He was asking her to meet his parents. She should have been flattered, but instead she felt panicky.
Stalling, she reached for her coffee mug and brought it to her lips.
It shouldn’t be a big deal, should it? She was already friends with Josh’s sister and his aunt, who practically treated her like a member of their family.
But maybe that was the problem. She wasn’t a member of their family. She was only passing through their lives on her way to somewhere else. A tourist, basically.
Meeting Josh’s parents carried implications. They’d assume any girlfriend he introduced them to was potentially serious. A possible future wife to help him run the farm and give him the children he undoubtedly wanted.
That wasn’t Mia.
It seemed wrong to get their hopes up—not to mention a waste of everyone’s time—and go through the harrowing social ritual of getting to know each other when she wouldn’t even be around next Christmas. Or next Thanksgiving. Or even Labor Day. Mia would be gone before the end of the summer.
She was intimidated to meet the woman who made Josh’s favorite pie in the world and had crocheted the blanket on the back of his couch. How was she supposed to look his mother in the eye, knowing she’d be leaving him in a mere matter of months?
Mia still hadn’t responded, and Josh was waiting for her to say something. The silence had grown awkward. Weighty.
She swallowed a mouthful of coffee, which burned all the way down her throat. “I’ll probably go home, actually. I haven’t seen my sister in almost a year, and she’ll kill me if I leave her on her own to deal with our parents over Christmas.”
“Sure,” Josh said, unable to completely hide his disappointment. “Yeah, of course.”
Mia stretched out her leg to nudge his thigh with her big toe. “If it’s any consolation, I would definitely have a better time here with you than with my family.”
He laid his hand over the top of her foot. “You don’t have to console me. You should spend the holidays with your family. That’s what the holidays are for.”
His words twisted in her belly. Other than Holly, she didn’t have any great desire to see her family. Christmas with her parents was a dismal affair. Her father usually hosted a big gathering on Christmas Eve that Mia and Holly were expected to attend, even though he’d be so busy mingling with his guests he’d barely have any time for them. Christmas Day they always spent with their mother, eating a reheated takeout meal she’d ordered from a local restaurant—assuming she didn’t get called in to the hospital, leaving Mia and Holly to eat on their own and watch TV all day.
It was a far cry from the warm, traditional holiday gathering she imagined Josh’s family having at the farmhouse every year, full of laughter and home cooking and old-fashioned Christmas traditions. Mia’s mother didn’t even bother to put up a Christmas tree anymore.
“Hey.” Josh gave her foot a squeeze. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She smiled for him. “Fine. Just thinking about Christmas shopping. My mother’s impossible to shop for, and it’ll be here before you know it.”
Time had seemed to pass so slowly at the start of the semester, but now it felt like it was flying by. Before she knew it, she’d be halfway through her contract.
Creases sprouted across Josh’s brow. “You know, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot by suggesting you meet my parents.”
“You didn’t.” Mia’s cheeks hurt with the effort of maintaining her smile.
“Okay.” The creases in his brow deepened into a full-fledged frown as his fingers traced the tattoo on her foot. “Do you think maybe we should talk about the elephant in the room?”
Mia blinked, her smile freezing in place. “What elephant is that?”
His gaze met hers. “What we’re doing, given the fact that you’ll be moving on next year.”
“Oh.” She swallowed, clutching her coffee mug tighter. “That elephant.”
“I understand the reality of the situation, you know. I’m not trying to pressure you into anything more than you can offer.”
“Right. Well…that’s good I guess.” Her throat felt dry. She tried to soothe it with a sip of coffee.
“You’re only here temporarily, which means this…” He slid his hand over her ankle and up her shin slowly. “…is only temporary.”
“True.” It was the first time they’d explicitly acknowledged it out loud since they’d become more than just acquaintances.
His index finger traced the bones in her knee. “I’m okay with that.