Page 46 of Champagne Nights

“And now you’re here meeting the family,” she spoke. “Interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“You’re the first girl we’ve met in nine years. You must be pretty special to him.”

“I don’t think so. We haven’t known each other for that long. He didn’t want me to sit home alone all day since I’m staying with him until I can get back into my apartment. Are the two of you close?” I asked.

“We used to be. But he doesn’t come around much and hasn’t for years. Ever since Sophia, he’s changed, and not in a good way.”

“Sophia?”

“Shit. Listen, you have to promise not to tell him that I told you. We aren’t allowed to talk about it, and if he catches us, he’ll be so pissed off, and who knows what he’ll do.”

“I promise I won’t. You can trust me.”

“Sophia was his girlfriend who passed away in a terrible accident. I’ve said too much already. Let’s go inside and see if my mom needs any help.”

“Sure. Okay.” I got up from my chair.

Finally, I knew a little more about him. A tragedy that struck his heart and hurt so deeply that it still affected him all these years later.

Chapter Seventeen

Ethan

My parents and Lila liked Aubrey. In fact, I was pretty sure they fell in love with her the moment they met her. I knew they would, and I knew this could cause a potential problem for me. The problem was that my mother wouldn’t leave me alone about her. Lila and Aubrey went outside while my mother asked me to stay back and help her for a moment. But I knew damn well she didn’t need help with anything.

“Aubrey is a very nice girl, Ethan.”

“Yes. She is.”

“It’s incredible to me that she’s a teacher. She’s a very strong woman.”

“Yes. She is.”

“She’s very sweet.”

“Yes. She is,” I spoke because I knew exactly where this was going.

“So does this mean that the two of you will be spending a lot of time together?” she asked innocently.

“No. It does not. I already told you that Aubrey and I are friends and nothing more.”

“But you brought her home to us.”

“Because I didn’t want her staying at my house all alone. That’s the only reason, Mother.”

I walked over and clasped her shoulders.

“We’re just friends. Please don’t read any more into it.”

“Ethan—”

“Friends, Mother. Now drop it,” I spoke as I walked out to the patio.

I knew this would happen if I brought her here because my mother couldn’t understand that I wasn’t interested in any type of relationship, so I shut her down quickly. When I walked outside, I took a seat next to Aubrey. Not too long after, Kenny showed up, and dinner was served. After we ate, Kenny, my dad, and I all shot some golf balls and bullshitted about life. Every time I glanced over at Aubrey, which I found myself doing more than I should have, she was laughing, smiling, and enjoying her conversations with my mother and sister. A feeling stirred inside me that was getting harder to control. It was getting late, so I asked Aubrey if she was ready to go. After saying goodbye to my family, we climbed into the car and headed back to the city.

“I didn’t know your dad was a chief technology officer for a Wall Street company, " she said.

---