Page 70 of Sweet Passions at Bayside
Emery mouthed,Baby?with an amused smile.
Dean couldn’t suppress his smile. There was something about being doted on by his mother that always made him want to go back in time, to the years before his father had taken over his grandfather’s medical practice and become a tool. Not for the first time, or the hundredth, he wondered why she put up with him. Granted, they never seemed to fight when he was around, and he’d seen her give his father looks that had, on occasion, kept his sharp comments at bay. Their whole relationship confused him, but he’d decided a long time ago, it wasn’t his place to worry about their life choices. So he did what he could to make sure Jett’s feelings didn’t make her life any worse.
“Oh, sweetheart, don’t you look dashing,” his mother said, straightening his tie. “And you matched your tie to your gorgeous date’s beautiful necklace. Doesn’tthattell us something special?” She turned her attention to Emery, whose eyes sparkled like she’d already decided she liked his mother. “If you haven’t guessed, I’m Dean’s sugar mama.”
His mother laughed a little loud and throaty, the laugh he’d heard all his life. And it made him laugh, too.
“Mom,please.” Dean shook his head. “Emery, this is mymother, Sherry. Mom, this is Emery Andrews.”
“Emery…?” His mother hugged her. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you. But your name is familiar.” Her eyes widened and she glanced at Dean. “Emery, fromVirginia? The one you were chatting with over Easter?”
“Yes,” Emery said. “Sorry we stole Dean away to meet my brothers on FaceTime. They can be pretty demanding.”
“Oh, honey, are you kidding? I’ve never seen him smile so much.” She touched Dean’s cheek. “Until tonight. Sweetheart, why don’t you go say hello to your father.” She put her arm around Emery and said, “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get to know each other.”
Dean knew his mother was making an effort to shield Emery from his father, which meant his father must be in prime form tonight. He opened his mouth to say he’d rather go with them, but his mother said, “I promise I’ll bring her back,” and guided Emery away.
Emery glanced over her shoulder, smiling so brightly he knew she’d be just fine without him.
Dean followed them into the ballroom, which was decked out in shades of gold and accented with black and white. There were enough designer suits and diamonds in the place to open a store. He lifted a flute of champagne from a passing tray and watched Emery and his mother sipping the same. His mother held Emery’s arm like they were old friends, and knowing the two of them, they probably already felt like they were.
He took a long pull of his drink and scanned the crowd for his father. The familiar sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach hit at the same second his gaze landed on the man his mother had so wisely guided Emery away from.
He glanced across the room, where Emery and his mother were now talking with his ex, Diana. He gritted his teeth. He hadn’t thought about her being here. He should have warned Emery. Could tonight get any more awkward? Diana looked…well…likeDiana. Prim and proper in a blue and white striped dress. Her dark hair was twisted on the top of her head in a complicated knot that had probably cost a fortune and taken several hours to get just right. She was a beautiful woman, and she’d make a different man a good wife, planning every minute of their lives to perfection, tossing outyes, honeys, laughing, and building up her man’s ego at every opportunity. She’d been groomed to be a doctor’s wife, which was probably why she and Dean were not well suited for each other.
As he watched Diana, he wondered how he’d ever let their relationship go on for so long. They were compatible friends at best. Dean had gone out with her at the request of his father, and she was eager to please, always available, and she had filled a gap in his life. Going out with her was easier than hanging out in bars trying to meet women, or hooking up with random tourists.
Emery said something that made the three of them laugh, and she touched Diana’s arm. Diana covered her mouth, her laughing eyes turned in his direction. Dean shifted his gaze to his father again, feeling as though he were caught between a lion and a spider web. His father looked regal in his dark pinstripe suit with a matching pocket square and tie. Dean didn’t have to look to know the buttons on his father’s shirt were mother-of-pearl, and his cuff links were twenty-four-karat gold with sapphires or yellow diamonds surrounded by enough high-quality diamonds to feed a family of four for a month.
Dean guzzled his drink and set the empty glass on a table. He brushed a hand down one of the three non-designer dress shirts he owned, trying to talk himself into walking over and saying hello. His father was speaking with his business partners, Carl Longhorn—Diana’s father—Prescott LaRue, and Tim Macalbee.
Four of the sharpest minds in medicine.His father’s voice trampled through his mind, and his gut twisted. He turned away, reminding himself they only needed to make an appearance. He searched the room for another glass of champagne and spotted Emery and his mother heading his way. Thankfully, without Diana. They were both smiling, and Emery wasn’t good at faking a thing. Maybe she hadn’t made the connection between him and Diana yet.
Emery looked graceful and somehow also fierce as their eyes connected.
He reached for her. “Everything okay, doll?”
His father’s cologne infiltrated his senses seconds before he felt his heavy hand clamp down on his shoulder and noticed the familiar straightening of his mother’s spine, the narrowing of her eyes, and the silentBehave yourself, Douglasshe cast toward his father before being swept away by a group of women.
Emery’s gaze moved from him to his father, and her body stiffened. Dean looked at his father, whose eyes were filled with malevolence. He instinctively tightened his grip on Emery.
EMERY COULDN’T BREATHE as she stared into the cold eyes of Rose’s son and tried to make sense of his hand on Dean’s shoulder.
“Son,” the man said, shifting his eyes deliberately away from Emery and pinning them on Dean with an accusatory slant.
Shivers crawled up Emery’s spine.Son?Her mind scrambled back to her visit with Rose, and the pieces began falling into place like dirt filling a hole.And my eldest, the son you met. The angry one. He buried himself in work at the expense of his own family.
She gripped Dean’s side, remembering the weeks after they’d met, when he’d told her about how, years earlier, when he’d been drowning emotionally as a trauma nurse, his grandmother had convinced him to leave the medical field and follow his heart.
She tried to find some semblance of balance in her mind, tried to imagine Rose going against her own son’s wishes. The thing was, shecouldimagine that, but the realization sparked an unexpected softening inside her toward the man who was looking at her like he wanted to say something hateful.
“Dad,” Dean said stoically, shifting his body as if he were doing his best to form a barrier between his father and Emery. “This is my girlfriend, Emery Andrews.”
His father’s lips tipped up in a terse smile. “Theyogagirl?”
Dean bristled. His eyes narrowed, and his chest expanded. Emery was still processing that Mr. Stick Up His Butt was Dean’s father. She bit back the verbal lashing she wanted to hurl at him, and when Dean opened his mouth to say something, Emery squeezed his hand and gave a barely discernible shake of her head. She knew Dean would stand up for her, but she didn’t want to be the cause of a scene.
“Yogaback-care specialist. Yes,” she said proudly, and extended her hand in greeting.
