"Elaine?" Shane asked looking at his mother and then Jocelyn. He was sure he had heard the name before.
Jocelyn's hands that Shane was holding began to shake. She pulled away tool a step back, then another.
"No, no," she whispered.
Shane looked from his mother to Jocelyn, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Mum, this is Josie. Jocelyn Williams."
Maria's gaze flicked to her son. "I'm sure she's Elaine."
"No, Mrs Malcolm. I'm not Elaine. I'm Jocelyn Williams. You clearly have me confused for someone else." Jocelyn had moved away completely from Shane. He frowned as he made his way to her, then reached forward to pull her against him gently.
"Of course. I'm sorry, I guess old age is catching up with me. What are we doing out here? Let's go in, before the food gets cold," Maria clapped her hand.
Old age be damned, Shane scoffed. He knew his mother was on to something. And the way Jocelyn had reacted to the name confirmed that there was definitely something Jocelyn was hiding from them.
Shane was determined to find out what and why she was covering it up. If there was anything his relationship with Ava had taught him, it was being suspicious of secrets. He had learned to pry; preferring to have all the details. That way, nothing surprising would come up, especially things that could break his heart again or be detrimental to his personal life and business. Being prepared was never wrong.
"Shane?" Jocelyn softly called his name, poking his ribs.
"Oh right. The food," Shane smiled at his mother, then stepped away from the door. Jocelyn was already walking towards the direction of the kitchen.
Maria smiled back at him, then glanced at Jocelyn's retreating form. He knew she was already suspecting their relationship.
"Okay. Someone forgot to hug mommy," she smiled and threw her arms around Shane. He struggled against her whining about being too old for this shit, before she finally pulled away.
"I saw you last week, mom. Stop acting as if I've been away for years," Shane grinned at her. He loved his mother and really enjoyed teasing her. Cursing in front of her was especially funny. Maria would always frown at him, but she did nothing to correct him since she also cursed a lot. Most of the curse words he used, he had learned from her.
"What? Who asked you to move away from home?" She asked, dramatically popping out her eyes.
"I'm twenty eight, a little overgrown to be living with my mother." Shane rolled his eyes and led his mother towards the kitchen area. He clearly avoided the dinning hall, not wanting to explain to his mother why he preferred his kitchen table to it.
"You're never too grown for me, Harvey," she laughed. Riling Shane up was her specialty.
Shane groaned, then stopped in front of his mother. "Mom, anything else but that name. Please."
Maria eyed him. "That's what you get for hiding such a pretty girl from me. Make your choice, Harvey or baby boy?" Her eyes glinted with excitement.
Shane hated both names. But Harvey was more annoying compared to baby boy.
His face reddened. "Baby boy."
She threw her arms around him and laughed. "I love you, baby boy."
Shane sighed, "I love you too, mum."
"Good. Let's not keep Jocelyn waiting." Maria hurried off to the kitchen, her heels clicking on the tiled floor.
Shane rubbed the spot between his eyes, praying for patience. He really hoped his mother would not embarrass him any more than necessary.
* * *
"This is good food," Maria said after wiping her mouth with a napkin.
Shane looked at her, wondering what she was going to say next. She had been exceptionally quiet throughout the duration of the meal.
"Your cook is back from vacation?" Maria asked, picking up her glass of wine.
"No, mum."
"Then Jocelyn is a good cook. Score one for her. Not just pretty, but also a goddess in the kitchen," Maria beamed, then turned to face Jocelyn.
Shane rolled his eyes. "Mum, she's sitting right here."
"I didn't make dinner," Jocelyn said looking from Shane to Maria. It was the first thing she was saying since the Elaine incident. "I guess Shane did," she added, smiling for added effect.
"You mean my baby boy made dinner?" Maria's eyes widened.
"Baby boy?" Jocelyn laughed, then choked on her water. "Sorry," she coughed and rubbed at her chest.
Shane smiled at her, patting her back in concern, "Its a long story." He turned to his mother, "and yes. I made dinner."
Maria laughed in disbelief. "You? The boy who won't wash the dishes, made dinner? Jocelyn is changing you." She poured more wine. "Wait. Josie, you said you guess Shane made dinner. How come you don't know?" She was eyeing Jocelyn now.
Jocelyn stared at her cup, wishing it would magically start talking, or hoping it would swallow her.
"She was at work," Shane answered for her. He had been hoping his mother hadn't caught up with her slip.
"You work? Where?" Maria asked.
Jocelyn looked uncomfortable. Shane wondered how she was going to answer that.
She smiled, regaining her cool. "I used to work at the library. Until someone who thinks they can boss me around, helped me resign from the job."
Shane kicked her under the table. She kicked him back, harder.
He winced, "I'm sorry about that. I thought we came to an agreement."
Jocelyn shook her head. "You, Mister, obviously did. I never agreed to anything."
Maria cleared her throat, interrupting their argument before it got heated. She pushed her chair back and stood.
"I'll leave you two lovebirds to it. Lincoln needs to bring my things up. Jocelyn you and I need to have some alone time, you know, to talk about girly stuff," she winked at Jocelyn. "Goodnight baby boy," she kissed Shane's hair, then nodded at Jocelyn. "Goodnight, Jocelyn."