I gave him a deadpan expression. “Don’t act like there isn’t a shit ton more to the story. You didn’t just sweep Mother off her feet, force her to break up with that Kaden guy, and live happily ever after.”
Chuckling, my father lowered his head. He realized that I knew my mother’s ex-boyfriend’s name was Cohen, but I’d intentionally said the wrong name, as he’d done all of those years prior.
“I see your mother has been sharing more of our story with you.”
“And now it’s your turn to spill as well. What happened once Cory was out of the picture?”
He chuckled and held out his hands for my hand to begin unwrapping as I sat on the wooden bench in the bathroom.
“Let’s see … a lot happened after that …” he began.
****
Then
Robert
“You’re shaking, princess,” I stated, as I pressed my hands to cover Deborah’s shoulders as I stood behind her. I squeezed the tops of her arms through her silk blouse, and ran my hands up and down them.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted.
Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to the column of her neck, causing her to shiver. “Relax,” I whispered in her ear.
It’d been two months since Deborah and I had officially begun dating. Eight weeks and four days since she’d broken up with Cameron or whatever the fuck his name was, and I’d claimed her as mine. That night, we were back at the same Crown Jewel restaurant where we’d originally bumped into one another over two and a half months ago. We were set to have dinner with my family. An event I didn’t necessarily look forward to but I needed to get it out of the way in order for Deborah to know what she was getting herself into. My parents, in particular my father, weren’t my favorite people in the world, though I worked with the man almost everyday. Or, truth be told, I was the one mainly running Townsend Industries and had been for the past five years, though to the outside world it looked as if he was still running the show.
He wasn’t.
At least, not entirely. He still had enough sway with the board and the upper level management to prevent me from really delving into technology the way I wanted to.
“Hey, where’d you go? You can’t zone out on me now.”
I lowered my gaze back to Deborah, who had turned to face me.
The worry in her eyes unsettled me. I bent low, pressing a kiss to her naturally pink lips. “I’m right here, princess.”
She pushed out a breath. “Good, because they’re here.”
I spun around to see my parents following behind the hostess as she walked toward us. I moved to Deborah’s side, my hand resting at the small of her back reassuringly.
“Your brother’s not with them,” she whispered.
I frowned. “If there’s one thing you can rely on Jason to be, it’s late.” And a complete let down in all areas of his life. But that's a story for another day.
“Son,” my father greeted, a grim expression on his face as he huffed, sounding partially out of breath from the short distance of the restaurant’s entrance to the table where we stood.
I nodded. “Father.”
“Robert,” my mother greeted more warmly.
I kissed my mother’s cheek as she moved in for a hug.
I took a step back, again wrapping my arm around Deborah’s waist again. “Mother, Father, please meet Deborah Tate, my girl—” I frowned, realizing how much I hated the wordgirlfriend.It sounded so juvenile. Like the word belonged on the lips of a teenage boy introducing his crush for the first time to his parents. That wasn’t this. While the words went unsaid, I was introducing my future to my family.
“My woman.”
I ignored the gasps from my mother and Deborah herself. However, I didn’t ignore the dip that occurred in my father’s eyebrows. My gaze narrowed on him as his eyes drifted downward, following the length of my arm as it stretched behind Deborah’s back.
“Deborah, it’s so nice to meet you,” my mother stated, breaking the brief moment of tension.
