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“This,” she said, gesturing around the room. “My parents are over the top. They act like they’re the royal family. I’m surprised we didn’t have to go through a security check when we arrived.”
I chuckled. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. Your parents were so welcoming and mine are so cold.”
I leveled her with a look. “My dad isnotwelcoming.”
She waved her hand in the air. “But the rest of them are awesome.”
“I guess. Is your sister coming?”
Her head whipped my way, and she scowled. “Why? Would you rather her be here?”
My brows shot up. “What? Why would you ask that?”
Her shoulders deflated, and she grabbed her water glass. “I don’t know. I’m stressed.”
I squeezed her shoulder. “Relax. Even if dinner is horrible, it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
“How do you feel about me?” she whispered.
I looked away, shocked I’d let that slip out of my mouth. We had been acting like an actual couple recently, and I didn’t hate it. I saw Kat differently, and I was developing feelings for her, but this was fake, and I wasn’t supposed to fall for her. I couldn’t fall for her.
I cleared my throat. “You’re my friend, Kat, and you’re nothing like your parents.”
Her face fell slightly, but she covered it with a smile. “Thanks.”
“Thank you for coming,” Kat’s mom, Gwen, said when she entered the room behind us. “It’s nice to see you both again.”
She was smiling, but it looked plastered on her face like a mask. Kat tensed beside me, and I grabbed her leg, giving it a gentle squeeze. Even though we weren’t really together, it didn’t mean I couldn’t be there to support her. As a friend.
Her dad, Charles, entered the room, and the temperature chilled a degree. He was colder than my dad had been, and it made me slightly uncomfortable. The scowl on his face didn’t help, and I shifted in my chair. This time, it was Kat’s hand on my leg for comfort.
Charles took a seat in the throne chair at the head of the table and placed his napkin on his lap. A woman wearing an apron ran over and poured him a glass of water.
“Brandy tonight,” he said.
The woman nodded and walked to the corner bar.
“Sid, what would you like?”
I looked at him in surprise. “I’ll take a whiskey neat, sir.”
Charles nodded, and the woman turned with a small smile to confirm she’d heard. Gwen sat at the other end of the table across from her husband. Her chair wasn’t a throne, but it was still bigger than ours. It was odd.
“I’ll take a glass of wine,” she said. “Kat, would you like a glass?”
Kat looked at Gwen in surprise. “You’re offering me a glass of wine?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I? You’re old enough to drink.”
“She’d love one,” I said. It didn’t need to turn into an argument.
“Only one. We don’t want to deal with you getting sloppy,” Charles said.
Kat’s shoulders fell, and I held back a growl.
“She doesn’t get sloppy, and if she wants more than one, that’s fine. I’m driving home,” I said.
