For fuck’s sake.
She already shared that she’d met most of my family during her time here. They didn’t need to act like strangers. All they were told was to not make it obvious that she came to Sunday dinner every week.
“Yes, you can call me Eloise. Nice to see you all.” She cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable with how over-the-top my father had been. Sebastian made his way around the group, shaking hands and shmoozing, and I wanted to hate the dude, but it was only because I knew he wanted my woman.
My woman.
I’d never had a thought like that in my life.
“I’ve got the best whiskey in Rosewood River for everyone to sample,” Easton said, giving me a look like I had nothing to worry about. By the way he was pouring the whiskey, it was clear that he planned to get everyone drunk so they wouldn’t remember any of this anyway.
Easton, Henley, Rafe, and Lulu passed out glasses of expensive bourbon, and I stuck to water because I sure as hell wasn’t going to get shitfaced in front of my coach, trainer, and owner of the team. I noticed Eloise had also passed on the whiskey and opted for a glass of wine.
“Come on,” Sebastian said, nudging her with his shoulder before tipping his head back. “You can have a few whiskeys with me, can’t you?”
Motherfucker.
He was going to pull this shit in my parents’ home?
He wore a navy polo shirt and green plaid pants, which pissed me the hell off. The preppy fucker reeked of money and education. He probably played golf and chess and met his old fraternity brothers in the Hamptons once a year for vacation.
“Sebastian, I’ve got to tell you, those plaid pants are a whole vibe. I think I’m definitely going to get a pair,” Rafe, the kiss-ass bastard said.
“You’ve got a good eye. According to my mother, they are all the rage on the East Coast,” the cocky bastard said, as he winked at Eloise because the fucker was sticking to her like glue. “I’m a bit of a mama’s boy.”
Easton came around with the bottle to refill their glasses. Sebastian tipped his head back a second time, along with every member of my family, and chuckled. “This is my kind of Sunday dinner.”
“Ours, too, Sebastian. Meeting you for the first time, and of course, meeting Coach Gable’s daughter—what was your nameagain, Elander?” my father asked, and I closed my eyes and internally groaned at how awkward he was making this.
Bridger shot me a look like I shouldn’t worry because he was stepping in. “It’s Eloise, Dad. Word on the street is that you live in the rental property owned by the anonymous author of theTaylor Tea?”
And that helped the situation how?
“Oh, Emilia, your landlord, is an author and a florist?” Coach Gable asked.
“No. She’s not an author. She’s a florist. And yes, I live in her guesthouse,” Eloise said, arching a brow at my brother.
“Interesting. I guess we’ll see if this visit gets mentioned next Saturday. I’m sure she knows about your comings and goings, which will make writing about our family very easy.”
For fuck’s sake.
“It’s time for dinner,” my mother said, wincing at me as if she wanted to make this better.
“Great,” Easton called out. “Get your glasses filled on the way to the table.”
“This is like a college party tonight,” Archer said against my ear, keeping his voice low. “I’m glad I walked here.”
I groaned and made my way over to Easton after everyone found their seats at the table. “You don’t need to get them so wasted that they won’t be able to walk back to the hotel.”
“Hey, I’m your best shot at coming out of this in one piece. The old man is pouring it on far too thick, and Bridger has a one-track mind. You can thank me later.” Easton tipped his head back and downed his drink.
I’d never been so grateful that Melody was not here.
Aunt Isabelle and Uncle Carlisle had taken her to see Isabelle’s sister for the weekend.
We sat down, and Rafe insisted we all raise our glasses once all the food was set down in the middle of the table. Easton tookthat moment to refill Sebastian’s, Coach Gable’s, and Randall’s glasses because they were shooting the shots back as quickly as he could fill them. My parents were meeting them shot for shot, and I just watched as this shitshow unfolded.
Of course, the dickhead Sebastian found a way to score the seat next to Eloise. The dude couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
