, waiting for some kind of an explanation. Jane sits back beside Nik, the initial excitement of it all has died down now.

"So, tell me how you both met." Nan pushes the conversation along. Jane shoots Nik a nervous glance. They hadn't had time to make up a backstory of any kind.

"Well, we met at a bar. I had just gotten to her city for work and needed something to decompress after the long flight. I could have just stayed home and had something to drink, but something was calling me, pulling me out the door. Before I knew it, I was there approaching the bartender. Sitting on a stool at the counter was the most gorgeous woman I'd ever seen and x leads to y and now we're here."

He told the truth. It seems so magical/fantastical, but it's the truth. They met at a bar. Jane recalls the night, the heat of the alcohol warming her up, the dancing and grinding against each other, being taken home by him. If being complemented by pops made her blush, she must look like a tomato now.

"No need to be shy dear, there's no judgement here. You are both adults after all." Instead of helping her calm down, Nan's words make Jane's hear beat so much faster. She lays her head down on the table to escape the eyes of those around her. Nik rubs her back in an attempt to soothe the overwhelmed angel beside him.

"We should leave these two alone for a bit. Let them have their meal, spend some time together, and then maybe afterward we will come back for chitchat." Pops stands from the booth, pulling Nan up beside him. "It was nice meeting you Jane."

Instead of speaking or even looking up, she just raises her hand and waves them off. This is going to be a long afternoon.