Perfect Match Read Online Free Page B

your mother has permission to do business at the dinner table, I’m just going to send one quick e-mail.”
    I looked to Patch, who usually harassed my parents when they got bogged down by work during family time, but he was consumed—literally—by Agnes, who still seemed to have her lips attached to his neck.
    Geez, if I was looking to my family for examples on how to be in a relationship, this dinner party was leaving me a little uninspired. I turned to Feb and Kelly, the last couple standing.
    â€œSo,” I asked, trying to make normal conversation. “You guys have been traveling in the bush? Is it hot there or what?”
    â€œNot really. It cools down at night,” Kelly said.
    â€œAre you kidding? It’s been like living in a sauna,” Feb said, oddly riled up. “And you never let us use the air conditioner! You wonder why I always have to wear my hair up!”
    â€œWe’ve been over this,” Kelly said, shaking his head. “I think you know the carbon footprint of the average air-conditioning-using American.”
    Whoa, who knew I could hit such a sore spot by asking the most boring question in the world? If Kelly and Feb were fighting over the weather, how did they handle the hard stuff?
    To diffuse the tension, I picked up the first tub of food in front of me. “More beef and broccoli, anyone?”
    Feb looked at the food and then at Kelly with narrow eyes. “No thanks, Flan,” she hissed. “We’re
vegan
now.”
    â€œOh, just lay on the guilt,” Kelly moaned. “Everything is all my fault!”
    A squeaky smooching sound—the parting of lips across the table—put a pause in their argument. Agnes was taking a breather from Patch and had turned to face us. “Could you guys keep it down over there?”
    â€œYeah,” Patch agreed. “You’re sort of harshing our mellow.”
    â€œThat’s it,” my mother reappeared from the kitchen. “None of the brainiacs in the art world know how to read a simple e-mail. I have to dash uptown to straighten out this mess.” She paused andlooked around the table. “I’m so sorry to have ruined this lovely dinner. We’ll reschedule, okay? And next time, Flan, you must make sure your partner can join us! You know what they say—nothing makes a mother hen happier than seeing all her chicks settled down. …”
    Everyone around me seemed to take a cue from my mom and started stacking up the plates. Before I knew it, I was alone in the dining room. So much for a fun family dinner.
    I was used to being alone at the dinner table, but I wasn’t used to being alone when the rest of my family was
home
. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually ended a family dinner feeling worse than before it. Was it because everyone was partnered off tonight except me? Or was it just because I hadn’t had my fortune cookie?
    Making jokes out of the cheesy Chin-Chin fortunes was usually our favorite part of the meal. I reached for the bag and pulled out one of the cookies.
    I popped open the wrapping and performed my superstitious ritual of eating the whole cookie with my eyes closed before I unfolded the fortune. In a weird way, it felt like a lot was riding on this moment. Maybe if my family couldn’t offer me relationshipguidance, a generic platitude would do the trick. Slowly, I looked down at the slip of paper.
    Have a wonderful night!
    Lame! So much for guidance. I guessed that when it came to navigating relationships, I was on my own.

Chapter 4

THREE SCOOPS, TWO SPOONS, ONE SHOCKER
    An hour later, there was a knock on my door. Wondering if it would be the four-eyed, kissing Pagnes monster, or maybe Feb in tears after a blowout with Kelly, or possibly one of my parents checking in on my lonely evening, I opened up the door.
    â€œGuess who?” Alex was standing in the hall outside my bedroom wearing his Hermès navy peacoat