Page 68 of Falling for the Boss's Son

Cassie took her time in the shower and got dressed. She knew she was dragging her feet, but she couldn’t bring herself to rush.

The condo was quiet when she made her way into the main living area. She could smell food, but Jesse wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room.

Her stomach rumbled, pulling her attention back to the food. At least, that’s what she told herself. The truth was, Cassie wasn’t looking forward to the conversation ahead. She was beginning to realize Jesse and her dad had something in common. When they decided it was time to discuss something, it was impossible to deter them. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t try to delay it as long as possible.

She followed the smell of food to the oven. It was turned off, but she could feel heat radiating off it. She opened the door to peek inside.

“Sneaking around?”

Cassie jumped as if she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Clutching her chest, she turned to face Jesse. “You scared me.”

“I noticed.” He strolled over to the counter, picked up two oven mitts, and opened the oven door Cassie had let slam closed when he’d startled her.

The casserole dish he removed bubbled with cheese and had her mouth watering. “Take a seat at the table. I’ll get this dished up and bring it over.”

She waited while he carried the food to the table, then placed a large scoop onto her plate. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, then served himself.

He let her get a few bites in before getting directly to the point. “Why is it you don’t want me to meet your family? Or do you not want your family to meet me?”

“Neither?”

His only response was to raise a questioning eyebrow.

Cassie blew out a breath. “It’s not that I don’t want you to meet them. I mean, I’m nervous about it, but I know if we stay together, then you’ll have to meet them eventually.”

He waited for her to go on.

“My brother, Bradley, is a royal pain in the ass. He’s stubborn like my dad, but unlike my dad, he always seems to think the worst of people. I think being a lawyer has jaded him.”

There was no response from Jesse.

“Then here’s my mom. As soon as she meets you, she’s going to be planning our wedding. She’s a romantic and gets caught up in the idea of love. I introduced her to Trent, and a month later, he was proposing.”

“You believe he proposed because of your mom?” Jesse asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. She was all over him, talking about the perfect wedding venues and how she wanted to meet his parents. Get to know her daughter’s future in-laws.”

Her revelation was met with silence. He chewed his food and swallowed, then took another bite.

Several minutes passed before he spoke. “Anything else?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

To her surprise, he chuckled. “Cass, neither your mother nor your brother is going to push me into something I’m not ready to do. Nor are they going to scare me away. If that’s what you’re worried about, then you don’t need to be. I have no issue with your mother discussing wedding venues or even wanting to meet my parents.”

Cassie opened her mouth, then closed it again. What did he mean by that?

She tried not to read too much into it, but her mind began to wonder. They’d both said they wanted this relationship to be more than a casual fling. He’d been very clear about that. But they’d only known each other for a couple of weeks. She wasn’t even sure if she could be the submissive he wanted her to be.

“I can see your mind working overtime. You’re worried about something. Tell me what it is.”

She met his gaze across the table and tried to put how she was feeling, her uncertainty, into words. “I’m not sure how to do this.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Eat breakfast together?”

That made her laugh. “No.”

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