Page 51 of House of Desire

“Are you going to propose to my daughter?”

“Dad!”

Anya’s father might only come up to my collarbone, but in this moment, he makes me feel like I’m eighteen again.

“I can’t tell anyone who I’m picking, I’m sorry.”

“Dad, let the guy go,” Dominic says, nudging him. Her father gives me one more glare before letting me go and moving off to a recliner.

“Hey, man, I’m Dominic.” His grip is strong but not in a trying to be intimidating kind of way. “I loved House of Deceit. You and Charlie were my favorites.”

“Hey, good to meet you. And thanks for saying that. I might be biased, but Charlie was the best one on that show.”

“Who’s Charlie?” Gwen asks, coming back into the room, the flowers in a vase she sets on the mantel.

“Parker’s ex-girlfriend,” Dominic says.

“Parker’s best friend,” Anya tells her at the same time.

“You’re friends with your ex-girlfriend? Anastasia, did you know this?” Gwen asks looking between us and I feel my heart sink.

The last thing I want them to think is I’m not serious about their daughter.

“It was a fake relationship, Dominic,” Anya says, with a glare before turning to her mom. “He and Charlie are just friends.”

Her knowledge of the situation makes me nervous. We hadn’t really talked about my friendship with Charlie, and I’m not so delusional to think some women won’t feel threatened by my closeness to her.

“Anya is right, Gwen. Charlie is just a friend.” I look down at Anya. “Did you watch the show?” I ask her, nervous.

For some reason, all I want for her to say is no. That she has no preconceived notions of me. That she isn’t judging me for the edits Frank, my wrangler and the decider of what clips were aired, had put in the show.

“No, but Lorelei told me you were going to be the lead of this show. Once I was accepted, she told me about Charlie just because she knows whomever you choose will be compared to her and wanted me to be prepared. Other than that, and telling me you’re a good guy, she didn’t tell me anything about you as a person,” she reassures me, squeezing my arm.

“If you want to talk about it, just let me know.”

She leans forward and kisses my bicep and my heart flutters. “I’m good.”

Dinner is fantastic. Gwen pulled out all the stops, making various family recipes. Anya and Dom tease her about the effort she put into the meal for the cameras. Blushing, she swatted both of them with her towel as Carl set the various dishes on the table.

As the meal came to an end, I felt the air shift.

“So, Parker, tell us something about you. I feel like we’ve been talking all night,” Gwen says, putting her knife and fork down in exchange for her glass of wine.

Wiping my mouth, I prepare for the grilling Anya warned me about and that I have already received at Leslie and Zoey’s houses. Luckily, I’m much more prepared now than I was in the beginning.

“What would you like to know?” I ask.

“What do you do for a living?” Carl asks.

“I own a construction company. We specialize in custom homes. We are a one stop shop for people, so when they come to us, they know the entire process will be handled with the amount of care you want in your forever home.”

“That must pay very well,” Gwen says and I smile at her.

I don’t have any notions my ability to afford a nice lifestyle for myself and a future partner isn’t a consideration in a parent’s mind.

“I’m very comfortable. It does require a lot of long hours, though.”

“Anya’s bakery requires long hours, too. She works very hard for her business.”

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