Page 14 of Winter Ends
Shawn stood. He looked around the room, catching onto the annoyed glare I was tossing in his direction. He gave me a playful smirk that I wanted to slap off his handsome face. Fuck. Not handsome.Hideous.
“Why wait? Tonight would be a good night before people pack the place for Christmas Eve. Want to head down to Margaret’s?”
Did I want to go to work on my day off? Fuck no. It was bad enough that I had to work tomorrow and now my parents were here…
“I think that sounds like a wonderful plan!”
Of course, Mom would love it. She stood and pulled Dad up with her. They hadn’t even taken their jackets off yet. I did a mental check on how warm it was in my apartment and realized I tended to keep it cooler and only prayed that it didn’t mean that my heat was going out again. There was only so much I could take of listening to Nathan and Chase in the other room and I wasn’t about to let on to my parents that something was wrong over the holidays and crash in their hotel room.
That was my next issue. Not only was I heading out to have dinner with my parents, but I was about to do it with Shawn fucking Stevens. Could today get any worse?
Chapter 8
Shawn
Isquirmed under the glare from across the table. Today wasn’t supposed to go this far. The goal had been to show up at Daniel’s apartment and convince him to come on the trip, not to go out to dinner with him and his parents, but here we were.
Stacy smiled as she poured a serving of our house Cabernet for Mrs. Morgan. “If this isn’t to your liking, we can get you something else.”
Mrs. Morgan grinned, picking up the goblet and taking a healthy swig. “Don’t be silly. This is amazing. Some of the best I’ve ever had. I’ll take a full glass. Honestly, I’ll take a bottle for the table.”
Stacy looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. It was times like this that I’d step in and offer to pay for it. Something told me that would be overstepping with the Morgan family, and I didn’t know why. I never had a problem covering anything. A foot kicked me under the table and it was obvious Daniel didn’t miss that I didn’t offer.
My lips remained sealed as Stacy set the bottle on the table after offering to fill everyone’s glasses. She walked away andMrs. Morgan pored over the menu. “What do you suggest, Shawn? The lamb sounds amazing, but so does the Chicken Piccata.”
This was my element. This was what I knew how to do, and my chest puffed with pride. “If you’re enjoying the red wine tonight, I’d suggest the lamb. It will pair well.”
Mrs. Morgan plopped her menu on the table. Her smile was light, but her son’s scowl only deepened. What the hell was that all about? Sure, I’d suggested the more expensive option, but his parents had seen the prices before we’d walked in the door. If they’d had a problem, they could have spoken up. Besides, she had already been considering it. “Lamb it is. Thank you, dear.” She picked up her glass again, taking a healthy swig and then looking at her son.
“Now tell me, Daniel, why don’t you want to go on this trip?”
Ah, so she hadn’t forgotten. Daniel slumped in his chair, and I wanted to laugh at how defeated he looked. I never expected that I’d find an ally in his mother, that the dude needed to take a freakin’ break, but here we were.
“Mom, I just...”
“Go. You only live once. Experience all the excitement while you can. I’d hate it if you missed out on anything because of what happened back home or because your father and I couldn’t help in some way.”
His dad still had his nose buried in his phone, not contributing anything to the conversation.
“Nathan, his brother Aiden is turning nineteen. That’s Chase’s boyfriend, by the way.”
Mrs. Morgan smiled. “We’re very familiar with Nathan and Chase. Thank you.”
“I wanted to take everyone up to my family cabin to celebrate the occasion. It’s near Snoqualmie Falls. It’s supposed to be beautiful this time of year...”
“So what you’re saying is that you offered to take Daniel to a place he’s never been to have some fun, and he told you no?”
I stared dumbfounded at the woman who looked at me without an ounce of amusement with a wineglass in her hand. She turned to Daniel and smacked him upside the head.
“You’re going.”
“The hell, Mom?”
I wanted to laugh. I’d never seen parents interact with their children like this. Sure, I had a pretty relaxed relationship with my parents, but mom wasn’t exactly... motherly, and Dad was more of a friend than someone I could depend on. It was always strange when he tried to play lawkeeper.
“I said, this young man offered to take you to do something fun, and I told you that you’re going.”
Daniel slouched even lower in his seat, which made him look ridiculous. His chin barely met the edge of the table, and he looked more like a pouting toddler. “I’m twenty-two years old. I think I can make my own choices.”
