“Nothing.” She blurts out almost dropping her food. She takes a moment to regain her composure. “They are just being weird.”
I shift to the side and glance over her shoulder. The women in question are staring at us with silly grins on their faces. As soon as they realize I’ve spotted them, they make themselves look busy.
Paula definitely said something to them, and I hope to find out what while we’re on our trip. But I don’t want to be the one to bring it up. I guess time will tell.
CHAPTER SEVEN
paula
“We’re here.”Tristan says. His voice is only slightly above a whisper as he stares at the beach house in front of us.
Rock music is playing softly from the speakers. I shouldn’t be surprised at his choice in tunes considering the band he works for. We spent most of the drive fine tuning the details of us so there aren’t any holes in our story.
The times we weren’t talking, we rode in companionable silence. It wasn’t awkward like I thought it would be. Both of us were probably lost in our own thoughts and anxieties about what the week might bring.
“Should we get out?” I ask without making a move for the door handle.
I know we have these vacations every year, but this is first time I’ve felt stress about it. They’ve been pressuring me more than ever to have a role in the company. But I’ve also never introduced them to anyone. Much less aperson who isn’t even actually my boyfriend. We have to pull this off. Once we’re back home, we’llendthings and all will be back to normal.
“You know we could always see if there are other beach houses available for rent. Or even a hotel.”
He’s just as nervous as I am. At least I know I’m not alone in the feeling. It’s a little ridiculous to have this emotion around my own family, but it can’t be helped. They’ve done this to me. I used to love being around them until they started demanding an answer any time we’re together.
“As much as I’d love to run away with you, I don’t think we can.”
I point to the curtain moving, and also realize what I just said. I think that may have been a little too close to the truth. Since that kiss, and all the messages we’ve shared back and forth, he’s become my favorite person to talk to.
“I mean, run away from my family with you. Not actually run away with you.” Cringing I cover my face with my hands. There’s no way the explanation made things any better.
Tristan pulls my hands away from my face and smiles. “Keep telling yourself that. You may find running away with me would be fun.”
He turns off my car, opens the door and hurries out of the car. Before I can ask him what he’s doing, he’s at my door, pulling the handle. With a deep breath, I unbuckle my seatbelt and rest my hand in the one he’s offering.
Now that I’m out of the car, I realize it’s cooler here than expected. Like I told him before, Texas weather will always get the best of us. He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his warmth as he closes the car door.
“Should I get the bags now, or wait?”
“Wait.” I tell him. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll tell us to stay somewhere else.”
“Your parents can’t honestly be that bad.”
“They aren’t.” Not really. They are some of the kindest people, and constantly host benefits at the winery. They just like to needle me, and don’t like the honest reactions I give them.
He pulls his arm out from around me and slides his hand into mine. “We’ve got this. If push comes to shove, we can leave. It’s not like they can force us to stay here.”
“No, but they can shame us if we decide it’s too much and want to leave.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I’m shameless.”
He grins and takes a step forward. Then another. I trudge along beside him, psyching myself up to deal with the barrage of questions, and probable disaster that will come from being here.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the door. The stairs are a bit worse for wear, but nothing I’m not used to. He raises his hand to knock, but the door opens before it can connect. How do they do that?
“You’re finally here.” My mom holds her arms out and pulls me into a hug. My hand releases from Tristan’s, and the grounding I felt moments ago disappears. Theanxiety I have when I’m around my parents, comes back in full force. “It’s a shame we don’t see you more often considering we live in the same town.”
There it is. Not even a minute has gone by without her adding a passive aggressive comment. I’m not sure what she thinks it will accomplish. There’s a reason I rarely go to their house. They never show interest in what I like to do unless it pertains to how it can benefit the family business. Work is what italwaysboils down to.
“Hi, Mom.” I grumble. “Where is everyone?”
