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“Well, your mother’s head might be in the clouds, but mine’s not. I don’t care if he’s the King of England. You are way too young to be going to a boy’s hotel room unsupervised.”
“His bodyguard was there.” Which was a partial truth. I mean, he was therebeforewe went inside.
“What about your bodyguard? Who was there protecting you, huh?” he shot back.
“You’re totally right. I’m sorry,” I said, sensing the only way out of this mess was complete and utter compliance.
“That’s it? You’re sorry? That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
“Well . . . yeah. I mean, I should’ve called and let you know where I was and who I was with, but—”
“Andthat you were going to be late,” he snapped.
“Right. That too.”
“How did you even meet this Jagger guy, anyway?” Dad asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It’s Thorne, Dad.”
“Whatever. Both are pricks and draw blood.”
Mom gasped while I fought super hard not to burst into hysterics. “Um, well, I wrote some dumb fan mail to him a few months back, and he responded. When I visited Aunt Pat, I ran into him in a total twist of fate, and we’ve written some since. Then he showed up at the bakery, and the rest is history.”
It may not have been the detailed mushy version Thorne concocted with the months-long love letter fest, but it was the version they’d believe, so I was sticking to it.
“I don’t like it,” he snapped.
“Stephen,” Mom admonished, “at least give him a chance.”
“Oh, I’m sorry I don’t want our daughter dating a celebrity. To be honest, I’m disappointed in you, Alma.”
Mom’s mouth gaped while my stomach sunk. The last thing I wanted was for this to cause them problems.
Once Mom recovered, she straightened and shot him an icy glare. “Well, unlike you, I trust our daughter to make smart decisions.”
“I trust her plenty. It’s him I don’t trust.”
Mom rolled her eyes. “You don’t even know him.”
“And you do?” Dad asked.
“No, but our daughter does,” Mom shot back.
I started to speak, but Dad bulldozed over me. “I don’t want Scarlett getting caught up in his world. It’ll be nothing but trouble. He’s a celebrity. They’re superficial, entitled, and have no idea what real life is like. They don’t think the rules apply to them. Half of them are into partying, drugs and drinking, and sex. And isn’t he the one who’s always getting into trouble?”
“Dad, don’t you think you’re being a little judgmental?” I asked, even though the latter was true, and I, myself, had thought some of those same things before I got to know him.
But something changed tonight. My opinion shifted.
I thought about how he knew the names of the hotel staff, and I smiled.
“He’s just a person like everyone else. Seriously, he’s not that special. People like him are put on a pedestal by people like us, but he’s no different.”
Mom’s eyes found mine, like she disagreed, and for a moment, I thought she was going to argue with me.
“You’re grounded,” Dad blurted, and we both turned to look at him.
“What?” I blinked through my shock because it had been ages since I got grounded. I was no goody-two-shoes, but I wasn’t exactly a rule-breaker either, and Mom and Dad, for all intents and purposes, were usually pretty chill.
