“My parents are always traveling. Occasionally, I meet up with them wherever they happen to be. But I’d already told them I wanted to do my own thing this year. I’m actually going to Felicity’s. I figured she could use help cooking with her injuries. Of course I never imagined I’d end up in Seattle about to meet your parents right before that. Oh my gosh.”
“Well, you said you wanted a feel for what my life was like, right? So might as well meet my folks. I know it’s not ideal timing, but it’s not like I thought in a million years that you’d be here with me right now.”
“I really am happy to be here, Matteo. Let’s start over, okay? I feel my insecurity tonight got us off to a bad start.”
“You shouldn’t have to apologize for jealousy. I certainly haven’t apologized for mine.”
He took me into his arms, but then the whistling of the tea kettle interrupted our moment. He stood up and walked over to the counter to pour me a cup.
As he ripped open the teabag, he said, “I could technically afford a slightly bigger place than this. But after Zoe died, I became sort of a minimalist. I never felt like I needed much more than a small space. It’s less to clean. Obviously, if I lived with someone, I’d have to move.”
“I’m sure the location more than makes up for the size.”
“Yeah, well, I had to get rid of fifty percent of the stuff I owned to live here. And if I buy something, I have to throw something out. But on the upside, I can clean my entire place in fifteen minutes.”
The cat had been following Matteo around the entire time he was talking to me. After he handed me my tea, Matteo picked him up.
“Bach had to adjust to the space. He was kind of depressed when we first moved here. The only reason it works is because of the windows. Looking outside gives him plenty to do all day.”
He carried the cat over to the couch and sat next to me.
When I reached over to pet Bach, he hissed at me.
I quickly retreated. “Does he always do that to strangers?”
“Well, I could lie and say yes, but…”
“Ouch.”
“Maybe he senses how much I like you and considers you a threat.”
“Well, that was a good save on your part, I suppose.”
Bach eventually took off to a cat bed in the corner of the room.
Matteo and I stayed up talking for a little while before he opened up the couch bed for me. I fell asleep very quickly once my head hit the pillow.
The next thing I knew, we were awoken by a knock at the door. Light filled the apartment. I reached for my phone and saw it was nearly 11 AM.
Matteo scratched his head as he dragged himself up from the air mattress.
He looked through the peephole. “Okay, don’t freak out.”
I straightened on the bed, running my hands through my matted hair. “What?”
He cringed. “I don’t know why they’re three days early, but it’s my parents.”Chapter 25* * *MatteoI opened the door to the sight of my parents’ smiling faces. They were holding grocery bags.
“Surprise!”
“Mom, Dad…what are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here yet.”
“Well, you told us you were arriving last night, so we figured we’d surprise you a few days early. We were bored back in Vail, quite frankly.”
Poor Hazel looked like she’d seen a ghost. I would never have chosen to put her through this ambush. She’d fallen asleep last night in her clothes, which were now all rumpled. This was a rude awakening, to say the least.
My mother’s eyes widened when she saw Hazel. “Oh…you must be Carina?”
Fuck.
Shit.
You could’ve heard a record scratch. I knew my mother’s assumption must have pissed Hazel off. But the only female I’d mentioned to Mom since Zoe was Carina. And that was mainly so they knew who was watching Bach in case something happened to me.
“No, Mom. This is Hazel. Obviously I didn’t know you guys were coming. I’d planned to give you a heads up that I wasn’t alone. Hazel is a very dear friend I met during my travels. She decided to come to Seattle for a visit before Christmas.”
Groggy-eyed, Hazel walked over to greet them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan.”
“As it is you.” My father smiled.
Dad was a much easier sell than my mother. In Mom’s eyes, no one was good enough for her son. It had taken her a long time to warm up to Zoe. Other than that relationship, I’d rarely brought women to meet my parents.
“Well, we certainly didn’t expect to be interrupting your time with your guest. I’d planned to cook you a nice brunch. But I suppose this might be an unwelcome surprise. Should we go?”