Page 63 of Building Romance
“I’m Christine and this is Eddie. It’s so nice to meet you,” she says as she pulls back. She smells amazing. Do all rich people smell good? What’s up with that?
His father holds out his hand and shakes mine with a death grip. “A pleasure to meet you, Camryn,” he says holding my gaze. It’s like the words don’t match his actual feelings but he’s fighting his instincts to show me how he truly feels.
“Nice to meet you, too,” I reply as Fletcher tugs me back to his side. I’m not sure if he’s using me as a protective shield or if I’m using him as one.
“Shall we go to brunch at Mo’s or are we having bagels here?” his mother asks as she eyes the bagels that have somehow magically appeared on the kitchen island. Clearly, communication is a weak point for the McDowell family.
“I wanted to check on the new store. Why don’t we go to that restaurant over by it,” his father says. “Your grandparents can join us and meet your girlfriend,” he adds. He doesn’t exactly emphasize girlfriend, but I feel like he does.
“On it,” Dalton says as he pulls out his phone. “Gran Ha, can you and Pop meet us at the restaurant over by Al’s place? In like”—he covers the phone mic and looks at his parents and, without a conversation, nods at his father—“thirty minutes? Great. See you then.”
He puts his phone back in his pocket.
“I guess let’s roll out,” Spencer suggests. Everyone makes their way to the front door and then we smush into the elevator before I have time to consider my wardrobe or whether I can get Drew to call me with an emergency that gets me out of this incredibly awkward situation.
Fletcher’s hand is on the small of my back, making little comforting circles but I am a ball of nerves. Under the best circumstances, meeting the parents seems nerve-wracking but this…this is truly a nightmare situation.
We pile into a limo that is parked out front. Everyone is talking and I’m just sitting there like Fletcher’s accessory.
Eventually, Christine turns to me. “So, tell me all about you,” she says, and she seems honestly interested. Have I misjudged this entire family? Possibly. I mean, Al is friends with Fletcher’s grandfather. Oh shit, I’m about to meet him, too.
I rattle on about my family and schooling for the one minute that it takes. And then we are pulling up near my apartment building. I step out and two things happen at once.
My phone buzzes with a text and Hutch comes galivanting out of the woods excitedly waving his camera.
I look down and see a text from Drew.
Drew: Uh, so, your parents just dropped by with Winston. They just got back in town and wanted to grab lunch with you. I told them there was a coffee emergency and you had to talk with a vendor. They are still here. What do I do? SOS
Holy fucking shitballs!
“The motion-sensor camera picked up something, but I can’t tell what it is,” Hutch says as he approaches me in full camo.
I can see Fletcher’s entire family out of the corner of my eye and to say they are both intrigued and horrified by the Viking of a man that just ran at me is an understatement.
“Oh, uh, that’s great, Hutch,” I manage. Hutch looks around and nods at Fletcher.
“Hey,” he mutters.
“Hello,” Fletcher replies. I see Fletcher go to open his mouth probably to introduce Hutch to his family when I hear a voice.
“There she is,” my dad says from the front door of the building.
No. No, no, no. This can’t be happening.
“Dalton?” my brother’s voice says. I turn to see Dalton and my brother, Winston, bro hugging. What in the actual fuck is happening?
“Hi, darling,” my mom says as she hugs me. “Everything OK with the café?”
“What’s wrong with the café?” Fletcher interjects.
“How do you know each other?” I ask Winston.
There is a burst of discussion from about every person there. I pick up something about Winston and Dalton being in the same fraternity when Dalton was a freshman and Winston a senior. How did I miss that connection when scouring the internet? And my parents are introducing themselves to Fletcher’s parents. And Hutch is telling Fletcher about trying to catch the person leaving flowers on the bench every day. All of a sudden, Drew flies out of the front door and stops in his tracks.
“Oh, great. You found her,” he says and gives me a small I’m sorry shrug. I glare at him.
“It’s settled, then, we’ll all go together,” Eddie McDowell states.
