Mara's hand paused around the stem of one of the wineglasses. "Trent told me that you were staying here for a while."
Avery continued loading, occasionally scooting around Mara to wash things off in the sink. "Yeah. I'm not sure if he told you that James and I haven't been getting along so well. It was probably a mistake for me to move in with him. But it's just, we have a child together and I really thought that this time he'd do the right thing."
All this time she'd been feeling jealous of the time Trent had spent with Avery only to find out that she really was a nice person. It made her feel a little guilty for all the bad things she'd thought about her.
Uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken, Mara rinsed off a handful of silverware and then dumped them into the front slots of the machine. "Hopefully that will change. At least you guys have a history together. His parents know your parents. That has to help right?"
"It does help some. Like I told you, I'm not much of a cook but I'd really like to change that. Mr. Townsend, Trent's father, he's so conservative. The type of guy who likes women who can cook and are quiet and polite. As you can imagine, I am not his idea of daughter-in-law material. Being a great cook would really impress him. Maybe you can teach me how to spice things up a bit. He really likes spicy food," Avery explained. "I'm more of a boring plain chicken breast kind of girl."
"My mom taught me how to make plenty of spicy dishes. Columbian food definitely doesn't lack heat." Mara grinned, already thinking of what dishes she could prepare when they had Trent's parents over for dinner.
"See, you'll be fine then." Avery smiled and went back to loading the dishwasher.
Even though Avery was trying to be helpful, it made Mara feel even worse to be reminded of all the things she didn't know about Trent's family. Avery had been friends with him for years and probably had tons of inside knowledge. Yet she was still struggling to find acceptance.
What chance did Mara have of getting the Townsends to like her if Avery couldn't even pull it off?
* * * * *
TRENT HUNG UP the phone and leaned back in his office chair. His father was still technically on medical leave but as usual, he was ignoring most of his doctor's advice and was back in the office part-time. Trent had long ago given up on the idea of changing his father's ways but all that mattered was that his short tenure as interim
CEO was over.
He was officially off the hook.
He closed his laptop and glanced at the clock on the wall. Mara's parents were due to fly in that afternoon so he'd been trying to finish up as much work as possible before then. As if on cue, the door opened and Mara stuck her head in.
"Are you almost ready? We should probably get going. If they arrive and we aren't there, Mom will be frantic."
He stood and rounded the desk. "Definitely. Gina has a car coming for us in about ten minutes and she got confirmation that their flight is still on schedule. Don't worry."
She nodded quickly. "I know. I just don't want anything to go wrong."
"Even if something happens to delay us, it's not the end of the world. I'll just have a car meet them there. They won't be stranded."
"They aren't used to all of this, Trent. If we send a car, my mom will be offended. She'll think that we aren't really happy that she's here if we don't pick her up ourselves."
"Well, I definitely don't want them to think that. I'm really happy they're coming. Maybe it'll put a smile back on your face."
She's been down ever since the prior night, which made no sense to him because they'd been having such a great time with Matt and Penny. Even though Avery had been unexpected, she'd been relatively well-behaved during dinner. Avery's personality was a bit grating for some people but she hadn't done anything too outrageous at dinner and Mara hadn't seemed like she'd minded.
Unless she'd just been pretending to keep the peace.
"I'm not sad, just a little homesick," Mara finally admitted. "Things are so different now and since my days aren't filled with work anymore, I'm at loose ends. It's a little lonely being home all day. I wasn't expecting that."
Inwardly, Trent cursed his shortsightedness and inattention. Of course, she would be feeling a little strange going from working a full-time job to being on her own in this big place all day.
"Come on. Let's go get your parents and then we'll talk more tonight."
They rode the elevator down to the lobby and Mara followed him outside to where a limousine waited at the curb.
"Wow. This is really nice." Mara turned to him, her eyes huge when she realized the big car was for them.
"It's honestly just easier so we can all ride in the same car on the way back. Traffic can be crazy at this time of day so we might have a bit of a wait. I know you'll want to sit and talk with them."
He nodded at the driver, one of the regulars from the car service. If they were going to be in town on a semi-permanent basis then he'd need to look into getting their own driver. And he'd definitely want to get some protection for Mara. There was no way he'd be comfortable letting her roam the city on her own.
On the ride to the airport, Mara squirmed in her seat. By the time they drove onto the tarmac, her face was practically mashed against the window.