Francisco swung his legs over the bed and reached for the nearest shirt and pants.By the time he opened the door, Suzanne and George Masterson were already halfway inside.
“What the hell?”he muttered.
“We need to talk,” George said, brushing past him, beginning to pace the floor of their small home.
“What’s going on?”Maria asked, stepping into the living room.Instantly afraid that something bad had happened to her daughter and that boy she thought she couldn’t live without.
Suzanne’s voice was ice.“Your daughter has trapped our son.”
Maria blinked.“Excuse me?”
Nicole would never trap a boy.The woman was high-society loco.
“They eloped,” George said.“They’re probably married by now.”
“No.”Maria’s knees went weak.“Nicole would’ve told us.She’s leaving for school in a month.How do you know they eloped?”
Oh God, she hoped and prayed they had not gotten married.She hoped and prayed that she was not pregnant.
The woman wore evening clothes and looked completely out of place in their modest home.
“Because I questioned Paige and she finally told me the truth,” his mother said.“She said they were eloping because we’ve been trying to get Dustin to end his relationship with your daughter.”
Oh, Maria had known his mother was a snotty bitch the moment she’d met her.The woman gazed down her long, perfectly shaped nose at Maria, and she had to resist the urge to keep from breaking it.
“And we’ve been trying to make our daughter see that your family is not a good fit for her,” Francisco said.
The woman rolled her eyes at him.
“She’s pregnant, obviously,” Suzanne said with such utter disgust that it was all Maria could do not to slap the woman.“Why else rush into marriage at their age?”
“She’s not,” Maria said automatically, but the words felt thin.What if she were?
Maria watched George Masterson frown at his wife, as if signaling her to shut up, but the woman had a sharp tongue, and she wouldn’t be quiet.
“Why else rush into this?Unless she’s trapping him for our money?”
Good grief.Was everything about money with this crazy woman?Maybe she needed to lose some of her precious cash.
George ran a hand through his hair.“Look.We all can agree that this marriage can’t happen.Our kids are making a mistake.”
Francisco crossed his arms.“Yes, we agree.He’s not good enough for her.”
Oh, how Maria loved this man.
Suzanne sputtered.
“Our daughter is brilliant,” Maria said.“She has a full scholarship.She’s going to be a lawyer.She doesn’t need a husband.”
Especially, that boy.He was nothing but trouble.
“Then she doesn’t need to ruin her life chasing my son,” Suzanne snapped.
“Your son is the one chasing her,” Maria said.“I’ve seen the way he looks at her.”
“We’re not here to argue,” George said, exasperated.“We’re here to fix the problem – our kids getting married.”
Spoken like a true lawyer.
