Page 50 of Our Broken Pieces
My mom smiles. “So, you and my son are close?”
I take over the dialogue at that point. “We’ve been friends for a couple years now, Mom. But, yes, over the past month or so, we’ve gotten closer.”
Gigi grins at me, ignoring my parent’s watchful eyes. “I was seeing someone for a while, but when that ended, Marcus finally made his move.” Gigi holds my gaze, giving me a wink.
“Good for you, son.”
I bring my hand to her cheek, rubbing my thumb by her ear. “I figured I had waited long enough, and once she was unattached,I could finally tell her I wanted more than friendship.” Her eyes soften and I give her a warm smile. Fuck, this is too easy.
My mother places her hand on my dad’s arm. “Oh, William, this is so sweet. Marcus, we’ve never seen you like this. I don’t think we’ve ever met any of your girlfriends.”
Gigi’s eyes go wide, then she looks at my mom. “Never?”
My mom thinks for a moment. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Marcus has always been a bit of a loner. But it’s good to see him changing his ways.”
“I’m sitting right here, Dad.”
“I’m aware.”
We order food and things stay comfortable, my mom keeping the conversation going. My father watches me intently. Like he’s analyzing every moment. We make it halfway through our entrees before my father, surely fueled by our second bottle of wine, turns his focus to Gigi.
“Gigi, where do you see yourself in five years?”
Her shoulders drop as she sets her fork down. “I don’t like to focus that far in the future. Sure, I think I’ll still have the spa—” She looks into my eyes. “Maybe Marcus and I will still be together. But other than that, I like to let life unfold naturally.”
“Has Marcus told you about his responsibilities with our company?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know the position he will take, the demands of that life are heavy. If you can’t plan five years into the future, do you think you can be a supportive wife to a man with the weight of a company on his shoulders?”
I glance at my mom, and she looks down at her food. “Dad, Gigi knows what my future holds. I believe she would be more than capable of handling a business and a relationship if that’s how things progress between us.”
Gigi laces her fingers through mine under the table. “I understand your concern, Bill—”
“Mr. Holt,” my father scolds. Shit, he hates to be called Bill.
She scoffs at the correction. “Mr. Holt. I would hope that, even if things don’t work out between Marcus and me, that he would find someone who could be his equal. Someone who’s driven like him.”
“Do you want children in the future?” His questions continue.
“Maybe. It depends on my partner and what they want.”
He takes a drink of wine, slowly placing the glass back on the table. “Marcus, you should probably have that discussion with Gigi sooner rather than later, given her age.”
“My age isn’t a concern here, Mr. Holt.” She accentuates the ‘t’. Shit, I need to wrangle this in.
“Marcus could think otherwise in a couple years.”
“Enough,” I bark, causing my mom to look up from her food, eyes darting around the table. “These questions are a bit out of line. We just started dating.”
“Just making sure the important topics are covered.”
I place my silverware on my plate, signaling that I’m finished eating. “Gigi, would you like dessert?”
She mirrors my actions, placing her napkin on the table by her plate. “We have ice cream at home, don’t we?”
