Chapter Fourteen
“O’Grady?” her father said. “Any relation to the O’Gradys who live in Clare?”
“Yes,” Laura said.
The bell summoning everyone to take their seats pealed through the crowded function room.
“Why?” her mother demanded. “Why would you do this to us? Why couldn’t you settle with James? It’s what his parents want. It’s what we want.”
“Laura and I are friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be to each other,” James said. “I have a live-in boyfriend, and I’m quite happy with the status quo. Come, Laura. I believe we’re at table number ten.”
With a firm hand at her back, he ushered her over to their table.
“You didn’t have to out yourself.”
“They’re treating you like an irresponsible teenager. I’ve spent time with you, and you’re a mature adult. You and Dallas are good together. The man loves you,” James said. “The time of arranged marriages is over, and both our parents need to back off and respect our wishes.” He pulled out a chair and seated her with calm competence.
“Thank you.”
“It’s no problem. You’ve impressed Steven and me with the way you’ve found yourself work. I bet Steven you wouldn’t last the distance, and I’m damn pleased to find myself on the wrong side of our wager.”
“Well,” Laura said. “I don’t know whether to hug you or slap the grin off your face.”
“Steven likes my face,” James said. “He wouldn’t be impressed if you tried to rearrange it.”
“A hug it is.” And despite the other people taking their seats at their table, she gave him a swift embrace.
Laura hadn’t met any of their dinner companions, but James knew them and made introductions. For a business function it wasn’t too bad, although the superficial conversation and her irritation with the social juggling highlighted the ways she’d changed.
“What do you do for a job?” the woman seated beside her asked.
“At the moment I’m doing temp office work. I also work in a pub part-time.”
“A pub?” The woman leaned away, reassessed Laura, and her smile slipped.
“Yes. I work in the kitchens. It’s fun.” Yep, and the woman’s smile dialed back even further. These people irked her with their attempts to classify her by her job and acquaintances. For James’s sake, she piled on the charm. “What do you do?”
“Oh, I don’t have a job. Why take employment when I don’t have to?”
They ate melon appetizers while the band played background music.
James set down his spoon. “Would you like to dance?”
“Please.” She took James’s arm and strolled with him to the small area set aside for dancing. Several other couples had the same idea.
“How do you put up with these people?” she whispered. “They have no idea about the real world.”
“I have Steven at home. He keeps me grounded.”
“Grounded,” she mused. “That’s how I feel when I’m with Dallas. He makes me believe in myself and think anything is possible if I work hard enough.”
“He doesn’t scoff at your ideas or views,” James added.
“No, he lets me be me.”
“I understand. Steven is…I love him.”
“I’m glad. Dallas says he loves me. I love him too, but I haven’t told him.”
