Page 25 of One Drink
“You don’t have to explain.” His closed lips turned up slightly. “I know your dad is hard on you. Maybe it’s best we surprise him with it anyway. We can use it to our advantage.”
“How so?” I raised my brows.
“He’s always liked me, but I’m sure he’ll still have a lot of questions for me. It’s not like we’ve ever sat down and really talked. Use me to keep him off your back, so you can enjoy yourself and focus on work.” He pressed his lips against mine, and I shivered at the sweet tenderness of his kiss. Despite the lightness of his touch, there was no mistaking the raw desire burning to escape and grow into something so much more than a kiss. He withdrew and swallowed hard. “We better put these in water and head out before my parents think we stood them up.”
“Okay, I need to grab a few things, and then I’ll be ready.” I took the flowers into the kitchen to put them in water before heading to my bedroom to put on my jewelry and shoes.
I hoped dealing with Dad would be as easy as Jake suggested. Dad always did like Jake—mostly because of his family’s status and wealth—but he never saw Jake as a potential match for me. Seeing us together at the charity event would be a surprise. Hopefully enough to keep him off my back, so there were no more conversations like the one we had tonight.
***
STANDING OUTSIDE THErestaurant, my nerves finally got the best of me and I couldn’t stop picking at the skin around my nails. I’d talked with Jake’s parents countless times in the past, and I shouldn’t have been nervous, but meeting them for the first time as his girlfriend had me a little on edge.
Jake took my hands and squeezed them before lifting them to his lips. “My parents love you. Trust me when I say they’re excited about this.”
“I know.” I leaned into him and wrapped my free arm around his waist. It felt good—right. We still had a long way to go before we could say our relationship was secure, but a sense of belonging filled me every time we touched. The shock of waking up in his arms last week after a drunken night together caused me to do and say crazy things. I regretted my behavior now, but I had been so scared. I was still scared, and there was no guarantee this would last. Meeting his parents with that in mind made me nervous. “I just wish we had more time to figure all this out before being thrown into conversations with our parents. This hasn’t exactly been a great start.”
He cupped my cheek and lifted my face to his. The touch of his strong hand against my skin made me shiver. When his lips brushed against mine, my knees wobbled. We fit together, and I liked how it felt to be close to him. He broke away and the loss of his warmth cause my shoulders to sag. I longed to pull him back and tell him how I felt—to admit to him that my feelings had grown even more than I thought possible.
“If a topic comes up that neither of us want to discuss, we don’t. Deal?” He smiled, and I nodded. “Come on. I haven’t seen my mom in months.”
His excitement over seeing his mom was endearing, and another testament to the type of man he was. He squeezed my hand as we walked into the restaurant, and I let myself hug close to his body. I felt safe and free to be myself next to Jake. It was a sense of security I’d never felt before and I liked it.
“There’s my Jake!” His mom got up and ran to us before we made it to the table. “It’s been way too long.”
Jake wrapped his arms around his mom and squeezed her tight. “It’s great to see you too, Mom.”
She leaned back and looked up at Jake with a huge smile on her face. “I’ve missed you.”
Seeing how happy they were to see each other made me smile, but I couldn’t stop the hint of longing that worked its way into my brain. My parents never greeted me like that.
“And Stephanie, it’s so good to see you, too. Especially under such exciting circumstances.” Her smile grew, and she pulled me into the same fierce hug she’d given her son.
“Thank you, it’s good to see you again.”
She took my hand and led me to the table, leaving Jake to follow behind. “Let’s eat and drink, and tell me all the things I’ve missed in your lives these past several months.”
We settled into our table with pleasantries and ordered our meals. Our conversation started the same as any conversation we’d had in the past, and I appreciated that his parents treated me the same as they always had. We chatted about all the typical conversations about work, family, and friends. Just when I thought we were in the clear of any relationship talk, his mom looked between us with a frown on her face.
“How do you two plan on handling work?” she asked. “With Stephanie as your boss, that has to be challenging.”
“Mom.” Jake sighed. We hadn’t discussed this yet. It had only been a couple days since we decided to give this a go and the topic hadn’t come up. It was something we’d have to discuss soon, but there was time to figure that out once we overcame a few other hurdles first. “We just started dating. Give us some time here.”
“Yes, I know, dear. But don’t you think this is a priority conversation?” She smiled, but I heard the concern in her tone. “New relationships are hard enough without the added pressure of being co-workers as well.”
“It’s only been a week.” Jake’s voice was calm, but I felt his body tense next to mine. “We still have a lot of things to discuss, and that is one of them.”
“Couples who work together struggle. It’s not easy working with your partner. Trust me. It was hard on your father and I, but we worked at it. I just want you both to understand the layer of complication it adds to a relationship.”
Jake leaned back and put his arm around me. He relaxed some, but I could still feel his tension. “The magazine is Stephanie’s dream job, not mine. I won’t be working there forever. When the time is right, I’ll quit.”
“You will?” I shot my eyes in his direction, surprised that he’d consider quitting.
“Well, yeah. If you recall, working at the magazine was supposed to be a temporary position for me.” His arm tightened his hold around me. “You needed a seasoned writer and asked me to help you out until you turned the magazine around. I’d say you’ve done that.”
“Yeah, but ...” I was at a loss for words. He was right. It was supposed to be temporary. But now that the years have passed, I wasn’t sure the magazine could get along without him. He’d contributed just as much to the magazine’s success as I did. “You’re irreplaceable. You can’t quit.”
He chuckled and kissed my cheek. “Everybody’s replaceable. I can think of three senior associates working under me that could easily step up and do just as good a job as me, if not better. The magazine needs you, not me.”