The Billionaire's Playmate ✔

15 | BEARD

Jenna puts her arm around Rosalie's shoulders. "Sometimes, you just need to take it in stride, babe. What's for dinner, Marco?"

Marco shrugs again. "No idea. She didn't tell me that."

I shake my head at him and then, look around at everyone else. "Well, someone has to give me a ride because my car is being serviced."

And that's how we all ended up sitting around the dining table at Marco's parents' house, recollecting the things that we remember from our childhood.

Marco's Mom, Diane, was so overjoyed to see us that you would have thought that we were her best friends.

She spent the entirety of dinner telling us how glad she was that we were here and how much she had wanted to meet 'Marco's little friends'. The man in question doesn't look even the least bit embarrassed about his Mom fawning over his friends and trying to tell them stories of him when he was young.

Diane turns to Rosalie and Aiden. "Marco tells me that you two have kids."

Rosalie nods. "We have two."

"How long have you two been married?" she asks, sweetly. There is nothing pretentious or belittling about the way she speaks. She seems genuinely interested to know about us all.

Aiden puts his hand on Rosalie's chair and smiles at her. "We've been married for about four years now."

Marco's mother's smile widens. "That's so sweet. Isn't that sweet, Mickey?"

I disguise my snort at his nickname as a sneeze, but Marco shoots me a look before answering his mother.

"Very sweet, Mom."

Diane shakes her head. "This boy keeps telling me that he's a confirmed bachelor."

"Well, he has been for quite a while," Jenna says, "At least according to his friends."

Marco gives Jenna a mock-disappointed shake of his head.

Elliot kicks Jenna under the table.

I look at Elliot.

Elliot is looking at Marco.

Marco is looking back at Elliot.

"I guess we can come to the conclusion that Marco just might be gay," Scarlett jokes, raising her glass at him, probably in an attempt to relieve whatever the reason was that caused Elliot to kick Jenna, "Mazel tov."

"Son," Marco's Dad says, taking our attention, "If you are gay and you're not ready to come out of the closet, that's fine, but your mother and I support you in everything you do. But if you think that that will get you off the hook of getting married at some point, you don't know your mother at all."

This earns a few laughs and smiles around the table.

"If you are gay," Jenna pipes up, "Let us know. The Tiffany's would be so heartbroken and I really want to be the one to tell them."

Marco picks up his glass. "You can tell them that, anyway," he tells her, "Have some fun on my behalf. I wouldn't date any of them, anyway."

Diane smacks Marco on the arm. "Marco, be nice," she says in a warning tone that only mothers can muster, "What if you end up liking one of them?"

Marco sips his water. "Oh, I doubt it." Then, he locks eyes with me. "I'm perfectly happy with myself at the moment."

Oh, that's my new name, is it, Marco?

Diane shakes her head and moves the conversation along.

She includes everyone in it, even reserved and quiet Ace.