Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
The sleek pastel pantsuit Asher’s mom wore didn’t even look wrinkled, and she didn’t have a hair out of place. Suddenly, my hunter green fifties dress felt like the absolute wrong choice for this meeting. I’d grappled with the choice all night, torn between this one—which was the more modest of the choices—or a pair of plain black slacks and a silk blouse. But when it came down to it, I didn’t feel like myself in the slacks, so I’d opted for the dress.
“It was crowded,” Asher’s dad said, but smiled at his son.
Asher turned to me. “This is Daisy,” he said, then glanced back to his parents. “Daisy, these are my parents, Stewart and Carla.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand for a shake. It felt awkward as hell shaking their hands and not embracing them with a hug, but I managed to keep the smile on my face.
A squeal sounded behind me, and I clenched my eyes shut for a second. My mom would bombard us in three, two…
“You must be Asher’s parents!” Mom came barreling down the hallway and out the front door, throwing her arms around his dad first. “You’re Stewart,” she said, releasing him. “And you must be Carla! Asher is the sweetest man. He’s told me all about you two!” She wrapped Carla in a hug that I swore made her eyes pop from her head. I grabbed my mom’s arm, tugging her back to me.
“This is my mom,” I said by way of explanation, but there was no wiping the looks of shock and…something else off of Asher’s parents’ faces.
“Hi, Daisy!” Harper called from behind her parents, Nathan Noble following behind her in the best timing ever.
“Harper,” I said, sighing slightly at the familiar, friendly face. “Come here,” I said, motioning inside. “I want you to meet my mother.” I dragged them both inside, my chest loosening a little with each step I got away from his parents.
I was never one to judge a book by its cover, but it was sort of hard not to when the cover was staring at you like you were aliens from another planet.
After a couple hours where Asher’s parents were scarcely seen—exploring his estate, Asher had said—we finally all sat down to dinner.
“James, you’ve outdone yourself!” my mother called after we’d all filled our plates and taken a few bites.
Asher smiled at my mother’s outburst, but Carla? She was not amused. “James already left for the day,” Asher whispered to my mother, who sat on his other side, his parents seated across from us, and Nathan and Harper at the end on the other side of me.
“Oh,” my mom said, shrugging as she took another huge bite. “Still, amazing.”
I nodded my agreement, focusing on my food like a lifeline. I couldn’t shake the weight of Asher’s parents’ quizzical looks my way or the way they ate like it was a ballet dance instead of digging in like we were.
“So, Daisy,” Asher’s mother said after a few minutes. “Remind me again what it is you do.”
She knew what I did. Asher had told her a few times.
“I do a lot of things,” I said, opting for a joke. Including your son. I tried not to laugh at my own internal monologue, which was super easy once I realized no one at the table was laughing except for a light chuckle from my mom. I glanced around, noting Asher’s mother wasn’t getting the humor.
“Daisy is an awesome author.” Harper hurried to fill the silence, and I flashed her a grin.
“Oh, that’s right,” Asher’s mother said, moving things around on her plate with her fork. “What kind of books have you published? Educational? Non-fiction? My daughter Anne has several accredited textbooks out right now.”
Asher smoothed his hand over my thigh under the table.
“Fiction,” I said. “I’m a romance novelist.”
Stewart’s brows raised before he focused on his plate again.
“Oh, yes,” Carla said, pausing with a bite on the way to her mouth. “Asher mentioned that. And you do this as a hobby?”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I’d heard that kind of question a million times before, but coming from my current boyfriend’s mom, I opted for taking a breath before responding. “No, it’s my career,” I said, and his mother laughed, then quickly stopped when she realized I wasn’t joking.
“I’ve binge-read like nine of her books,” Harper said, doing her best to break the mounting tension. “They’re amazing.”
I flashed her a warm smile and a silent thank you.
“I’m sure they’re very entertaining,” Carla said.
“Daisy has always been writing stories,” my mom chimed in. “Even before she could write.” She looked at me with shining eyes. “I’m so proud of the author she’s become.”
I gave her a silent thank you, too.
“How’s the formula going, Dad?” Asher asked, but before his father could answer, Carla cut over him.