Finally, she sucked in a deep breath and went to let her parents in.
“Oh, honey,” her mother said the moment she opened the door. “You kept us waiting long enough.”
Lexie barely contained an eye roll and stepped forward to peck her mother, then father, on the cheek. “Sorry,” she said.
“And where is this boyfriend of yours?” Her father asked.
“I’m right here, Mr. Monroe,” Mitch said, stepping forward.
Lexie got her height from her father. Her mother was average, around five-five, but her dad was a tall man, coming in at just over six feet.
Mitch still towered over him. Not only because he was nearly six and a half feet tall, but because everything about him was big. Broad-shouldered, big hands, thick, muscular arms and legs. He was intimidating as hell, even under the flannel and dark wash jeans, and Lexie bit back a smile of satisfaction to see her father cower a bit in his presence.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mitch,” her father said, shaking Mitch’s proffered hand. “Call me Robert.”
“Likewise,” Mitch said, then turned to her mother. “And you as well, Mrs. Monroe.”
Her mother actuallyblushed. “Oh please, call me Christina,” she said.
Lexie clapped her hands together. “Shall we eat?”
Mitch cut her a glance, an eyebrow raised.
What could she say? She wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
“So how’s work going, sweetheart?” Her mother asked once they were seated, the food served and wine poured, voice dripping with disdain.
“Oh, it’s great,” Lexie told her. “I’m heading out east next week.”
“Where, exactly?” Her father asked. “Hopefully not one of those Podunk towns that are woefully beneath you.”
Lexie sat momentarily stunned. That was the nicest thing her father had ever said about her. “I’ll be in Pennsylvania. Philly, actually.”
“Philly,” her mother snorted. “What a dump. There’s nothing there.”
Lexie’s eyebrows drew together.Nothing there?It literally used to be the capital of the country, but okay.
“Then I’m heading up to Connecticut.”
“New Haven?” Her father asked.
She nodded, swallowing hard, and Mitch’s hand settled on top of hers under the table. New Haven was where they had been living when her parents left her alone for Christmas that one year, and she hadn’t been back since.
“Now that was a great little town,” her mother said. “You loved it there, Lexie.”
“It was okay,” she said quietly.
“Remember that Christmas we lived there? You spent hours in your father’s chair reading those Harry Potter books we got you, and I loved being so close to New York City. You had the time of your life the day I took you shopping.”
Was she fucking serious right now?
Her father nodded in agreement. “We had a lot of good times in that house. You know our lifestyle is where Lexie gets her love of travel from,” he added to Mitch.
More like I love traveling so much because I never had a home and never knew anything else growing up.
“Our girl has been turning heads across the country since she was a little girl,” her mother said proudly. “But Lexie, I really wish you would change your look. All that black washes you out, and your hair is so outdated. But I suppose as far as trophy wives go, Mitch, you could do worse.”
Mitch’s hand tightened around hers, grinding her bones uncomfortably together, but the pain felt good, grounded her, stopped her from leaping across this table and throttling her parents.
