Page 24 of Pretend to be Mine
I offer a tight smile and nod. “I know.”
We arrive at the hotel the party is being held at and make our way to the ballroom. The lavish room is already filled with dozens of people dressed in their best formal wear. A waiter stops beside us, and Ben grabs us each a glass of champagne.
“Thank you,” I say as he hands it over. I take a sip and the bubbles tickle my nose, but I ignore it as I look around for my mom and dad. I know she’ll be glued to his hip tonight, wanting to make sure he enjoys the party and doesn’t talk shop. Sure enough, I spot the two of them, making the rounds.
“So, where are your parents?” Ben leans in and whispers.
I point them out.
“Should we go say hello?”
I shake my head. “We’ll just hang here and let them find us.”
“Should we have a seat then?”
Again, I shake my head. “No, seating is assigned, so wherever we sit, it will probably be wrong, and she’ll move us anyway.”
He laughs and rolls his eyes.
We stand off to the side, sipping our drinks, and I watch my mother and father makes their way around the room. I know Mom’s plan when it comes to functions like these. She allows two minutes to greet each group. I mentally count down until she pushes Dad onto the next group. Within eight minutes, they’re approaching us.
Mom looks at me with a smile as she leans in for a hug. “I’m so glad you finally made it.”
“Finally? We aren’t late,” I point out, not wanting to lose any points.
“I just mean, it feels like forever since you’ve been home. Who is this? Where’s James?” Mom asks, eyes moving from Ben, to me, and then Dad.
“Mom, Dad, this is Ben,” I introduce.
Ben swoops in. “It’s nice to finally meet the two of you. Savannah speaks so highly of you that I feel like we’ve met already. But she didn’t mention how beautiful you are, Mrs. Kelly.” He presses a kiss to the back of her hand before standing up to address my father. “And Mr. Kelly, it’s good to meet you, sir. I’m Dr. Benjamin Reed, Ben for short.”
“Doctor?” my father repeats looking at me.
I smile sweetly and nod.
“Well, it’s good to meet you, too, but please forgive my confusion, we’ve never heard of you. Where did you come from?”
Ben laughs, gives me a look, and focuses on my mother. “Our Savannah is always just so busy, she forgets to keep everyone updated on major life changes,” he says, voice full of amusement. “I’m sorry for just showing up here like this, but Savannah and I have been dating for a few months now. I’m originally from Texas and I moved to Georgia when I was offered a promotion at the local hospital.”
“Oh, and how long have you been in medicine?” Mom asks, and I know she’s smitten.
“I come from a long line of doctors, as far back as my great-great-grandfather.”
“Where did you go to school?” Dad asks.
I can’t believe I didn’t think to ask that.
“I went to the University of Texas and then went to medical school at Yale.”
Dad presses his lips together. “Yale is a good school, not as good as Harvard but—”
“Daddy!” I chastise.
“No, he’s right,” Ben says. “I applied but was waitlisted. Yale came through and, well, I didn’t want to wait.” He shrugs.
Dad nods and Mom starts her pushing to move on.
“Well, we’re all sitting up at the front table. We’ll talk over dinner, yes?” Dad asks.
“Absolutely,” Ben agrees.
Mom leans in toward me. “Ignore James’ name on the place setting. You have some explaining to do, but I like this,” she says around a wide smile.
They head off to the next group of people to welcome and I feel like I can finally breathe.
