Page 78 of Lovers' Dance

An hour later, I was dressed in a flattering black cocktail dress with delightful sparkly heels and matching purse. Everything fit perfectly. I glanced appreciatively at Matt’s frame. He wore a dark dinner jacket over a light blue shirt that had the first few buttons undone. His pants, same colour as the dinner jacket, moulded the long muscular lines of his legs. The shoes, Italian, and expensive.

“You look lovely,” he said for the tenth time while fastening his wristwatch as I fiddled with the pins holding up my curls in a sophisticated do.

“You, too.” I smiled at his shake of head and walked over to rest my hands on his chest. “I’m terribly nervous about tonight.”

“I know, poppet. So am I.”

That had my eyes popping wide. “What? That’s not helping, Matt.”

He chuckled and brushed his lips across my temple. “They won’t be able to resist your charms. I couldn’t.”

“How bad is it going to be?” I asked, needing to know exactly what was in store for tonight.

Matt chewed his lower lip, a pensive frown forming between his eyebrows. “My parents will be stand-offish. Ignore it. Hannah, she’s the eldest, will probably warm to you once she realizes how much you mean to me. And, Adam, you two met last night, so don’t worry about him. The twins are seventeen and self-absorbed as all teenagers are. They’ll show some interest but, look, let’s not get worked up over this. We’re going to have a lovely time tonight.”

I scoffed softly.

“They’ll be unfailingly polite, Madi,” Matt assured me. It made me feel worse. Unfailingly polite.Great.Tonight was going to be awkward.

“Just—” He broke off and stepped back with a weary look on his face.

“What?” I asked tersely. “Just what, Matt?”

“Just remember it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about our relationship, Madi. They’re entitled to their opinions.”

My mouth curled down. “You’re basically saying they won’t like me, and I should prepare myself for it.”

He sent me a tight smile and held his arm out. “Come on, poppet. Let’s go meet my family.”

It was with longing I watched as George close the door after us, wishing we were inside the house instead of sitting in this stupid, ostentatious car. Why did Matt have to make me go? He knew as well as I did that tonight would be stressful.

An impatient tapping of his fingers over the steering wheel reminded me to buckle up.

I tried one last time as he started the car. “This is bullshit. No one meets their boyfriend’s family so quickly. I should have at least a few months’ grace period.”

The engine purred into life and Matt sent me a sidelong glance. “We’ve been together for a few months already, albeit secretly. It’s happening, accept it. Remember to smile tonight. No one can resist your smile.”

I frowned at him and folded my arms, mentally preparing myself for a night of underhand comments that probably wouldn’t be deemed as openly racist, but would cause feelings of inferiority and pain.

“Do you love me, poppet?” Matt asked as we drove off.

“Maybe not as much as I did this morning,” I muttered bad-temperedly.

He snorted in amusement. “Do you trust me?”

“Uh, have you forgotten the background check drama?” I asked dryly. “What do you think?”

Matt fell silent for a moment before saying, “You know how I feel about you and tonight isn’t going to change that. Once my family gets to know you—”

“They’ll all love me, too,” I finished sarcastically.

“Yes.” Matt ignored the sarcasm. “They will.”

I sighed and looked out the window. Matt was deluded if he truly believed his family would accept me. If I was a braver person, I would have told him the real reason I didn’t want to meet them was because I couldn’t bear the thought of him seeing me through their eyes—a black woman with no social standing who was trespassing into their elite world. Why wasn’t there a comprehensive book out there about swirling with a billionaire? I’d buy it, heck, I’d hunt the writer down and make them tell me every little secret, willingly or not. The car sped up and Matt twisted his head to smile reassuringly at me. He was right. It didn’t matter what they thought…right? I swallowed my nervousness. It would be fine. I mean how bad could it possibly be?

TEN

THE HOUSE, AND I use the term lightly, was impressive. It was a bloody mansion with security gates and a ten minute-long drive. Ten minutes that had left me on the edge of a panic attack as Matt parked up.

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