Nodding, I let my eyes move to the chandelier hanging above us. “Holy shit, look at that. How the hell did they get that up there? It’s freaking huge. I thought the one at the mall was big, but this one puts it to shame.”
What are you doing, Starla? Get control of yourself!
I’m a rambling, bumbling, dumb-ass, and I can’t seem to gain control of the words spewing from my mouth. Everything that comes out seems to top the previous statement. I’m making a fool of myself.
The sad thing is, I know it. I know it and I can’t shut it off. This is one of my downfalls. Awkward situations make my tongue have word vomit and my brain throws out letter soup.
“Mm, yes, it’s huge. So, I need to ask, where are you from, dear? And how did you meet my son?” His mother’s tone makes the hair on my arms bristle as she drifts her eyes between us, letting them freeze on Bolt.
“Oh,” Yale cuts in, way too over enthusiastic about sharing information. “She’s from Crest Village, and…” He pauses as his lips thin into a pleased smile, “she’s the new intern.” His eyes move to mine, and there’s something in them that seers my insides.
The look is quick, but powerful, sending me into a spiral of anger. It feels like he’s trying to sabotage this meeting and make me feel like I’m less than them. I don’t like it.
If we weren’t in front of Bolt’s parents, I probably would have slapped him. But I refrain from physical violence, and glare at him, wishing I could shoot razors from my eyes.
“Really? The intern, huh?” The way his father says it sends a sharp pain through my chest. I can hear the disapproval in his voice as his lips turn down into a thick grimace.
Bolt strokes his jaw and smirks. “She was the intern, now she’s my wife.”
His father and mother glance at each other briefly. Returning his eyes to his son, Vincent points a feigned finger in our direction. “Our son married the intern…”
Clearing her throat, his mother tips her head into her shoulder and softly touches her husband’s arm. “Let’s focus on the reunion for now, we can discuss this all later.”
There’s this silence that settles between all of us, an awkward, uncomfortable silence that’s pressing on my shoulders, attempting to throw me to the ground. Bolt and his dad are eyeing each other, while his mother glares at me like a queen would to a peasant.
Why did Yale do that?
He didn’t have the right to tell them any of that. They weren’t asking him, they were asking Bolt and me.
The air around us is growing thicker, and I’m having trouble breathing. Something about this feels weird, it fees off.
What is going on right now?
Letting out a chuckle, his father shakes his head, ignoring Claudette. “Your wife, just like that? You meet her and you run off and get married?”
“We got married in the Cape, it was perfect.” Bolt holds his head high, his smile almost sinister. “Sorry we didn’t tell you, we were just so excited, we couldn’t wait another minute.”
“Well,” his mother claps her hands and forces a smile, changing the subject. “I know you had a long flight, and it’s getting late. Why don’t you get settled, and we’ll meet up in the morning.”
Bolt nods and grabs my hand tighter than he ever has before. “Sounds good. We could use the rest. Jet lag is a killer.”
Tugging me along, I call out over my shoulder, “It was nice to meet you!”
His parents both smile and nod, turning and disappearing down the hall in the opposite direction. Fuck, I screwed up. I wanted to impress them, I wanted them to love me and embrace me, but it was nothing like that all.
Yale ruined it, he made me look like a low life clam digger. As if being the intern means I’m after his money. Those few words sealed who I was in their eyes, and I’m not sure I’ll have the chance to change their minds.
We’re standing in the elevator as I let out a breath. It’s long and winded and it isn’t until right then that I realize I had been holding it in. “That was mildly uncomfortable.”
“You’re telling me.”
“How’d I do?” I ask, pulling our tangled hands against my chest and holding them firmly with my free hand. “Think they bought it?”
“Oh yeah, they bought it.”
“So I did good then? Because I wasn’t sure. After Ya—”
Pinching my chin, he lifts my face to his. “You did fucking amazing, baby.” Kissing me hard, Bolt devours my lips in the elevator like a starving animal. “I don’t know why this lie is such a turn on, but, damn,” he says against my mouth, not letting me pull my head away, “I want you.”