Thoughts about her filled my mind, her hair, her eyes when she laughed; it was a welcomed distraction. Even then, I thought about the red dress she wore to the office today. Sometimes, I wondered if she really had no idea what she did to me.
I was always thinking about her because the alternative was Aurora and the troubles she came with.
My phone buzzed from where it sat on the desk. I let out a sigh when I saw the caller ID. Mom.
“The meeting,” I muttered, but didn’t answer the call.
My family was having dinner with Aurora’s parents, and I could already see how the conversation would go. It was hard for my parents to understand that I wanted nothing to do with her. No need to hang around the office, especially if my mother was already calling. Nothing good came out of defying my mom.
A knock came on the door, and when it opened, Fiona walked in, looking as graceful as ever in the red dress.
“Sir, you have a family meeting fixed for tonight; do you want to head home now?”
“Yes, tell Liam to be ready to move in five minutes,” I said, shifting my gaze from where it was fixed at her waist to look at her face. How could I give her up for Aurora?
Fiona nodded and walked out of the office, and long after she was gone, I stared at the already closed door. It was deeper than I thought.
I got to my feet and called Allison as I walked out. “Hi, Allison,” I said, “I’ll pick you up in five minutes.”
I didn’t give her a chance to reply when I hung up.
I was the reason Allison made it on time to any event; left to her own devices, she wouldn’t be early anywhere.
Fiona followed me into the elevator when I headed down. I pretended to be on my phone to avoid any conversation with her because I was sure I would say more than was necessary.
Liam was already parked in front of the building when we came out. She said hello to Liam like she always does but stood back.
“You’re not coming with me?” I asked.
“No, sir, I have something to attend to.”
I nodded once, but only because the smile on her face didn’t sit well with me, and the alternative was asking. I bid her farewell and got into the car. Liam drove away, and I tried to not turn around and watch her disappear the further we got.
I tried to not imagine what my life would be like if I could not convince my parents of my unwillingness to marry Aurora.
Liam stopped in front of the hotel where Allison was staying. She said she moved to a hotel out of boredom while waiting for Fiona to come home from work. Instead of discussing how she occupied her time, she primarily focuses on recounting her encounter with a guy she met at the hotel.
I didn’t get the chance to place a call to inform Allison that we’d arrived because she came bouncing out of the hotel with a big smile on her face. She was dressed in a chic pink gown and black heels. Her hair cascaded down her back.
“Big baby,” she said as soon as she got into the car, accepting the hug I offered her.
“How are you?”
“I’m good. After all these years, I am just not mentally prepared to meet Mom and Dad.”
I nodded in understanding. Our parents could be very hard to deal with, but they were wonderful guardians.
“I’m sure they’ve missed you too much to go overboard,” I said, and was pleased when it startled a laugh out of her. Allison rested her head on my shoulder and didn’t say much after that.
Liam pulled into the house not a while longer, and I let him know he could go ahead and rest. Our parents were standing in front of the house with Aurora’s parents, a very grand welcome.
“Here we go,” Allison said as we made our way to them.
“Allison, baby,” our Mom said, and hugged Allison.
“Christian,” my dad said as we shook hands and hugged briefly. Allison and I switched places. I hugged Mom as Allison greeted Dad with a hug, too. Then, we turned our attention to Aurora’s parents.
I didn’t say hello to Aurora, unwilling to give her the idea that I’d forgiven her for pulling this stunt. I felt like an outsider in my parent’s house. She stared at me, but I didn’t give her the time of the day as we followed after our parents.
The dining table was already set, and I sat with Allison on my right and Aurora on my left. We made small talk, skating around the reason we were all there.
“How is work these days?” Quinn asked with a smile on her face.
“Oh, it’s really nice.”
“Susan?”
“She’s coming along really nicely. We’ve noticed some really good developments, and luckily, we’ve found a hospital willing to let us test the program. The Germans are really interested in being our choice.”
“That’s really incredible,” Allison said and patted my thigh. “You worked really hard on this.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Aurora’s father decided that was enough chit chat.
“What are your intentions toward our daughter? Do you still love her?”
The spit I swallowed went down the wrong pipe, and I coughed violently, aware that someone was patting my back lightly. Love is a strong word.
“Christian is very shy,” Allison said quickly, “He doesn’t like to talk about things like this.”
