“Since it’s apparently tradition to ask the women who come to Sunday dinner personal questions on night one, we were wondering if you’d like to have a family some day?” Darla looks at me kindly, but my heart starts to pound, and the weight on my sternum shifts to a fluttering in my stomach.
My gut instinct is to tell the truth. Of course I do. But not right now. I’ve got my own parents to take care of first. Honestly, I haven’t even thought about dating for that reason. I need to establish myself in my career, ensure my mom and dad are in a good place, and then I can think about my personal life.
But that seems like a whole lot more information than I want to share in front of the camera, which still has a green light signaling recording in progress.
I clear my throat, but Holland steps in. “You donotneed to answer that, Mallory. Mom”—he arches his brows—“try not to scare my date away, will ya?”
She swats his arm, and there’s a lull in the conversation. Everyone is sort of looking at each other and at the ground, and I feel like I need to saysomething. I don’t want Darla to think I’m offended or for her to be self-conscious, especially since I don’t actually mind the question. Family is important to me. It’s the most important.
I catch Darla’s eye and offer her a smile. “For the record, Mrs. Bradley, yes, I’d love a family someday. I love family get-togethers like this. We have a smaller crew, with my parents, my aunt, and me, but we’re close. I want to have that with a family of my own down the road.”
As far as answers go, it’s pretty vanilla, but it is honest. I leave out the fact that I, in no way, have considered having that family with her son.
Cece shoots me a thumbs up from off camera, and Vivian is nodding, like she’s pleased with my response. The conversation shifts, and shortly thereafter, the cameras stop rolling, and Vivian tells everyone that the date is officially over.
She pulls the two of us aside. “Usually, we film a goodbye scene, but I’m guessing the two of you aren’t planning on a goodnight kiss?”
She sounds hopeful, like she’s wishing for us to tell her she’s wrong and start making out right here, but Holland snorts nervously, and I scrunch up my nose in disgust.
“Yeah, no.” I shake my head. “Sorry.”
“No matter.” She shrugs. “We got plenty of content here tonight. The tension between you two is fire.”
I cock my head to the side, because what is she even talking about?
Before I can ask, she goes on, “Mallory, we’ll drop you off at Daisy’s if you want to grab your things.”
“Actually, I need to run some work stuff by her,” Holland cuts in. “Mack and Poppy said they would drive her back to the inn once we were done. It’s on their way home—if that’s okay with you,” he adds to me.
“Sure.”
Vivian frowns. “Alright, then. We’ll take the Corvette back since you have your own car here, correct?”
Holland nods.
“Good. See you both soon.” Vivian leaves us there, and I face Holland.
“What did you want to talk to me about?”
“What? Oh. Nothing. Just thought you’d appreciate some off-camera time. Poppy would skin me alive if I didn’t come up with a way to get you to stick around without the production crew.”
“She’s a force, isn’t she?”
“One hundred percent.” Holland smiles, but there’s some wistfulness to it.
“Mallory!” Darla calls me over before I can figure out how to pry Holland about his feelings for Poppy. “Come inside for a minute.”
“Best not to keep her waiting.” Holland holds up a finger in his mom’s direction, signaling that she give us a minute. He turns to me. “Unless you’re trying to avoid more personal questions, in which case I can sneak you out of here.”
“She’s fine.” I chuckle. “I like her. Your family is great. Makes me miss home.”
“Is everything okay with your parents?” Holland asks quietly as we walk back to the group.
I cut him a look, my pulse skittering. “Why do you ask?”
He holds up his hands, walking sideways and facing me. “You said that being away from them was going to be an issue, right? I figured something was up.”
I blow out a breath. This is what I need to avoid. I don’t want Holland messed up in my personal life. If he is, then my ability to demand his respect as his coach is called into question. But I appreciate the way he’s looking at me right now. There’s a genuineness to his expression, and I can tell he actually cares about my answer to his question.
