Mind? Why would I mind?
He'd been wanting to fill that role for real for a while now, despite all the misgivings he had about a relationship with Eden. Would Oliver DuPont force them to kiss again?
"Let me see..." He pretended to put serious thought into it. "Do I mind facing your father so he can grill me about how I intend to support his daughter."
She grimaced again. "You're right. It's a bad idea. I warned him he'd better be nice, but I'm sure he'll find a passive aggressive way of telling you you're not good enough."
Meaning I'm not good enough for his daughter.
Rudy had to agree. Eden hadn't turned out as spoiled as he'd first thought and hadn't once looked down her nose—that he'd seen—at his family, but that didn't change the fact that she was raised with wealth and privilege and was used to a certain lifestyle. One he wasn't sure he could afford.
The classy summer dress she wore today, like most days, attested to that. Even her jeans and T-shirts had designer labels.
"He asked me to bring you for dinner last week, right before your dad's accident." She looked over her shoulder toward the family room. "Needing to be here to help your dad has been a convenient excuse to avoid him, but I should probably just tell him the truth about us and face the music." She lowered her gaze and picked at fingernails that were overdue for a manicure.
"I don't mind going with you," Rudy heard himself say. If it meant spending all of Friday evening with her, he could suffer through dinner with her judgmental father.
Her head shot up, and she smiled. "Really?"
He loved how her smile reached her eyes and lit up her whole face. If she kept smiling at him like that, he'd be hard pressed to ever say no to her.
He gave a nonchalant shrug. "I'm a police officer. I've dealt with a lot worse than passive aggressive comments."
"Are you sure?" When he nodded, she went on. "We should probably make sure Scott and Kennedy will be around, in case your mom needs help."
Yet another reason he looked forward to an evening with Eden away from here. When Kennedy came over, she and Eden usually disappeared into her bedroom where they talked for hours. Rudy suspected a good chunk of their conversation centered around him. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
He was tempted to talk to Scott about the push and pull going on between him and Eden and his contradictory feelings, but besides the fact that guys didn't discuss stuff like that, he wasn't sure his quiet brother would be any help.
* * *
Rudy caughtback the low whistle that clawed at his throat as soon as Eden pulled into the circle driveway of her childhood home. The house was massive. Easily as big as Debbie's, if not bigger.
There's no way I can compete with this.
A stark awareness of the humble circumstances he'd grown up in hit him. With a carpenter father and a mother who was a school lunch lady, they'd always lived frugally. Simply. They'd never enjoyed great luxuries, yet Rudy had never felt like he'd missed out on anything. And they'd never wanted for the necessities of life.
But this...
He'd pegged Eden for a rich girl the first time he met her due to her fancy manicure, brand-name clothing, and expensive car. But he had no idea exactly how wealthy her father was. The Stingray Oliver DuPont drove to Providence a couple of weeks ago should have given him a clue.
He tugged on the collar of his blue button-down shirt, cursing his decision to wear a tie and a blazer. It felt even more restrictive than the Kevlar vest he donned every day for work.
As they walked up the lengthy sidewalk to the front door, Eden repeatedly smoothed the front of her red silk dress that fit her like a second skin and made his pulse kick into overdrive. After flipping the hair she'd curled so nicely from one side to the other and back again, her hands fidgeted as though she intended to smooth her dress again.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who's nervous.
Eden had every right to be anxious.
Her relationship with her father was on the line. She said they were trying to mend things, but there was still a lot of tension between them. If things went badly tonight, she might never return.
Rudy only had to worry about Eden's dad being judgmental and condescending toward him. Failure to meet Oliver DuPont's expectations—which he knew he never could—wouldn't have the lasting consequences for him that it would for Eden.
Unless he decided to pursue a relationship with her.
The urge grew stronger every day.
Rudy's only hope to impress Oliver was to be honest and frank. And respectful.
