James squeezed my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Penny.”
“That’s fine,” my dad said. “Let’s go out to lunch anyway. My treat.”
I put on a smile. “That sounds perfect.”
“We’re going to head out,” Melissa said.
“You’re both welcome to lunch” my mom said.
“I still have a lot to unpack, so I should probably get started. Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor.” Melissa gave them each a quick hug.
“You’re coming with us tomorrow, right, Melissa?” My mom asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it.” She winked at me.
It was hard to even think about shopping for a wedding dress right now. James’ parents clearly didn’t want me to be a part of their family. Every time they canceled plans to finally meet me, James told me not to worry about it. But how could I not worry about it? We were getting married at the end of the month. And at this rate it didn’t even seem like his parents were going to come.
“Congrats again, Penny.” Tyler smiled at me and then followed Melissa through the crowd.
***
I rested my head on James’ shoulder. Lunch had been so much fun. I loved catching up with my parents and all the goings-on in Delaware. It helped me feel connected to the life I had left behind. At least, I thought I had left it behind. I wanted to fit into James’ life. I didn’t want to cause him unnecessary stress. But that’s exactly what I was doing. I didn’t know what to do in order for his parents to like me. Liking me was far off, though. James and I had been dating for two and a half years and they still hadn’t even met me.
I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the city as our driver, Ian, expertly sped us through the city streets. The cars honking now seemed to relax me instead of unsettling me. This was my home now. I just wished I fit in a little better.
“Hey.” James grabbed my chin and tilted my face up to his. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
I bit my lip.
“Penny, we’re supposed to be celebrating.”
I felt a lump building in my throat. “They’re not going to come to our wedding, are they?”
He sighed and pressed his forehead against mine. “I think maybe that’s for the best.”
I pulled back. “How can you say that? They’re your parents. They should be there.”
“I love you. That’s all that matters.”
“I’m going dress shopping tomorrow.”
He smiled. “I know.”
“Your mom should be there.”
“You don’t want her fashion advice, trust me.” He placed a soft kiss against my neck. “How about we focus on something else?” He kissed my neck again and placed his hand on my thigh, running his fingers along the hem of my dress.
I laughed and grabbed his hand. “We’re almost back to our place.”
“Your point is?” He kissed my collarbone, making a moan escape from my lips.
“My point is that Ian will know that we’re having sex back here if we don’t come out when he parks.”
James laughed. “You’re acting like we haven’t done it before. Ian doesn’t care. Being discreet is in his job description.”
I ran my hand through James’ hair. “We’ll be back in five minutes.”
He sighed and moved his hand off my thigh. “Well, if you insist on talking, I’d like to revisit the internship idea.”
“I’m still thinking about it.”
“That’s not what you said to Melissa.” He grabbed my hand and ran his thumb along my palm.
“I know.” I looked down at his hand. “What would people think?”
“Is that really the reason? You’ve never seemed that worried about what other people think.”
I looked back up at him. He was right. That wasn’t the real reason. “I didn’t earn it, James.”
“You just graduated with honors from NYCU. You’re just as qualified as all the other interns we’ve already hired. I wanted to give you an actual job, but you shot that down right away. If you insist on proving yourself, this is the way to do it.”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to accept it. I’m not going to force you to work with me. You don’t have to work at all. You know that.”
I laughed. “Of course I have to work. I already owe you so much.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” He lowered his eyebrows slightly. “I hope you don’t really feel that way.”
“I owe you everything.”
“Penny…”
“I’m not talking about money. You know that. I’m talking about you. Where would I be without you?”
“Jobless, for one.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“Not a chance.”
“If I don’t hear back from anywhere by next week, I’ll do it.”
He smiled. “This is going to be so much fun.”
“I said if. It’s not a done deal yet.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ll be working with me.”
I laughed. “When I asked you not to interfere with my applying for jobs, I never imagined you’d be telling places not to hire me.”
“What, you think I called all the places you interviewed with and told them how awful you are?”
“I’d hope not. Maybe that’s what you did with your parents too. Is that why they don’t want to meet me? You told them about all my flaws and scared them away?”
“I love all your flaws.”
The car came to a stop.
“What do you think my flaws are?” I asked.
He smiled at me and got out of the car. I quickly climbed out of the car and grabbed his hand.
“James, what are my flaws?”
He squeezed my hand and typed in the code for the elevators. The doors immediately opened and he pulled me inside.
I stared up at him and pursed my lips.
“There’s just too many to name,” he said. “The list is endless.”
I lightly pushed his shoulder. “Just tell me the biggest then.”
“Hmm.” The elevator came to a stop and he swiped his access card against the reader. The doors opened behind us.
“You know how good I am at getting information out of you.” I trailed my hand down the front of his dress shirt, stopping at his belt.
He grabbed my hand and smiled. “Turn around, Penny.”