"I still can't believe little Jimmy's getting married," Stan said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I remember him still being in diapers like it was yesterday."
Stan and Karen were both seated on the couch, their fingers interlocked. Lisbon was sat in one of their plush chairs and Jane was on the floor, playing with Joey and the one year old who had woken up from his nap ten minutes before.
"Me too," Lisbon agreed, trying to keep her eyes off of Jane and her brother's kids. He was showing them a trick with a coin, making one appear from behind their ears. The way their faces lit up and the way Jane laughed made her heart squeeze.
"Guess that just leaves you then, sis."
Lisbon looked up in alarm. "Huh?"
Stan grinned. "You're the last of us to get married. Can't say I'm surprised. You've always been more dedicated to school and work than boys. Remember Greg?"
Lisbon sunk in the chair, wishing it would open up and swallow her whole. Of course she remembered Greg. He'd been her first serious boyfriend, and the first guy who's heart she truly broke. She didn't like thinking about Greg because it brought her back to an unhappy time in her life. Greg was willing to give her everything, but she had only been nineteen and she wasn't ready to settle down and get married like he had his heart set on.
"Who's Greg?" Jane piped up from his spot on the floor, his eyes darting from Stan to Lisbon with curiosity.
Stan straightened himself on the couch, seemingly eager to tell the story about her college boyfriend. "He was Reese's college boyfriend. Nice enough guy, I guess, but he totally messed up when he proposed to her on her nineteenth birthday. Sent Reese runnin' for the hills."
Lisbon cringed at her brother's words. She should've known he was going to jump at the chance to embarrass her in front of her boyfriend— well, fake boyfriend, but even so, she didn't want Jane to know about her past. It wasn't something she was most proud of.
Jane hummed, eyes straying to Lisbon. "Why'd you run?"
She wanted to snap at him, and usually she would, but in this case he was just being a curious boyfriend and snapping at him would earn her dirty looks, so she had no choice but to respond as calmly and good naturedly as she could. "I wasn't ready to get married. I was still just a kid."
"And she was focused on getting into the Police Academy," Stan pointed out. "It was her dream, her life really. Greg didn't realize that if she had to choose between him and the academy, she'd pick the academy immediately."
"And I see that you did," Jane commented, eyes still locked on Lisbon.
Lisbon shrugged, eyes falling to her lap. She felt awkward and uncomfortable, and thankfully the only other woman in the house seemed to sense it. Karen jumped from the couch and clasped her hands together. "I'm gonna go start on dinner. Teresa, would you like to join me?"
Lisbon exhaled a breath of relief and stood up, following Karen into the kitchen. As the other woman started retrieving vegetables from the fridge to chop up, Lisbon said, "thanks for getting me out of there."
Karen shut the fridge with her hip and set down the vegetables. "No problem. I know Stan has an issue with running his mouth, but he means well. He was overcome with joy when Jimmy told him you had a boyfriend."
Lisbon's eyebrows shot up. "He was?"
"Well, yeah. You haven't dated in a while. Guess he was just happy you haven't sworn off guys completely."
"I've just been focused on work," Lisbon defended, taking the kitchen knife Karen handed her to start chopping the carrots. "It's not that I'm not interested in dating. I mean...I've got Ja— Patrick now."
Karen let out a dreamy sigh. "That you do. He is a hottie."
Lisbon gaped at her, and Karen just dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Oh, calm down, T! I'm not going to steal your boyfriend, I promise. I love Stan too much." She lowered her voice and inched closer to the brunette. "I'm allowed to look though, right?"
Lisbon shooed her away, laughing herself. "Knock it off!"
Karen threw her hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying... He's definitely dreamy. Those eyes and that smile... Wow."
She really wasn't lying. Everyone could see that Jane was an attractive man, with his sea-green eyes, golden curls and mega-watt smile. Lisbon knew her consultant's good looks were enough to have women falling at his feet. Hell, it had happened more than once.
She'd be lying if she said she never ogled Jane before, but hey, she was a heterosexual woman who couldn't ignore a good looking man. At least she didn't throw herself at him every chance she got, nor did she ever allow his good looks to get him what he wanted. She had pride, damn it.
"Wow, T," Karen said, snapping Lisbon out of her thoughts. "You're in love with him, aren't you? You've got that dreamy look on your face. I know because I had the same one when I met Stan."
Lisbon felt her cheeks flame with heat. "Let's just finish chopping the vegetables, shall we?"
XxX
"Dinner was wonderful, Karen, Teresa, thank you." Jane beamed at the two women, patting his stuffed stomach after completely cleaning his plate.
Teresa shook her head. "Don't thank me, I just chopped the veggies."
"A very handy helper you were, I bet."
She shot him a glare, but it was playful instead of hating.
Karen giggled from her seat next to Stan. "You're very welcome, Patrick. It's nice to have guests to cook for."
"You cook for me and the kids," Stan told her, his brows furrowed in confusion.
Karen swatted his arm. "You only ever eat your steaks and burgers, and the kids like their dinosaur nuggets."
"I'll gladly let you feed me dinosaur nuggets."
Karen rolled her eyes before turning to Lisbon and Jane again. "Anyway, thank you guys for coming over. Stan and I loved having you."
"Thank you for the lovely meal and the joy of your company," Jane replied, pushing his chair out from the table. As he reached for Lisbon's hand, she almost flinched, forgetting for a split second that they were supposed to act like a couple, that this was entirely normal. "We'll get out of your hair now."
Stan jumped from his chair and ran around the table towards them. "Wait, sis, you can't leave without giving me a hug."
Lisbon released Jane's hand, giving her brother a playful eye roll. "I'm gonna see you at Jimmy's wedding."
"Which is still in a few days." Stan pulled her in for a bear hug, almost squeezing the life out of her. When he pulled back, he asked, "are you guys gonna go see Tom and Annie?"
"We'll see them at the wedding," Lisbon replied shortly. "We're gonna go have dinner with Jimmy and Rosie tomorrow."
"Have fun," Karen called, now standing at the kitchen sink with a sponge in hand. "Rosie's sweet. Very talkative."
Stan puffed out a breath, nodding in agreement. "Very talkative."
Lisbon smiled grimly. "Can't wait."
Jane chuckled and grabbed her hand again, running his thumb over her knuckles comfortingly. Her heart jumped in her chest, her eyes glancing down at their intertwined fingers. His hand was warm and settled nicely in hers.
She liked holding his hand.
She shouldn't think that, she knew she shouldn't. But the thought was already taking up all the space in her mind.
"Bye guys," Lisbon called to her brother and his wife as she pulled Jane out the front door, catching a glimpse of the blonde consultant giving her family an enthusiastic wave.
When the door was firmly shut, Jane let go of her hand and smiled faintly at her. "I assume this is only the first of the Lisbons, yes?"
She tried not to think about how cold her hand felt without his in it. She couldn't be upset; he wasn't her actual boyfriend. He was only playing the part in front of her family. That was it.
"You have no idea," she sighed, heading for the rental car.
