My parents invited me and Ollie to go into town with them for dinner at a steak house they'd heard about from Val and Eve. My parents wanted to get to know Ollie better, and in an environment where my mom would feel more at ease. That meant a clothing-required outing. Ollie accepted their invitation with more enthusiasm than I would've expected. I mean, my mom hadn't exactly welcomed him with open arms. Ollie didn't hold a grudge, which made me like him even more.
And I'd already liked him a lot. Like, really a lot.
I put on my favorite dress, the only one I took with me everywhere I went because it suited any occasion and looked pretty damn good on me. The black halter dress hugged my curves, but flared out into a swishy skirt that stopped just above my knees. I wore my black heels too, though not the stilettos I'd had on when I first showed up at the resort.
Someone knocked on the door to my room right as I finished getting dressed. I already had my makeup on and my hair fixed. Ready to go.
I swung the door inward.
Ollie's eyes went wide, then slid half closed while he drank in the sight of me. "Damn, Mara, you look hot enough to melt steel."
"Thank you." I spun around so he could see my dress swishing around my legs. "You look sizzling hot too."
He wore a suit that showed off his sexy physique without seeming too tight. It fit him so well that I swore my mouth actually watered when I saw him. Oliver Jackson was one gorgeous man.
How could any woman have called him her gay best friend? How could Heidi Mackenzie have dumped him to go back to her ex?
All his exes had to be insane. No other explanation fit the facts.
Ollie offered me his arm, like a Victorian gentleman escorting a lady to a ball.
I slipped my arm under his.
He led me downstairs, where we met my parents, and all four of us got into a waiting taxi.
The restaurant was very nice, but my mom had to comment that it wasn't "five-star quality" like her favorite restaurant back home. She also curled her lip when she saw the menu.
"Red meat?" she said with a hint of horror in her voice. "I'm a vegan."
"Since when?" I asked. "You love escargot, which is snails. Little creatures that died so you could eat them."
My dad patted Mom's arm. "Sher, don't be difficult. I know steak and potatoes isn't your usual fare, but you can make do." He glanced at me. "Your mother is not a vegan."
So she was just trying to be a pain. Ugh. Would she ever get over the fact I wasn't married to her favorite guy, Nico? And that I liked staying at a nudist resort? I was positive what bothered her the most was that I'd broken all her rules of propriety.
Well, almost all of them. I hadn't become a nudist yet.
I doubted I ever would do that. I loved being naked with Ollie, but the thought of having other people look at me sans clothing made my skin itch. Everywhere. Really itch.
"Something wrong?" Ollie whispered to me. He'd leaned in so my parents wouldn't hear, though they sat across the table from us.
Realizing I had actually been scratching my arm, I forced myself to stop. "No, I'm fine."
"You sure? I know your mom can make you kind of crazy."
"I'm okay, really. You're so sweet to ask."
He kissed my cheek.
Mom finally ordered a steak, despite claiming she'd become a vegan after sitting down in this restaurant. She even enjoyed her steak. Dad and Ollie told jokes and talked about computers. My father had never been adept with electronic devices, so Ollie gave him pointers on how to make his phone work better and how to optimize his home computer.
Mom said nothing. She stared down at her plate while she ate, and when she'd finished, she stared down at her lap.
I wanted to ask if she was okay, but Ollie and Dad were still talking. It would've been rude to interrupt.
When Ollie excused himself to go to the restroom, I finally asked, "Mom, are you okay? You seem...not quite yourself."
She jerked her head up, blinking at me. "What?"
Dad hooked an arm around her shoulders. "Mara thinks you're unhappy, Sher. She's worried."
"Why? I'm fine," Mom said.
I chewed on my bottom lip.
Dad sighed. "Our daughter can see you're not happy. So can I. Why don't you tell us what's wrong?"
She fiddled with the napkin on her lap. "I don't understand why Mara wants to stay at that resort. Mr. Jackson seems nice enough, but he's not the right man for Mara."
"How do you know that?" I asked. "You've barely spoken to Ollie."
"I know, but---" She raised her head to look at me, her lips pinched. "He's a nudist."
She spoke those words in such a soft voice that I almost didn't hear her.
Groaning, I said, "And nudism isn't proper, right? Nothing I've ever done has been proper or acceptable, even though I was doing everything you wanted and making myself miserable in the process. I married Nico because you thought he was the right man for me. Well, guess what? He absolutely was not."
"I never told you what to do." Mom slapped her napkin down on the table. "I tried to show you how ladies need to act, so you wouldn't be embarrassed. The level of society in which we live is not forgiving of rash behavior."
"Rash? I never did anything without first considering how you would feel about it."
"You're dating a nudist."
"Ollie is the sweetest, kindest, most honorable man I've ever met. If you'd taken the time to get to know him, like Dad has, maybe you'd
