Why not? It was the least she could do for him for being a gentleman. Hell, she would get a free ride out of it, and if she didn’t like it, she would figure out a way to get out of it. It was a win-win.
Since Elle had decided to give in and let him take her, she had another idea to go ahead and get something else over with that was going to be painful.
“Nero, do you want to meet my parents?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
You Wouldn’t Let Me Have My Way With You
Elle squeezed Nero’s hand as she walked up her driveway. Should I be doing this? Is this really a good idea?
Elle figured today was going to be as good of a day as any. If she did as her father asked—Nero coming over for dinner—it could possibly be much worse. Dinners were long and stressful; however, with her having to go to work tonight, this was going to be a Band-Aid and she was going to rip it right off. She figured Nero was going to have to turn back around to pick her up anyway.
Elle put her hand on the door. My parents are going to be pissed I didn’t warn them.
She thought it was going to be really funny if this whole thing backfired and Nero walked in on something—the something being anything. Like what if Dad took his meds again? Or Josh wrecked the house?
Elle held onto the door handle, thinking about if she should get Nero to turn his ass back around. Fuck it! Elle turned the door handle.
When Elle came into the house, she saw her whole family looking out the front window.
“Mom, Dad?”
“Hey, Nero!” Josh came from the curtain and ran toward her and Nero.
Nero held out his fist. “What’s up, little man? How was the bus ride today?”
Josh bumped his fist. “Great, thanks for taking me to the bus stop today.”
Nero smiled. “Anytime.”
Elle smiled to herself as she watched Josh run off into his bedroom. When she could no longer see her little brother, Elle turned to her parents.
Well, here goes nothing. “Mom, Dad, this is my friend, Nero.”
Elle’s mom came over and hugged him. “Elle has never brought a friend home besides Chloe, and such a handsome one at that.”
Elle was slightly embarrassed by her mother, but she had to agree; Nero looked sexy as hell.
From where she had bitten him, he had a nasty hickey on his neck—thankfully, Nero had found a tie in his car. He had buttoned his shirt all the way up and put on the black tie, covering his hickey as long as he didn’t turn his neck too far to the side. She hated covering up such a beautiful masterpiece, but looking at Nero all dressed up made him look even more scary, yet sexy at the same time.
Nero kissed her mother’s cheek. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Buchanan.”
Elle’s mom noticed her head, moving toward her to examine it. “Oh, sweetie, did you walk into a wall again?”
Elle quickly laughed. “Yeah.”
Nero looked at her for a moment then walked over to her father sitting in his wheelchair and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, too, sir.”
Elle thought time stood still while waiting for her father to shake his hand. “Nero…?”
“Caruso.”
“Good to meet you, too, Nero. Sit down,” her father said, turning his wheelchair toward the couch.
Nero took a seat on the couch and Elle sat down beside him. Her mother sat in the armchair facing the couch, as well.
Elle could tell her mom was dying to talk to Nero. She had always asked Elle to bring over some friends and wondered how she was doing in school. Elle thought she probably should have warned Nero by the look on her mother’s face.
“So, Nero, you go to Legacy Prep with Elle?” her mother asked.
“Yeah, I’m a senior there, as well.”
Elle’s mom smiled wider. “So, tell me, is Elle the most popular girl in school? She tells me about—”
Elle started laughing. “Now, Mom.”
“Elle, let your mom finish.” Nero started smiling and wrapped his arm behind Elle on the couch. “Elle tells you what again?”
I have made a huge mistake.
Elle’s mother’s smile returned. “She tells me about all her wonderful friends and how much she loves Legacy Prep. After her father’s accident, we weren’t sure if she was going to be able to stay, but Elle begged us to keep letting her go there. She said she just loves it there so much.”
Elle glanced down at the floor. Oh, God, this is worse than I could have imagined.
“Yeah, well, she is the most popular girl in school. Everyone just loves her. I had a hard time getting her to talk to me.”
Her mother started laughing.
Elle managed to laugh with her mom while she looked over at Nero. He was enjoying this too much.
“So, are you going to stay for dinner, Nero?” Elle’s mother asked.
“No, I work tonight, Mom. Nero is going to give me a ride.”
“Oh, okay, sweetie. Yes, my Elle of course gets straight As. That pays for some of her tuition. She works at Magical Cupcakes to pay the rest.” Her mother was beaming.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
Nero’s face jerked up. “Where?”
“You know, Magical Cupcakes. It opened a few years ago in the suburbs. That’s where Elle works, of course.”
Elle looked over at Nero, silently pleading. “Yeah, Nero, I told you that’s where I work. Remember?”
Nero stared back at her for a few seconds then he turned back to her mother. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot.”
“Honey, why don’t you and Elle go make some snacks. I’m sure they are hungry after school.” Elle’s dad hadn’t pulled his eyes away from Nero.
“Right. Come on, sweetie. Let the boys talk.” Her mom stood up, smiling from ear to ear, and started walking to the kitchen.
Elle looked over at Nero, hoping he understood not to talk too much. Oh, and good luck.
Elle stood and followed behind her mother. She was thankful Nero hadn’t been fazed by the obvious lies she had been telling her parents over the years.