Dinner With a Bad Boy by Kathy Lyons Page A

felt blessed.
    Then a ripple of unhappiness swirled through his pool. Sue was leaving his side. Dimly he recognized sounds in the distance. Noises from the front hallway. The whisper of clothing against skin, probably as Sue dressed, then the muted plop of fabric hitting the floor. He struggled up to consciousness, coming awake as the bedroom door shut and voices filtered in through the doorway.
    "Su Ling! You look so relaxed. Isn't it good to be finally rid of that man?"
    Sue's mother. Coming back with Mandy. Mitch's eyes flew open as he scrambled out of bed, scanning the room for his clothing, spotting them in a heap on the floor.
    "Ma Ma, you have to stop. Mitch isn't a drug dealer or anything bad."
    He listened to his love's voice as she chastised her mother, smiling as he anticipated her proud declaration. She loved him. They were in love. Meanwhile, he hastily pulled on his pants, wishing he had nicer clothes to wear before his woman's mother.
    "In fact," continued Sue, "I... Well, he's... Ma Ma, he's a very nice man."
    Mitch paused, his hands clutching his shirt. Nice? He sounded like a pet.
    "Well, of course. Waiters are paid to be nice—"
    "Teacher, Ma Ma." At least Sue sounded annoyed.
    "Them, too. But he is not for you. You know this, yes?"
    He waited for her swift denial, but as the silence stretched Mitch felt his soul grow cold. Was it possible? After everything they'd just shared, after everything they'd just done, would she still choose her mother over him? Was her good-girl persona so ingrained that even love couldn't crack it?
    An old anger began to burn in him, feeding on the tangible presence of parental disapproval. He'd left his home because of this. Unreasonable condemnation had fueled his teenage rebellion and still made him torture his family with shaggy hair, outrageous earrings, and a really bad attitude over holidays. Put simply, his parents hated his choices—to play hockey, to buy a motorcycle, to teach middle school—and all too soon their contempt became as natural as his rebellion. So once again he faced parental scorn, and once again it pushed him into mutiny as he sauntered out of Sue's bedroom with only his low-slung jeans on.
    "Yes, Sue," he called, "tell her how I'm not for you."
    Mrs. Chen whipped around at his sudden entrance while Sue's sigh echoed in the taut silence. But the person Mitch spotted first was Mandy, her eyes widening with shock and teen speculation. Seeing her made him instinctively want to cover himself, but it was too late. Teen presence or not, he had to brazen it through.
    Mrs. Chen reacted first. She began spouting a flurry of Chinese, adding wide gestures and dramatic expressions, but Sue didn't appear to listen any more than he did. Instead she turned to him, her eyes wide and tragic. "You couldn't just let me handle it, could you? Geez, Mitch, they're my family. Let me deal with them my way."
    He took a step forward, hating to see the pain in her eyes, but still driven to defend himself. "Your way leaves me hidden in the back room like some shameful secret. Just tell her you love me, and she has to accept it!"
    Mrs. Chen abruptly switched into English, physically stepping between her daughter and Mitch. "You told me he had gone. You told me he wasn't for you."
    Sue shook her head, tears shimmering in her eyes. "You said that, Ma Ma. Not me."
    The pain in her voice spurred Mitch to act, determined now to end this scene as quickly and painlessly as possible. And that meant showing the truth to Sue's mother. So he gently but firmly took hold of Mrs. Chen's arm, pulling her back far enough to allow him to slip an arm around Sue's waist. "No, I haven't gone. And I'm not going."
    In less than a second Mitch realized he'd erred. Mrs. Chen's expression shifted into pure hatred. This woman would bury a cleaver in his chest if it meant protecting her daughter. And right now she obviously thought him the devil incarnate.
    Mrs. Chen pulled herself upright, and Mitch