What's Life Without the Sprinkles - By Misty Simon Page 0,19

though, she did want to ride the man straight into the sunset.

“That reason will not be discussed right now with your son coming out of his cave for dinner. If you’re nice, I might tell you later.”

With that, Zoe moved to the cabinets and started pulling out dishes and glasses. Putting them on the counter, she gave Justin the beady eye when he walked into the kitchen and threw himself into a chair.

“Okay, okay! Jeez. I’ll set the table already.”

Claudia leaned her forehead against the spice cabinet to the left of the stove. Normally he was a great kid, but something was bothering him lately, and she didn’t know how to get him to talk about it, other than beating it out of him. He was his normal happy-go-lucky self most of the time, but they’d have moments when the attitude would come popping out like this. Wasn’t the angsty stage supposed to come in a few years? Didn’t she at least have until the teenage years to wait for the attitude and backtalk?

Zoe raised an eyebrow, and they shared a look. Yeah, she remembered being a mouthy ten-year-old, too.

So her mother’s curse had come through with flying colors. She may have given birth to herself in male form and would have to endure the kind of teenager she had been. Sucked for her.

“Dinner’s ready. Let’s sit down and have a nice meal without the attitude, Justin. I’m not in the mood tonight.”

“You’re never in the mood for anything anymore. You probably won’t even take me to the batting cages like you said. Nate would take me, if you’d let him.”

“It’s not Nate’s job to watch you and keep you occupied all the time. He should be allowed to have a life of his own every once in a while, you know.” Although that life could seriously change for the better, in her opinion, if his mission changed to trying to keep her happy. And if she could just figure out how to let him know she was interested, maybe that would be a possibility. But how do you tell the man who has seen you at your worst that you want him to think you’re sexy? Especially when she couldn’t even remember how to flirt properly?

She had been horrified to remember earlier that she had once even breastfed in front of him. There was no hope for her.

“Yeah, but Nate likes to spend time with me. And he’d spend even more if you’d stop going out on those stupid dates and just hang out with him and me.”

For one insane second she almost asked if Nate had said anything about wanting to see more of her. Fortunately, she stopped herself before she’d even opened her mouth. “Just eat.”

He munched and crunched his way through dinner, then got up as soon as he’d shoveled the last spoonful of peas into his mouth. “I’m going to play some video games.”

“Is your homework done?”

“Yes, Mom. Yeesh.” He tromped back down the hall much the way he’d come up it less than twenty minutes ago.

“Am I really that naggy of a mom?” Claudia asked, sitting with her elbow cocked on the table.

“Oh, sweetie, you remember what it was like at that age. I think the more important question is whether or not Nate has given Justin a reason to think your dates are dorky. Aside from them actually being dorky.”

“I don’t want to go there right now. I had a terrible afternoon trying to remember at least one time I’d been sexy in front of Nate over the last ten years. And the definitive answer was never. Other than going out on dates with other men and him seeing me when I came back in my flats from some date with a shorty, he hasn’t seen me dressed up in forever. No wonder he thought I had something in my eye. I’m a failure as a woman.”

“You are not! I don’t ever want to hear you say that again.” Zoe shoved back her chair and whisked plates off the table, going so far as to take Claudia’s plate even though she was still trying to eat her chicken.

“Hey, do you mind bringing that back? I don’t inhale my food the way you and the monster do.”

Zoe at least had the grace to blush. “Sorry.”

Plate back on the table in front of her, Claudia pushed it away, realizing that her appetite had vanished. “I’m just being dumb, anyway. There’s no way a guy like