“Why don’t you and Mom come to dinner tomorrow night? You can spend some time with Dana and her brother. I want you to see how truly special she is. I’ll ask Granddad, too. He’s out in the plant with her brother now. He and Sammy have really hit it off.”
His father didn’t look thrilled with the prospect of a family dinner, but he said, “I’ll talk to your mother and let you know, okay?”
“Please try, Dad. It’s important to me.”
Kevin stood up and squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll do what I can.”
As he left Jason’s office, though, Jason couldn’t help wondering if his father had any intention at all of passing along the invitation. To make sure that the dinner came off, if for no other reason than to provide an opportunity to see his parents together and get a sense of what was troubling them, Jason dialed his parents’ number.
“Mom, I was just talking to Dad about a family dinner at my place tomorrow night. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
“The woman who’s living there?” she said, though her tone was far less judgmental than his father’s had been.
“Yes. You’ll really like her. Her brother’s a little—” he searched for a word “—unexpected. So is Dana, for that matter. You’ll come, won’t you?”
“If it’s important to you, we’ll be there,” she promised, though he could tell her heart wasn’t in it.
Still, that was two down and three more to go. His grandfather would probably be delighted to have the opportunity to spend more time with Dana and Sammy. And Sammy could be persuaded to do anything that involved Mrs. Willis’s cooking. Dana, however, was another story. He had a hunch she was going to take one look at the Halloran clan gathering and head for the hills. For a woman who craved family the way she obviously did, she seemed deadly earnest about avoiding any personal connection with his.
He debated telling her at all, then decided she’d never forgive him if she turned up for dinner in jeans and discovered his whole family at the table.
He broached the subject at the dinner table that night, after Sammy had left to spend an hour playing computer games before doing the assignments Mrs. Willis continued to heap on him.
Dana listened to the plans, then repeated, “They’re all coming here? Tomorrow?”
“Yes. You already know Dad and my grandfather, right? And you’ll love my mother.”
“I don’t think so. Sammy and I will go out for the evening.”
“The whole point of this dinner is to have everyone get to know you.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Why?”
Sensing that he’d made a tactical blunder, Jason tried to backtrack. “I want you to meet my family. It’ll help you understand what Hallorans are all about.”
“Professionally?” she inquired hopefully.
“Exactly.”
“I suppose that does make sense, but…”
For the first time since he’d known her, she suddenly looked totally at a loss. “But what?” he prodded.
“Nothing,” she said finally.
Jason suspected he knew what nothing meant. He’d seen her one dressy outfit and suspected she was already finding fault with it, trying to imagine how she could possibly fit in with his family, wearing discounted clothes. He vowed then and there to find her something special first thing in the morning. What good was manufacturing the finest fabric, if you couldn’t call in a favor from a designer every now and then?
* * *
Dana imagined she knew what it felt like to be walking toward a guillotine. Despite Jason’s reassurances that this family dinner was nothing more than an opportunity for her to understand the Hallorans, she knew she was the one being trotted out for inspection. Not even Sammy was under the kind of unspoken pressure she was facing. He’d greeted news of the dinner with blasé indifference, then had gone back to one of the books Brandon had loaned him about the history of the textile industry.
Determined to strive for the same kind of nonchalance that Sammy was affecting, Dana didn’t even bother to go home from work early. What was the point? She had one decent skirt, one reasonably fashionable sweater, one pair of high-heeled shoes. With no feminine dawdling over choices to factor in, it would take her about twenty minutes to shower and dress.
That was her thinking right up until the minute she walked into her room and discovered the boxes stacked in the middle of her bed—a bed she’d slept in only once since moving in with Jason. She stared at the assortment of packages in wonder.
Never, not once in her life had she received this many presents at one time. What was she supposed to do about them? She couldn’t take gifts from Jason. She might not have been to finishing school, but she knew what was proper. Even in her neighborhood, a woman took presents like this only when she was willing to have her reputation compromised. Hers might be shaky at the moment, but so far she hadn’t done anything she might regret later. These packages represented regrets.
She scooped them up in her arms and marched down the hall to Jason’s suite. Since her hands were full, she kicked the door until Jason came to open it.
“What’s all this?” he questioned, feigning innocence.
“I might ask you the same thing.”
“Haven’t you opened them?”
“No. I can’t accept them.”
“You don’t even know what’s inside.”
“I can guess,” she said stubbornly. She dumped the boxes onto the bed, then turned to glare at him. “If I’m not good enough for your family the way I am, then I don’t need to be at this dinner tonight. And if you’re ashamed of me, then you’d better say so now, because I will not allow you to try to pretty me up just so I’ll fit in.”
Her point made—rather emphatically she thought—she stalked toward the door.
“Whoa!” Jason said, putting his hands on her shoulders and spinning her around. “Let’s get one thing straight right now. I am not ashamed of you. I want you to like my family
