“When can I meet this lovely London?”
I glance down at my watch, knowing London should be at work by now. “We can go now, if you—”
Kitty is up, out of her chair and already to the steps before I can finish. Mark and I finish our drinks and then follow my mom toward the restaurant. I’m not nervous, I’m downright petrified of what London is going to think when I tell her who is with me. The last thing London needs is for her boss to find out we’ve been messing around, although if she got fired, I’d ask my mom to make some calls.
The hostess greets me by name and my mom gives me a bit of a side-eye glance. Mark laughs and pats me on the shoulder. I ask to be seated in London’s section, which upon hearing my own request, think I probably shouldn’t have said anything.
We’re seated and within seconds, London is at our table. This time, I don’t let her get away with ignoring me or acting like we’re not. . .well whatever we are.
“London, I’d like for you to meet my mom and stepdad.”
London eyes me wildly, making me want to kiss the look right off her face. Without much thought, I squeeze her hand, hoping to reassure her.
“Kitty and Mark Bradley,” I continue. “Mom, Mark. I’d like for you to meet London Bauer.” I keep my eyes on her the entire time, hoping to convey that I’m not doing this because we’re sitting in her section, but because she means something to me. She pulls her hand away slowly and looks around, checking to see if anyone is watching.
“Oh, don’t worry about Lester. He and I go way back. Come sit.” My mom pats the chair next to her, but London doesn’t budge.
“Mom, she can’t.”
Kitty groans. “Drinks, tonight? What time are you off, sweetie? I want to get to know the woman who my son hasn’t stopped gushing about since I arrived in town today.”
London turns sharply toward me. Her eyes are wild, frantic. I’m not sure if she’s trying to be pissed at me or if she’s freaking the hell out.
For the record, I’m freaking the hell out.
I smile sheepishly and shrug.
5
London
I know I look like a fish out of water when I meet Max’s mom and stepdad. His mother is gorgeous with her blonde hair and bright green eyes that are the same color as Max’s. From what I can tell, she seems genuine, very different from the rest of the clientele. It almost feels as if I stepped into an alternate reality. The last thing I ever expected was for Max to tell his mother about me. It changes things. And if I’m being honest with myself, it confuses the hell out of me. I don’t know what it all means.
After all is said and done, I agree to drinks with Kitty and Mark Bradley at their hotel tonight. Once they’re gone, I breathe a sigh of relief. The whole time I waited on their table, I was drenched in sweat. I kept stuttering my words and I know I looked like an idiot. If Max would’ve warned me beforehand, I could’ve prepared myself.
Usually, I want the days to go by quickly, and it never does except for today. The closer it gets to clocking out at five o’clock, the more nervous I get. At seven, I’m supposed to meet Max and his family at The Chandler Hotel, the ritziest place in Rhode Island. What does one even wear to a place like that? My stomach hurts just thinking about it.
Kim walks into the break room just as I’m clocking out. She hurries up to me and bumps me with her hip to move me away from the computer. “I take it you had a good time with Poseidon last night?”
Hearing her call Max that sounds ridiculous. I look around to make sure no one is within hearing distance. “I’m meeting him for drinks tonight at The Chandler with his mom and stepdad.”
Kim’s eyes widen. “Wow. Why didn’t you tell me things were that serious?”
I shrug. “I didn’t even know they were. I thought for sure he’d keep our relationship a secret.”
“Obviously, he thinks there’s more to it. The question is, what do you think about it?”
“I don’t know,” I say, wishing I knew the answer. Max isn’t at all who I thought he’d be, but our worlds are completely different. I don’t fit in with his.
Kim hugs me tight. “Don’t worry about it, London. I’m a firm believer in what’s meant to be is meant to be. If you and Max are destined to be together, it’ll work out.”
I roll my eyes and hug her back. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t you need to get to work?”
She lets me go and winks. “Have fun tonight.”
Taking a deep breath, I grab my purse off the desk. “Wish me luck.” I head toward the door that leads out to the parking lot. The walk back to our house isn’t far and I really enjoy it at times, except for when it rains. Luckily, today it’s a perfect September day with clear blue skies. I breathe in the crisp, cool air and start on my way home.
“London.”
The sound of my name makes me stop in my tracks. I jerk around and Max is there by his sports car. He rushes over to me and grabs my wrists, pulling me in for a kiss. Stepping away from him, I gasp and look around. “What are you doing?”
He shrugs and smiles. “Kissing you.”
“What if people see? I could lose my job.”
His grin widens. “You don’t have to worry about that. No one’s going to fire you.” He reaches for my hands again and I let him. “There’s something I want to talk about with you later. Right now, I know we have plans, but once we’re alone I’ll see what you think.” Something has
