I shooed him away. His lips held the tiniest of smiles, and my heart fluttered, knowing I was the reason for it.
He wrapped his annoyingly sexy arms around my waist as he tilted his head. “Regardless of what you told your father or what happened with Gavin, I just want you to be okay, Flower. If you won’t be able to handle them after the rough morning you had, we can leave.”
“Can’t exactly back down now though... It’s almost over. I should just suck it up and get it over with, right?”
“You should prioritize your mental health and protect your peace.”
“If I did that, I would have never ended up in your studio in the first place... Or gone back time and time again,” I recalled, remembering how I tried to protect the peace that was my marriage by trying to stay away from this man.How wrong I was to think I would ever succeed...
In response, Beckham placed a small kiss on my collarbone, and I giggled, trying to push him away.
His phone rang after a moment, and he looked down at it before letting out a sigh.
“Perfect timing… I’ll be inside in a minute.” He placed another kiss on my lips before holding the phone to his ear and speaking to what sounded like one of his father’s financial advisors.
I had little time to ogle the perfect man before me as he stepped away, his shoulders tensing sexily as he practically barked orders into the phone. If I was feeling frisky, I’d pull him into the backseat and let him take his frustration out on me as he spoke into the phone, but now was not the time to embrace the horny masochist he made me into.
Now was the time to face my parents and in-laws head-on. Approaching the door, I pushed it open and bit my lip as voices were heard in the dining room. As my heels clicked against the floor, my mother was the first to notice me, standing by my father obediently as he spoke to Gavin’s father.
Their eyes found their way over to me, and a smile graced my father’s lips. Nancy’s gaze found me next, then Patrick’s.
“Rosie, sweetie, so good to see you.” My father grinned, and I sent him a forced smile before nodding as he pulled me into a rather uncomfortable side hug. This was all a front for Gavin’s parents—he’d never had done that otherwise—but I allowed it, for now, then let him lead me properly inside.
Gavin and I both didn’t have siblings or many close cousins, so the closer I got to the dining room, the more I became rather confused by the woman sitting at the table holding her infant son. She seemed rather nice on the surface and was extremely beautiful as she sent me a smile. I sent her one back as a feeling of unease settled in the pit of my stomach.
“Oh, and this is Grace and her son Cory. She’s a friend of Nancy,” my father clarified.
I cleared my throat. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She smiled. “Likewise.”
“I hear the art exhibit with Vincent Garcia’s son was a complete success, Rosenna,” said Patrick. “So glad everything turned out well.” He tipped his wine glass towards me.
I bit my tongue as I nodded. It wasn’t like he’d warned me about stretching myself too thin or anything just a few months ago.
“I’ve been wanting to meet the man ever since I walked into her gallery. I’m hoping to meet him at least at some point before flying back home,” my father said, looking over to me.
“You’ll meet him soon,” I remarked.
Nancy finally spoke, souring the somewhat tranquil mood.
“Where’s Gavin? I hear, apparently, you both have been having problems? I would think you’d at least try to show up with your husband to alleviate any assumptions that we could make.”
“He’s still getting ready at home,” I said, the words sounding bitter.
“A good wife wouldn’t leave her husband to get ready on his own. Such a shame you didn’t pick up any redeeming qualities from Elise,” she remarked—while my mother sat silently, sipping water instead of the wine that filled my in-laws’ and father’s glasses.
My jaw clenched in irritation. I could only imagine why my mother didn’t have a wine glass like everyone else. She wasn’t a big drinker, but my father kept her under his thumb. Little things, like making her drink water instead of the wine being served to the entire table, were him using his subtle mind games to control her.
Clearly I had picked up a few qualities from her, given the way I’d endured Gavin’s treatment all these years. Whether or not those qualities were “redeeming” was still up for debate.
My expression seemed to catch my father’s attention, as he let out a small chuckle to ease the growing tension. “What Nancy means, honey, is just that we’re all just concerned about you and Gavin. It’s a delicate time, and we want to support you both. Especially since talks of you having a child have been going round.”
My mind almost went blank as thoughts of just an hour or so ago surfaced, reminding me of how my world crumbled before me as I was made aware of Gavin’s plethora of illegitimate children.
If I was crazy, I would have given in to the insane thought of Grace being a part of that list, but my memory of the birth certificate names was foggy.
And no wonder. I was practically running on endorphins alone, trying to block the pain of my entirely fucked reality. But my father’s words still stung, so much so that I could barely even form a sentence.
