“Someone like me?” I asked, amused since I could practically hear her blushing.
She giggled. “Fine, I’ll say it. You’re a handsome billionaire who used to be a professional baseball player. It’s obvious that people are going to recognize you, and while you have every reason to be pissed off that she sold the picture to the media, it’s probably unavoidable.”
“So you’re okay with it?”
“No, but you’re a public figure, and as much as I don’t like that it happened, I’ll get used to it,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m not going to let that scare me, Tanner. It’s just going to take some adjusting and trusting that you’re not messing around on me regardless of what it looks like.”
Struck dumb by the fact that she actually believed me, I shook my head and felt a grin breaking out across my face. “If something like this happens again, just promise me you’ll give me a chance to explain. I don’t want it to come between us, but you and I both know that you might be right about it being unavoidable.”
“I will.” She chuckled again. “Just promise me that you’ll always have an explanation for it that doesn’t involve you being with someone else.”
“I have no intention of being with someone else,” I assured her. “On that note, I might’ve told my mom that we’d have dinner with her soon. That’s how serious I am about us. If it’s too soon, though, I understand. I can always tell her that we won’t be able to do it anytime soon.”
“You want me to meet your mother?” she asked incredulously.
Embarrassment wasn’t something I was overly familiar with, but I was sure as hell feeling it then. “I do want you to meet her, but telling her we’d have dinner with her just kind of slipped out. I’m really not sure if it’s too early for it or not, but if not, can we do it tomorrow night?”
“Yes,” she said, sounding surprisingly happy about it. “I’m looking forward to it. Maybe it is too early, but I don’t mind. You want me to meet her and I want to meet her, so why not?”
“I’ll let her know,” I said. “You’re sure about this, right?”
“Right. I have a conference call with a client in a minute, so I have to go, but I’ll talk to you later?”
“I’ll talk to you later,” I confirmed. “Can I bring over some food for dinner tonight?”
“I started making a lasagna because I couldn’t really concentrate earlier,” she said. “Just bring yourself and I’ll see you after work.”
“Sure thing.” After we hung up, I couldn’t believe that it had been as easy as all that.
Larisa had believed me without question, and it felt fucking good. She really trusted me and it made me feel a little invincible. As long as I had her in my corner, there was nothing we couldn’t get through. Except, obviously, me cheating on her for real. But I honestly wasn’t interested in anyone else. I had no intention of losing her, especially now that I knew without a doubt that she was really in this with me.
Life had thrown us our first curveball as an official couple, and while it could’ve easily torn us apart, I felt like we were a little stronger for it. She now knew that the media could cause shit for us, and she wasn’t inclined to let them.
Considering how often they wrote about me, it was massively fucking comforting that she wouldn’t believe everything she read. It was another step closer to us being in a solid relationship, and that was where I wanted to get to.
In fact, as I thought about it, I started formulating a plan. Larisa and I were good together. What I was about to do would be a risk. It might be too early for it, but it was what I wanted, and if she said no, I’d respect her decision, obviously.
But I wanted her to know it was an option, and I spent the rest of my day making sure it was.