Page 83 of One Bossy Date

Zoe smiled and started to fix my collar. “One thing at a time, right? I’m sure you’ll win him over with your killer charm.”

I gave her a look, and she chuckled.

“Okay fine,” she said. “Your killer brain then.”

Before I had the chance to reply, the doorbell rang again.

I opened the door.

“Yo, brother.” Dax held up a bottle of red wine. On his other arm was our great-aunt Gwendolyn, a deep-purple lipstick on her lips and dark, heavy eyeliner all around her wrinkly eyes. I invited them in, kissed her hello, and closed the door.

“It’s good to see you, Aunt Gwendolyn. This is my fiancée, Zoe Jones.”

“Hello, girly. I’m Aunt Gwendolyn,” she said in her raspy voice. “Pleased to meet you. Let me see that ring!” She grabbed Zoe’s hand and stared at the nonexistent fake-fiancée-ring. Her eyes said “Oh, no ring?,” but she didn’t voice it aloud.

“Wonderful to meet you too, Aunt Gwendolyn,” Zoe said, trying to brush over it.

Gwendolyn held her ringless hand tightly.

“Zoe, hello,” Dax spoke up. “My, my, don’t you look like Santa’s perfect little bride? Except, you wouldn’t want his farty old ass, of course.” He winked at her and turned to me. “That reminds me. Dude, I can’t stop wondering. How did an ugly-ass guy likeyouend up with a girl likeher?”

“I know,” I rumbled and noticed Zoe smiling at Dax.

“Now, now, Daxton,” Gwendolyn chided. “You two are both handsome young men. Don’t you ever start rumors like that, you hear?” Gwendolyn was so distracted by Dax’s comment, she released Zoe’s hand, and the moment she did, Zoe took the bottle from Dax. She walked off with Gwendolyn to the kitchen to set it down.

“Thanks for picking up Aunt Gwendolyn. And for the distraction.”

“Sure, no biggie.” Dax pulled off his coat and frowned, looking out to the other room. “Is that—?”

“Yes. Mom brought the Humphries.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” He handed his coat to the waiter. “Thanks, buddy.” He shifted his attention back to me. “What did she do that for, d’you know?”

“I’m planning to find out, but if I’m supposed to pitch the proposal to him tonight, I’m ready.”

“Fuck yeah.”

An hour later, all the guests had arrived, and chatter was alive across the penthouse. Ares and Hades were excitedly weaving between legs, greeting everyone with a nudge of their noses. I’d spent enough time greeting the rest of my family and telling them, “Yes, she is my fiancée,” and “Yes, maybe she is pregnant.”

My mother could really do some damage. I honestly couldn’t blame her though. She was just excited—as she should be if this were true.

Finally, I caught my mom alone. Quickly, I pulled her behind the room dividers, startling the caterer and apologizing with a lift of my hand.

“What have you done, Mom?”

“I’m on your side here, Anderson. After you told me the presentation was canceled, I called Helen and arranged coffee. It was lovely, she even brought brownies. We got along so well that I invited her and Charles here. She doesn’t know that you were going to do the presentation, but I’m sure Charles does. This is your chance! Get on his good side and make him invest in you. We ‘older generations’ need to think of the future and be open to new developments. It’s what you said, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So, you convinced me. Go convincehim.” She crossed her arms, tilting her head.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Of course, darling.” She laughed but took my arm and leaned in closer. “Look, honey, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I didn’t believe in this green construction project of yours before. But now that you and Zoe are having a baby, I knew your plans would change, and I hoped you would stay. With you here, I feel much more confident about the project working out, so I changed my mind about it—and here we are.” She squeezed my arm, winked at me, and turned around to join the party again.

I stood for a moment, processing her words, then followed her out. I found Zoe sitting beside my great-aunt on the couch. Aunt Gwendolyn was getting old, and it took a specific kind of patience to get through a conversation with her. If there was anything Zoe was good at, it was empathy. I watched her nod slowly, listen carefully, and touching Aunt Gwendolyn’s arm when she spoke.

This woman was perfect.

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