Finding My Own

47. Moving On

"Darling, I'm only trying to look out for you."

"If you had bothered to read the invitation I sent you, you would have seen that the restaurant is going all out for Valentine's day. There are going to be a lot of celebrities in town, so I thought I'd try to fit in with them. Everyone on our reservation is doing the same."

She had no room to talk. She was just as overdressed as I supposedly was.

"Where's Maison?" she asked.

"Why would Maison be here?" I hurried down the stairs to grab my shoes.

"Aren't you two dating? I saw it on your Instagram."

"What? Mama, Maison and I aren't dating. We never were."

"Why take provocative photos with a man you aren't dating?"

I really wanted to hit her. I wanted to tell her not to believe everything she saw on the Internet. It was something she and Daddy always failed to say.

"Holding hands with someone isn't provocative. It also doesn't mean we're dating." I sighed.

"You were half naked." She crossed her arms.

"It was a silk dress."

"You might as well have been naked."

Ugh, I could not deal with her right now. Elijah was nearly here. If he saw my mother and I were arguing, he was definitely going to step in. I didn't want that to be the first thing he did. Especially when it would be the first time he'd be meeting my parents the right way.

"Mama, my date is almost here. Why don't you go wait in your car with Daddy and give me some space?" I suggested, zipping up my heels. "I'd appreciate a little alone time to think."

"But--" she protested.

"I have to lock up!"

She pursed her lips before turning on her pretty little heels and stomping out of the house. I guess it could have gone worse. If Ana were here, she'd definitely make me feel like the bad guy. To her, our parents can never do any wrong. But I knew better. They weren't perfect. Far from it.

I took one more deep breath and smoothed out my dress before I set the alarm and locked the front door. Elijah was just pulling into the driveway as I turned around, shoving my keys into the pockets of my dress.

"I see you're all ready to go," he said. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you." I smiled. "My parents are here, so...prepare for that."

"I have to meet them tonight?"

"One way or another. It was bound to happen."

Elijah opened the door for me and helped me into his truck. It had become familiar to me since the breakup. He was due to go back home after it all happened, but he'd called into work and asked for a longer break. He claimed it was a family emergency. I didn't know how to react when he told me that. I didn't think he thought of me as family already.

But he had stuck around, and I had been so grateful for it. He'd done everything I had asked of him. I think that's what made this situation so difficult. He was my friend, and I didn't want to ruin that. But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel like I had always wanted more.

"Well, let's get this show on the road." He backed out of the driveway before pulling onto the street. "So, I've been wondering...how'd you keep from me that your parents were coming?"

"Them actually coming was in the back of my mind. I was expecting them to cancel last minute, so I didn't say anything." I looked out the window, watching the houses fly by. "Just something I've gotten used to."