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I didn’t get the chance to place a call to inform Allison that we’d arrived because she came bouncing out of the hotel with a big smile on her face. She was dressed in a chic pink gown and black heels. Her hair cascaded down her back.
“Big baby,” she said as soon as she got into the car, accepting the hug I offered her.
“How are you?”
“I’m good. After all these years, I am just not mentally prepared to meet Mom and Dad.”
I nodded in understanding. Our parents could be very hard to deal with, but they were wonderful guardians.
“I’m sure they’ve missed you too much to go overboard,” I said, and was pleased when it startled a laugh out of her. Allison rested her head on my shoulder and didn’t say much after that.
Liam pulled into the house not a while longer, and I let him know he could go ahead and rest. Our parents were standing in front of the house with Aurora’s parents, a very grand welcome.
“Here we go,” Allison said as we made our way to them.
“Allison, baby,” our Mom said, and hugged Allison.
“Christian,” my dad said as we shook hands and hugged briefly. Allison and I switched places. I hugged Mom as Allison greeted Dad with a hug, too. Then, we turned our attention to Aurora’s parents.
I didn’t say hello to Aurora, unwilling to give her the idea that I’d forgiven her for pulling this stunt. I felt like an outsider in my parent’s house. She stared at me, but I didn’t give her the time of the day as we followed after our parents.
The dining table was already set, and I sat with Allison on my right and Aurora on my left. We made small talk, skating around the reason we were all there.
“How is work these days?” Quinn asked with a smile on her face.
“Oh, it’s really nice.”
“Susan?”
“She’s coming along really nicely. We’ve noticed some really good developments, and luckily, we’ve found a hospital willing to let us test the program. The Germans are really interested in being our choice.”
“That’s really incredible,” Allison said and patted my thigh. “You worked really hard on this.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Aurora’s father decided that was enough chit chat.
“What are your intentions toward our daughter? Do you still love her?”
The spit I swallowed went down the wrong pipe, and I coughed violently, aware that someone was patting my back lightly. Love is a strong word.
“Christian is very shy,” Allison said quickly, “He doesn’t like to talk about things like this.”
She was always quick to save me from trouble, even if it was with Mom.
“Excuse me for a minute,” I said, and made my way from the table and to the balcony to collect my thoughts. It won’t help me to say something rude now.
Allison found me a few minutes later.
I ran my hands through my hair. “I cannot do this! I cannot pretend to be something I am not. I do not want to be with Aurora and never want to see her again.”
“Then tell everyone!” Allison said.
I nodded once, and then again. What was I so scared of? I allowed Allison to lead me back to the table, where I took my seat. I ran the outcome of my words through my head several times more.
“Christian, you need to answer the question my father asked,” Aurora said to me, and I couldn’t tell if she was smiling or smirking. Either way, I wanted to wipe the look off her face.
I wondered if I was the only one who was in our relationship. How could she not see that we were not fit for each other? But then again, Aurora only ever cared about how she felt, and nothing else.
Allison looked at me and offered me a smile. It was up to me now to make my stance; Aurora thought she could pull this dinner on me and force me to admit something I wasn’t feeling.
