“Don’t be so self-centered, Whitney. Did you consider that where we’re going doesn’t have anything to do with you?”
My eyes widened. “Are you seeing someone?”
“For such a smart girl, you aren’t very observant. I’m surprised that it took you this long to figure it out.”
“Since when?”
“Not long, but things are going well. Everybody’s been telling me that I seem especially happy lately. Haven’t you thought so, too?”
The truth was, I hadn’t really noticed. But, I knew it would hurt her feelings if I didn’t at least pretend like I had.
“I guess,” I lied, “but I didn’t think to ask. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m just glad that we can go public with our relationship. We wanted our kids to know before telling anyone else.”
“How many kids does he have?”
“Three, but only the youngest will be at dinner.”
“Why are you smiling like that?” I asked, noting her strange grin. “You’re freaking me out.”
She pursed her lips, trying to suppress a laugh. “I’m sorry, but it’s so much fun to watch you get all wound up. I know you don’t love surprises, but this one is especially fun for me.”
I rolled my eyes. I just hoped that this dinner would run smoothly. If my mom was going to be serious with this guy, it would make me feel a lot better if I actually liked him.
We pulled up to the big brick house about twenty minutes after leaving my house. He lived in an incredible neighborhood with other massive houses surrounding his.
“Wow, Mom,” I said flatly. “He seems pretty impressive already.”
I tried to hide my intrigue, but he really did have a beautiful home. He clearly had plenty of money to spend. We walked up the circle drive to the entrance. I balanced two pies in my hands, trying not to slip on the ice in my heels.
When my mom rang the doorbell and Dr. Brent answered the door, my immediate reaction was to laugh. This whole thing had been a dumb joke and we were just going to spend the holiday with some of the hospital staff.
My mom and my colleague took my laughter as a sign of joy and beamed at each other. Once I realized that my first impression was completely wrong, my knees nearly buckled.
If my mom was dating our co-worker, Dr. Brent, then our other dinner guest was none other than the guy I had hooked up with just two days ago.
Sure enough, Chad peeked his head around the corner, his jaw dropping when he locked eyes with me.
We were in trouble.
Looking straight ahead, I followed my mom into the house and set the pies on the kitchen counter with a thud. I immediately realized that I was frowning, and I didn’t want to upset my mom on Christmas, so I managed to pull it into a half grimace, half smile.
“You have a lovely home, Dr. Brent,” I said politely through gritted teeth.
“You can call me Paul when we’re away from the hospital—but thank you. I’ve lived in this house for quite some time. I hope you’ll be spending more time over here from now on.”
My eyes fell to the ground. Was my mother really this serious with Paul? I’d seen both of them every day for the past few months, and I hadn’t caught on to anything. I knew they were friendly, but not this friendly.
It was weird that my mom was dating one of our coworkers, but if that were the only issue, I could get past that. The big problem was that Chad also had to be involved in this ordeal.
“Whitney, this is my son, Chad,” Paul said, gesturing over to an uncomfortable looking Chad.
“Dad, we’ve met,” he said softly. “We all work together, remember?”
“Of course.” He laughed. “And this is Chad’s friend, Ted, who is also here for some reason.”
Ted looked like he was Chad’s age, but longer and lankier. His chestnut brown hair was casually swept to the side. He looked very handsome in his sweater and dark jeans, like he was a model
in a casual wear catalogue.
“Hi,” Ted said awkwardly, clearly the most uncomfortable looking one in the bunch. I wasn’t sure what this guy knew about our situation, but I think he could sense something was off. Neither Chad nor I could look anyone in the eyes.
“Chad and I went to college together,” Ted explained since his friend was not helping him out with introductions. “My family lives in Florida and I have to work tomorrow, so there wasn’t enough time to go there. So, Chad invited me to have dinner with you all. I’m glad that it was okay with all of you.”
I gave him a smug smile. The poor guy had no idea what he was getting himself into. Well, if we all had to suffer through this meal together, it was only right that he had to as well.
“Dear?” Paul said to my mother. “Would you help me set the table?”
They walked out of the entrance, leaving the three of us there.
“Chad, will you check on the prime rib?” Paul called back toward us.
“I’ll check,” Ted said too eagerly and bolted from the room. This left just Chad and me, not looking at each other and not speaking. Finally, he broke the silence.
“This is really weird,” he muttered.
“This is a nightmare,” I whispered back. “Did you know that this was going on?”
“No. Did you?”
I shook my head. “How did we miss this?”
“I guess we had other things on our minds,” he answered.
Chad was acting completely differently from the last time I saw him. He was so smooth and confident at that party—loud, really. Now, he was quiet and subdued, as if he was upset that I was here.
He couldn’t be upset with me, though. I didn’t do anything wrong. If anything, I should be upset with him for completely stomping on any hopes that we could hang out again in the future. I knew it wasn’t supposed to be more than a drunken hookup, but it would have been kind if he’d at least asked for my phone number. That would have made me feel better.
“Supper is ready.” Paul’s voice rang through the spacious entrance. I followed Chad through his home to the dining room.