Page 90 of Surprisingly Us

My fingers tighten into Lettie’s hip, anger and frustration getting the best of me.

Then, her hand is there, covering mine. Her fingers gently easing between mine and I relax.

“You’re right, Jerrod. That was Rhys before we were together. And it may be crazy but once we reconnected,” Lettie looks up to catch my eyes, “everything fell into place. It’s hard to explain, but it felt like it was meant to be.”

“That’s how it was with Jer. I was wild and didn’t want to be tied down, but then he looked at me with those puppy dog eyes and I just knew that was it.”

“It’s good to see both my grandchildren happy.” My grandfather nods. “Now, let’s have a drink to celebrate.”

Jerrod and Corinne went all out, even hired a bartender for the evening. While I’m getting me and Lettie a drink, Jerrod finds me at the bar.

“Colette sure is something.” I follow his gaze across the room to where Lettie and Corinne are talking with Sasha, one of the board members, and her partner, Alana. “Now, the question is, why is she with you?”

“Fuck off, Jerrod,” I murmur before plastering a smile to my face, so no one is the wiser.

He makes a tsking sound which only annoys me further.

“Make it make sense, man. She’s too good for you.” He shakes his head. “Unless you’re paying her?”

His insinuation isn’t far off. Maybe that’s why it gets under my skin.

“We were friends, and now we’re more.” My lips twist into a sneer. “I guess it’s hard for your tiny brain to comprehend that.”

“Don’t worry, Rhys.” He pats me on the chest. “I’ll figure it out.”

Before I can get another word in, he clinks his glass to let everyone know that dinner is being served.

At dinner, the seats already have place cards, and Lettie is at the opposite end of the table. There’s an empty seat beside me, leaving me disconnected from the group and I wonder if Jerrod did that on purpose. Now, not only do I not have Lettie in my corner, but it’s harder to engage with those a few seats down.

I’m taking out my aggression on my dinner salad when a man walks into the dining room.

“I apologize for being late,” he says.

“Don’t worry about it, Sandeep.” Jerrod stands to greet the man I recognize as one of the board members and my dad’s old friend, Sandeep Patel. “We’ve just started.”

“Don’t get up.” He motions to those who have stood to greet him, but they ignore him and he makes his way around the table saying hello and giving a handshake or a quick hug before he finally takes the empty seat next to me.

“Rhys,” he says, dropping his napkin into his lap, before extending his hand to me, “I was hoping to be seated next to you.”

I shake his hand, surprised by his confession. “You were?”

“You bet. We need to catch up.” He turns to the dark-haired woman next to him. “Aditi, have you had a chance to talk with Rhys?”

With a polite smile on her lips, she shakes her head no.

“Well, we need to rectify that.”

Over the five-course dinner, Sandeep engages the table, telling jokes one moment, then posing a thoughtful question for discussion the next.

It’s clear now, Sandeep is the life of the party, but also highly respected among the board. He’s the guy that makes everyonefeel welcome and in an environment like this where Jerrod is constantly trying to poke holes in my parachute, I’ll take all the help I can get.

By the end of dinner, I’ve gotten to know Sandeep, Aditi, and several other board members better. And I think they’ve gotten to know me.

When there’s a break in conversation, my eyes settle on Colette at the end of the table. She’s talking with Corinne and Trisha, one of the board members, and her husband, Antoine.

“Your girlfriend, I presume.” Sandeep nods as he works his way through the decadent chocolate cake that was served for dessert.

“Yes, Colette Davenport. She’s a ballet dancer with The City Ballet.”

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