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I didn’t care what preconceived ideas my family might have had about Wyatt. I knew it would take them being around him a matter of minutes for them to realize he wasn’t anything like Tristan and that he was a man worthy of me.
25
WYATT
“Okay, we have to stop.”
With her hand in mine, Rhea brought her horrified eyes up to my face and gasped, “What?”
It was Friday evening, and we were walking up to her parents’ house. But from the moment I met her at her place today after work, I’d noticed something just wasn’t right with Rhea.
She wasn’t her usual self, and her body was tense. Knowing there was something really upsetting her, there wasn’t a chance I could head into this dinner with her family until I knew she was okay. I’d held out for as long as I could, hoping she would share whatever it was with me, but she hadn’t.
“I can’t do this,” I told her.
How it was possible, I didn’t know, but Rhea’s body became even more rigid. “Wyatt,” she rasped, terror laced in her tone.
“Baby, what’s going on? You’re not yourself. I want nothing more than to go into your parents’ house, meet everyone, and have a nice dinner with them, but I’m not going to be able to do that until I know that whatever is bothering you has been addressed,” I explained.
Her frame relaxed slightly, but she was still on edge. “I’m sorry. It’s just that… well, I’m nervous about this dinner.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one who’s worried about it?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t want you to be.’
Turning to face her completely, I set the container of ice cream she’d wanted to bring down and took both of her hands in mine. “I’m not. Or, well, I wasn’t until now. But the worry I feel has nothing to do with meeting your family and everything to do with how much of a difficult time you seem to be having. Do you want to tell me why you’re so nervous about this?”
Rhea swallowed hard, her expression bordering on terror. “I’m just recalling the conversation I had with my grandma at bingo on Tuesday.”
“And? What did she say to you?”
“Enough to make me realize I probably should have said something to my family about you and me sooner,” she revealed. “She told me if I didn’t want all of them to get the wrong impression about anything happening between us that it would be best for me to invite you over for dinner with them, so I could introduce all of you.”
Confusion, and a bit of concern, moved through me. “Are you saying you don’t want this to happen tonight?”
Her hands squeezed mine. “That’s not what I mean. I want you to meet them, but I think I made a mistake by waiting for so long. I don’t want them to think the worst about you or our relationship, simply because I kept you hidden.”
I’d never seen Rhea so worked up like this before. Or, well, not in this way. She always presented herself as confident, even if I now knew a lot of that came from stubbornness and a fear of being hurt or taken advantage of.
Seeing her so out of sorts now was both upsetting and reassuring. Upsetting, because I didn’t like knowing Rhea was scared or nervous about anything, especially something like this, where it wasn’t necessary. Reassuring, because it made me believe Rhea had gotten to that point with me where she was comfortable enough to be vulnerable. Recognizing the magnitude of that only strengthened my resolve to reassure her.
“It’s going to be fine, Rhea,” I promised her. “This is your family, and I have no doubt they love you. That alone would be a reason for them not to make this difficult for you. No matter what happens, I love you, and that’s not going to change, no matter what happens here tonight.”
She nodded her head and whispered, “I just hope they like you as much as I do and don’t presume the worst.”
I tipped my head to the side, something warm moving through me. “Even if they’re hesitant when we first arrive, I think I might be able to convince them I’m a good guy before we leave. Believe it or not, I’m very good with people. I always have been. I’m confident that everything is going to go well tonight, and I’m not nervous about it at all.”
I didn’t know if there was one specific thing I said that did the trick or if it was a combination of multiple things, but once I’d gotten all of that out, Rhea seemed to relax completely. Either she realized she could trust what I was saying to be the truth, or she decided there wasn’t anything either one of us could do to control the outcome of the evening, so it was best to just go into it prepared to have a good time.
“Okay. Okay, I think I’m ready now,” she said.
I lifted one hand up behind her head, gave her a gentle squeeze, and asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Wyatt, I’m sure.”
I smiled at her before touching my mouth to hers in a chaste kiss.
A moment later, I’d picked up the ice cream again, and the two of us walked the remaining distance to the front door of her parents’ home. The moment we were there, the door opened. Four people were waiting on the opposite side. I recognize her mom and grandmother, since I’d already met them, and I assumed the two men I hadn’t met yet were her father and grandfather.
