Both women gasped.
“Mrs. Clarkson, I’m Gabe, Lena’s man and date for the evening.”
I felt Lena’s eye drill into the side of my face as I extended my hand for her mother to shake.
“Lena?” She looked back over at her daughter. “Is this true? You replaced Nate that quickly.”
“It’s true,” I answered. I took her mother’s hand, shaking it myself. “You said your husband’s speaking with the hostess? Why don’t we go inside and meet him?”
I moved my hand to the small of Lena’s back and allowed her mother to walk ahead of us.
“What are you doing?” Lena whispered demandingly in my ear.
“Telling your parents the truth.”
She didn’t respond.
“Lena,” a male voice called as we entered the restaurant. He stopped short and looked me up and down.
“Daddy, this is Gabe,” she said.
“Lena’s new man, apparently,” her mother added.
My smile widened as I extended my hand as I had done for her mother. “Mr. Clarkson, nice to meet you.”
Her father also ran his eyes over me, assessing. “I got a table at the center of the restaurant,” Mr. Clarkson declared after he shook my hand.
“Why, Daddy? I asked that we get a private room,” Lena said.
“We deserve the best. Are you trying to hide us?” Lena’s mother asked.
My hold tightened around Lena’s hand. It was apparent she didn’t want to be seen in public yet. In Harlington, she’d been skittish, but after a few outings and not many privacy issues, she warmed up to going out. New York was different.
Not only was this city her hometown, but her father had chosen a restaurant that was known to garner attention from magazines and photographers because it drew all types of celebrities.
“Do you have a private room available?” I asked the hostess while Lena continued to argue back and forth with her parents.
“One of our private parties was just leaving,” the hostess said with a smile.
“We’ll take it,” I said firmly.
“Please give us some time to clean it for you.”
“That’s settled,” I said, looking between Lena and her parents.
It seemed as if both her mother and father wanted to push back, but they bit their tongues.
An awkward silence fell between the four of us as we waited. The staff didn’t take too long cleaning, and fifteen minutes after our arrival, the hostess escorted us to one of the private rooms.
“Nate always got us seats front and center here,” Lena’s father said as we took our seats.
“Daddy,” Lena whisper-yelled.
I held her chair out, unbothered by her father’s comment.
“What? I’m only speaking the truth.” Her father looked up at me as I moved from behind Lena to the seat next to her.
Classical music played around us from some hidden speakers. The private room wasn’t large, but it was big enough, and there was an entire glass wall on one side, allowing us to see outside. The hostess had informed us that no one could see inside, however.
