Page 77 of Wildly Inappropriate

“Oh. Sure,” she says with a forced smile, and I feel guilty for putting this off. Now it seems like I’m ashamed of her, which is as far from the truth as possible. I just don’t want to have to deal with my parents’ reactions to the fact I’m dating.

Knowing I can’t put it off any longer without risking Lila finding out, I make my way to the bar in the far corner of the room where my parents are ordering drinks.

“Hi, Mom. Dad,” I say, giving my mother a quick peck on her cheek before shaking my father’s hand.

“JT. How are you?” my mother asks.

“Your hips are moving through your swing slightly too early,” my dad says in greeting.

“Okay,” I say in answer to both the question and the critique. “Though, before we start making the rounds, I was hoping to tell you both something.” I look around, trying to find a private area to have the conversation. “Can we step out into the hall for a minute?”

I don’t miss the skeptical look my parents share before nodding in agreement and following me through the heavy doors into the corridor outside the event space.

“What’s going on, JT?” my dad asks.

“I need to tell you both something. Something I’m really excited about.”

“Oh, honey, did you finally put together enough money to get us the cash we’ve been asking for?” my mother cuts in.

“No.” I shake my head. “It’s not about my finances.”

My mother’s face drops at the news, and for some unknown reason, tears start to form in her eyes.

“I’m dating Lila Walker.”

“You’re what?” my dad asks.

“Dating Jameo’s sister, Lila. We both ended up in Wild Bluffs this summer, and yeah. We’re dating now. I’m really happy about it.”

“You know this is the worst possible time for you to be distracting yourself, don’t you?” my dad asks, just as I expected.

“Dad,” I say.

“How can you be so selfish, JT?” my mom asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You know we need you to be focused on your game. We need you to bring in additional money.”

“I know you have a great investment set up, but worst-case scenario, if I don’t win this tournament, we’ll just press pause on it. I’m sure you can find another opportunity later this year that will be just as beneficial. It’s not a big deal.”

My mom’s eyes are wide, the white scar under her eye standing out prominently against the flush of her cheeks. She looks like she just finished a race against an axe murderer.

“Not a big deal?” she asks.

“Yeah, I’ll be back to my usual earnings soon.”

“Soon won’t work,” she croaks, a noise that is so unlike her normal elegance, I can’t help but stare at her in shock.

“Why?” I ask.

“Why?” Her voice is now an octave above where it falls. “Why?!”

My dad is shaking his head at my mom, trying to tell her something, but she’s not listening.

“Because weneedthe money now. Because we must start paying our construction crews, and the bank won’t loan us any more money. Becauseyour fatheris terrible at making investments. Because we lost everything on a dealyour fatherthought was a sure thing.”

What? They’re broke? How could they possibly lose all their money?I pay them a healthy management fee, and I fund most of their extravagant lifestyle out of my portfolio. Shit. Am I broke too?

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