“First food and drinks, I’m starving.”
“Fine,” I said with a smile.
The backyard was even bigger than the house. The yard was beautifully landscaped and, right now, set up for a party—tables and chairs and bars and lights and waitstaff. Were they really going to raise more money than they spent on this party?
There were already quite a few guests—at least forty or so—eating and drinking and mingling.
Elijah scanned the area and, after a minute, pointed to a group standing by the pool. “My parents. Let me introduce you, then we can get food?”
“Sounds good.” But it didn’t sound good. My palms immediately became clammy and my head light. Why would I be nervous about meeting his parents? We were nothing to eachother but a fake relationship. Speaking of, did his parents know about the bet? About what we were doing? “Oh shit,” I said.
“What?” he asked, looking around like he’d see what caused my panic.
“I forgot your last name.”
He chuckled. “Russo.”
“Russo. Okay. Mr. and Mrs. Russo,” I mumbled, readjusted the small clutch I’d strapped around my wrist, which contained my phone, my lip gloss, and my touch-up powder, and took a step forward. Elijah did as well, his hand finding mine.
I was surprised at first, gulping in some air, then I curled my fingers around his. “Sorry my hand is sweaty,” I said under my breath.
“You really are nervous,” he said.
“Maybe. A little… A lot.”
“Don’t be. You are smart, charming, and gorgeous.”
“You and your pretty words,” I said, but a smile crept onto my face.
His hand tightened on mine. “Don’t make me show you with actions right now, we have an audience.”
My chest expanded with his words, making it hard to breathe for a moment. And then we were standing in front of his parents, and I had to catch my breath and quiet my insides because I was meeting them for the first time and thoughts of kissing and more weren’t helpful thoughts right now.
“Mom, Dad, this is Sutton.”
“Hi, nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Russo,” I said.
The first thing his mom’s eyes shot to were our connected hands, and it took everything in me not to drop mine. She was a beautiful woman, who looked at least ten years younger than I was sure she was. Her hair was long and a honey blond. Herskin was smooth, and her teeth were bright and white against her red lips. “Hello, Sutton.” She extended her hand to me.
I let go of Elijah’s hand to shake it.
Elijah’s dad seemed a little more approachable. He was average height and thick around the middle. He had a full head of salt-and-pepper hair, tan skin, and dark eyes that were taking me in. “Well, hello, young lady. It’s been a while since my son has brought someone home.” He shook my hand with enthusiasm.
“It’s a charity event, Dad.”
“At ourhome,” he said, and slapped Elijah on the back with a hearty laugh. This man had sold a lot of cars in his life, I just knew it.
“Dad,” Elijah said. “Sutton owns a restaurant in Los Angeles.” Really? He was going to open with that? Just throw it right out there. Maybe he was trying to make me more comfortable, get me onto a topic that I could talk about.
“You don’t say!” Mr. Russo said. “That’s impressive. What kind?”
“It’s a contemporary bar and grill.”
“We’ll have to check it out next time we’re down there,” he said. “What’s it called?”
“Luminesce. I started it with a friend last year.”
“And how is it going?”
