Page 111 of Hooked
It was a test. Aaron only drank scotch and considered it the only acceptable drink for grown men.
Tayla rolled her eyes. “Dad—”
“I like whiskey,” Jeremy said. “Not too familiar with scotch though. My dad and granddad are bourbon men, so I mostly drink that.”
Foiled. Tayla didn’t try to hide her smile. Jeremy drank whiskey, but the non-snobby kind. Her father couldn’t argue with that.
“Hmmm.” Aaron walked over to the sideboard. “I have a bottle of Murray Hill Club that one of the junior partners gave me for Christmas. I’d never heard of it before.”
“That’s a nice bourbon,” Jeremy said. “I think you’d enjoy it.”
Aaron muttered, “I suppose I’ll try it.”
What was happening?Did Jeremy magic work on everyone? Tayla watched in wonder as her father poured two glasses of bourbon, added a large chunk of ice to each glass, and toasted her boyfriend.
They all walked to the dining room and sat at the end of the long table.
Bianca looked around as if just noticing where they were. “Aaron, we should have a dinner party soon. We haven’t done that in ages.”
Her father frowned. “If you’d like that.”
“Maybe some of the junior partners would like to come over,” Bianca said. “Especially with Tayla and Jeremy in the house now. It would be nice to have some young people around.”
Tayla wasn’t sure she’d have too much in common with the junior partners at her dad’s firm, but it was a nice gesture. “That’s a good idea.”
Her father’s eyes were narrowed. “It is. I’ll speak to Mena about scheduling something.”
Her mother sipped her wine and rang the crystal bell on the table to call Gloria. “Excellent.”
Tayla turned to Jeremy and mouthed,I have no idea.
He only looked amused. When Gloria put a bowl of soup in front of him, he said thank you and started to eat with gusto.
Well, as much gusto as he could manage with his left hand.
“You never appreciate your right hand as much as you do when you’ve lost it.” He looked up. “Temporarily, I mean. My mom says it’ll be back to normal in about six months as long as I do physical therapy.”
“Six months?” Bianca sipped her ever-present wine. “Do casts stay on that long?”
“Six months until I can climb again,” Jeremy said. “I’ll have to work up to anything serious though.” He tried bending his fingers, but they were still immobile. “It’s going to be a process.”
“And you intend to return to rock climbing?”
“Absolutely.” He glanced at Tayla. “I don’t quit on things I love.”
Aaron looked between Jeremy and Tayla “Admirable sentiment. Though possibly misguided.”
“Dad, don’t start,” Tayla said. “It’s really none of your business, and trust me, Jeremy’s mom gives him enough grief about it.”
“What does your mother do?”
Jeremy finished his soup. “She’s a pediatrician.”
“Interesting.” Aaron nodded. “And your father was a public schoolteacher?”
“He was. And a football coach. I never played though. Too skinny.”
“I imagine there was quite a lot of pressure to perform,” Aaron said. “If your father was the coach.”
