Page 49 of Fairy Tale Lies
He wanted to give Greta an out in case she wasn’t interested in getting to know his family and friends. Meeting them made things more serious, and she might not be interested. She said she wanted carefree and simple.
Hell, they had less than a month before she returned to Lansing. A three-hour drive was a lot of road between them.
“I’m free on the fourth,” Greta said, cutting into Jacob’s musings. He didn’t detect any uncertainty in her reply.
“Did you hear?” he asked Will, pleasure and worry holding court in his head.
“Yes. Great! I can’t wait to finally meet your mysterious girlfriend.” Will disconnected without even a goodbye.
Jacob set his phone on the table, inwardly wincing. He was thrilled she was invested enough in him to want to spend a holiday together, along with those close to him.
He was worried meeting them would magnify their differences. He suspected barbeques in affluent Petite Bois were vastly different than those in Woodbridge Detroit.
“You okay with this? I don’t want you to feel obligated to meet my family. You wanted to keep this simple.” He pointed between them. “No pressure.”
“Meeting your family wouldn’t be an obligation. I’d love to.”
He didn’t know whether to be relieved or upset. Greta’s answer didn’t tell him where they stood. Did meeting his family and friends mean they were more or did she consider it simply a fun summer outing?
What he needed to do was to stop obsessing. In the end, it didn’t matter. When summer was over, so were they. She’d head back to school, and he’d bury himself in work and try to forget her.
“Okay.” Jacob rubbed his palms down the thighs of his slacks. “I hope they aren’t too much for you.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m sure we’ll get along great.” She spoke with way more confidence than he felt.
She motioned a hand toward the vaguely familiar woman sitting opposite. “This is Anna. Anna Kincade.”
He leaned across the table and shook Anna’s hand, trying to remember where they’d met. She was maybe fifteen years his senior, attractive with short stylish dark hair and stunning sharp facial features.
“Hi, I’m Jacob. We’ve met, haven’t we?”
“Yes. About a week back. You dropped off paperwork for Mr. Kingstine.”
“Sorry. I recognized you but couldn’t place where we met. I didn’t linger at his office. Everyone was a blur.” He chuckled.
“I’d wondered. Blake was in such a foul mood after receiving your papers. Now, I understand. Next time you plan on stopping by, could you warn me? I’ll take the day off,” Anna finished with a dramatic sigh.
“Sure thing,” Jacob promised, amused.
He turned back to Greta and peered at the brown paper bag next to her. He sincerely hoped there was a sandwich in it for him. Breakfast hadn’t happened today. He needed food.
Following his gaze, she pulled out a sandwich wrapped in butcher’s paper. Thanking her, he ripped it open and took a huge bite of his Reuben. After chewing and swallowing, he asked the question that had worried him all weekend. “Any problems because of Friday?”
Her lips folded into a thin line. “I was called into my father’s office and given a lecture regarding unprofessionalism in the workplace.”
This caught him off guard. What did a fight at a party have to do with work?
Before Jacob could ask, Anna cut in. “What happened Friday?” She rubbed her hands together and waggled her brows. “Do you have good office gossip?”
“Have you seen Kingstine’s face recently?” Jacob tried to hold back his smirk. He failed.
“No. I’m working with Mr. Meier this week…”
“Jacob and Blake had a small altercation. Not at work, on Friday,” Greta began.
A slight glint of annoyance bubbled in his chest. The most important detail was the fight didn’t take place at work. Really? Not the harassment or the underhanded way Blake attacked from behind. Sometimes her priorities baffled him.
“Anyway,” she continued, “now Blake’s furious and making trouble.”
