Unwanted Heat

“Yes.”

“Why? You’ve met my family before.”

“But not like this. This is… different. At the gala there were so many other people there or things going on to distract everyone. This feels… more personal.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Kenzie. My mother already loves you ”

“I doubt that; she barely knows me. We texted a few times and talked at your apartment for a few minutes, but that was pretty much it.”

“Trust me, my mother likes you.”

“I doubt it.”

“Kenzie,” he takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair before continuing. “Do you want to know how I know my mother likes you?” I nod. “She lets you call her Vivienne-”

“She told me-”

“I know she did. But… she’s never let… Harper call her by her name,” I can hear the disgust in his voice as he says her name. “She was always Mrs. or Dr. Parker to her. My mother never texted her, never talked to her except to be polite and pretty much hated her.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah oh. So, just trust me, my mother likes you. If you’ve won her over, you’ve won over my dad by default. Cara loves everyone and Austin… well Austin will do anything to avoid confrontation, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Is there anything I should know about for tonight?”

“I don’t think so. Just be yourself.”

“Sir, ma’am… we have arrived,” Carter alerts us. I have no idea how long we’ve been parked in the driveway but I’m thankful for these last few minutes.

“You ready?” Nicholas asks.

“Yes,” I say trying to force some confidence in my voice.

Although we were here for the gala, the house looks completely different without all the lights and press around it. Nicholas opens the door and leads me into the very large foyer where he takes my jacket and purse to hang them with his own in the closet. I can’t help but look up; the ceiling above us is so high it almost makes me dizzy. There’s a beautiful chandelier above and a curved stairway to our left.

“Nicholas! Kenzie! I thought I heard the door open,” Vivienne rushes in to greet us, first hugging Nicholas and then me. “Vivienne, it’s nice to see you again,” I say.

“I’m so glad that you could make it tonight, Kenzie! I’ve been after Nicholas to bring you by for two weeks now; I’m glad your plans changed and you are able to join us.”

“I’m glad it all worked out,” I reply, not entirely sure what Nicholas has told her so I’m trying to play along.

“Come, everyone’s in the great room,” she leads us to a large room just off the foyer where Nicholas’s dad, Austin and Cara are all talking.

“Nicholas!” Cara runs towards him and practically jumps into his arms to hug him.

“Cara!” he chuckles at her reaction.

“Kenzie! I’m so happy you could come!” She hugs me next before taking my hand, leading me to the couch where she was sitting a few minutes ago.

“Kenzie, it’s nice of you to join us for dinner tonight,” Nicholas’s dad says.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Thank you for inviting me Mr. Parker.”

“Please it’s Theodore; I’m only Mr. Parker at work.”

“Kenzie, I love your dress! Where did you get it? Oh! Better yet, can you take me there? Are you going to the dinner next weekend? If so, maybe we can go shopping together this week?” Cara fires off tons of questions at me which catches me off guard.

“Cara, give the poor girl a minute to think,” Austin warns as he smiles at me.

“Um… I think we’re going to that dinner,” I glance at Nicholas who nods in indication that we are going. “I haven’t had a chance to shop for a dress yet, so if you want, I’d love to go shopping with you for one.”

“Fantastic! I’m so excited! When can you go? Do you work every day this week?”

“How about Wednesday? I work a few hours in the morning but by early afternoon I should be free.”

“Perfect! I can’t wait!”

I try to catch Nicholas’s eye to see if I did the right thing by agreeing to go shopping with her but he doesn’t seem to notice me. I hope he doesn’t get mad that I’m spending time with Cara; she caught me completely off guard when she asked if we could go shopping for a dress for the dinner. I couldn’t figure out a way to say no without sounding rude; agreeing just seemed like the appropriate response.

“Dinner is ready,” Vivienne announces a few minute later.

Nicholas takes my hand as we stand up before leading me into the dining room which is just as beautiful as the rest of the house. The long dining room table is set beautifully, with wonderful smelling dishes set across the table. Like the perfect gentleman he is, Nicholas pulls my chair out for me then gently pushes it in before taking his seat next to me.

“You’re doing fine, stop worrying,” he whispers and puts his hand on my knee which I hadn’t realized was shaking until that moment. His hand is hot against my cool skin; I can feel my body temperature rising just from his touch. I don’t know if he notices, but he quickly removes his hand a few seconds later.

“So Kenzie, how’s the bakery?” Theodore asks.

“It’s good. It seems as if the owner has found a seller for the

bakery-”

“She did?” Nicholas asks surprised.

“Yes, Ginny just told me about it this morning.” I forgot to mention it when we spoke on the ride over here.

“Tell me it’s not one of those chain places,” Vivienne pleads.

“I don’t think so. Ginny said that she had to sign something that prevents her from telling anyone specific details about the sale until a certain date-”

“That’s fairly common, Kenzie, I don’t think it’s anything you need to worry about,” Nicholas says.

“She did say that the owners have agreed to keep on all staff who have had solid performance reviews for at least six months following the date of the announcement,” I explain.

“That’s really good news,” Nicholas says.

“I’m sure you must be relieved,” Vivienne adds.

“I am. I hope the new owners keep the feel of the bakery; Ginny has a lot of personal connections with so many of the customers who come in, so it would be a shame to lose that.”

“I hope they keep the same recipes!” Cara exclaims.

“I second that,” Austin agrees.

“I’ve signed too many business deals over their muffins for have them change their recipe now,” Nicholas chuckles. “Melody manages always know exactly what to order for my meetings.”

The food is passed around as conversation flows easily amongst everyone. I can’t help but sit back and watch what is going on around me. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a family dinner like this one. It’s not only Theodore and Vivienne asking questions about their children’s lives, but it’s Cara, Austin and Nicholas who are talking and seem to know everything that is going on with each other. It amazes me how close everyone is… not just close in the sense that they are family but that they actually care about what is happening with each other.

“Would you like some wine?” Nicholas asks.

“Yes, please.”

“White or red?”

“White, thank you.”

Nicholas puts his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently before he walks into the kitchen. I continue to just watch everyone; interestingly I don’t feel uncomfortable like I expected to. Every so often someone asks me a question, making sure like I don’t feel like an outsider. Nicholas comes back to the table a few minutes later, handing me a glass of wine before draping his arm over my shoulders when he sits down.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Vivienne watching us and smiling and for the first time since Nicholas and I started this arrangement I feel guilty for deceiving everyone. Well maybe not everyone-I don’t feel guilty for deceiving the press so they leave Nicholas alone and he can focus on his company. I think I just feel guilty about deceiving Nicholas’s family as they think we are an actual couple like everyone else does. I understand why he didn’t want to tell anyone else about our arrangement but…

“How about we move into the great room? Dessert will be ready in a few minutes; I’ll bring it in for everyone in there,” Vivienne suggests.

“Would you like another glass of wine?” Nicholas asks.

“No, thank you,” I quickly answer.

“Anyone else need another drink while I’m in the kitchen?” Nicholas asks everyone.

“I’ll help you,” Austin jumps up.

“I’d like another glass of wine,” Cara requests.

“I’ll have another beer,” Theodore adds.

“You sure you don’t need anything, Kenzie?” Austin asks.

“I’m good, thanks,” I answer.