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And despite everything, Iwantedhim to like her, too. Wanted him to get to know the girl that I’d fallen so deeply in love with. The one who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Standing up to my full height, I brushed a hand down her cheek.
“You’re so handsome,” Ella murmured as she straightened my tie. “It should be illegal how good you look in a suit.”
I grinned. “I’ll remember that later, baby.”
Extending my hand toward her, I kissed her knuckles as she slid her palm against mine, letting that feeling of rightness flow through me—carrying it with me for the night’s events.
“Ready?” I squeezed her hand as we looked up at the restaurant.
“When you met my dad, were you scared?”
I laughed. “Yes,” I admitted, honestly. “You brought me home less than two weeks after we’d agreed to date. Ella, I was completely terrified.”
“What if he doesn’t like me?”
“It doesn’t matter.” And it didn’t. “BecauseIlike you.”Lovedher.
It wasn’t the right time, but fuck, I wanted to tell her that. Wanted to reassure her that nothing bad was going to happen. Because she was worth that. Worth everything.
Heading into the restaurant, we were taken back to our table, my father already seated and waiting.
He cleared his throat, standing up to face us. “You’re late.”
My dad had a similar height and build to me—of course, I was my father’s son—and the similarities were obvious. Same dark hair, though my dads was graying. Same nose, same slope to our cheekbones, the same jaw. The only thing I’d gotten from my mom was my eyes, her warm brown color I’d always loved. They were nothing like the cold, steely gray eyes of my dad.
“Hey to you too, Dad. This is my girlfriend, Ella.” I squeezed her hand, not letting go of the grip I had on her.
If I was younger, he’d have punished me for that comment, but there wasn’t much he could do to me anymore. Not when I was an adult, and perfectly capable of running my life.
He could threaten to take away my inheritance, but if he wanted me to take over his company one day, he couldn’t have it both ways.
“Hi, Mr. Edwards,” Ella said, sticking out her hand towards him, a beaming smile on my girl’s face.
“Hello.” He shook her hand. “Mitchell is fine.”
My girl nodded awkwardly, like she couldn’t fathom that, and we settled at the table with Ella and I on one side—our knees touching, like neither one of us wanted to separate—and my father on the other.
After the waitress had come by—taking our drink and appetizer orders—he zeroed in on Ella. My first mistake was thinking he’d focus on interrogating me, and not her.
“So, what are you majoring in, Ella?”
“Costume design, sir.” She sipped at her water, and I rested my hand on her knee.
He hummed in response before launching into his next question. “And what do you plan on doing with that?”
“Dad,” I said sternly, not liking his line of questioning. He hadn’t even seen her work.
“It’s okay,” Ella murmured to me. Like she was used to it. I fucking hated that anyone had ever invalidated her career to her. Like it was a cop-out, an ‘easy’ degree. It wasn’t easy, that was for sure, but I’d watched her design and sew, and her entire face came alive when she was working on a project.
“I’m actually working on lining up an internship with a theater company back home. I’ll get to work in their costuming department over the summer. And hopefully after graduation, I’ll be able to do it professionally. My plan is to work on Broadway.”
“Hm.” My dad’s face didn’t soften, even when he looked over at me. “And you? How’s the internship search going for you, son?”
I didn’t want to tell him I’d applied to several firms in New York City, planning on following Ella wherever she went after graduation. That I wasn’t sure I wanted what he’d planned for me anymore. So instead, I settled on, “It’s going fine.”
“The firm is happy to have you, you know.”
