“Are you sure I look okay?” Oliver asked for what seemed like the twentieth time since we got in the car to head to the restaurant. He pulled the visor down and opened the mirror, so he could inspect his makeup, wiping his fingertip along the edge of his lips.
I reached over and took his hand, bringing it to my mouth for a kiss. “Baby, quit worrying. They’re going to love you almost as much as I do,” I assured him.
I’d called Brooklyn the week before just to check in and see how she was doing. Our relationship was important to both of us and so we’d each been making an effort to keep up with all the new things going on in our life; her with school and me with my new relationship. While we talked, I’d told her my plan for celebrating Gayle’s birthday. I offered to fly Brooklyn in for the evening, so we could take Gayle to dinner at her favorite restaurant then I’d send the two of them off for a luxury spa weekend. Brooklyn had loved the idea and I was excited to get to see her. I was so grateful that our relationship seemed to have weathered the storm it’d been put through.
Gayle and I had discussed it and even though we wanted to introduce our daughter to the new men in our lives and them to her, neither of us wanted to push the issue. We knew Brooklyn was still adjusting to the fact that her parents were no longer married, much less that we were both seeing new people. She needed time. We agreed to let Brooklyn set the pace, trusting that she would let us know when she was ready to take that next step.
So, she’d completely thrown me for a loop when she suggested inviting both Andrew and Oliver to the birthday dinner. It had taken me several seconds before I could speak around the lump in my throat. I’d finally choked out a thank you. “You and Mom are important to me. I figured I should get to know the people that are important to you,” she’d said softly. Those words meant more to me than she could ever know. It proved to me that we were really going to be okay, perhaps even better than before.
Oliver, of course, had been stunned by the invitation, but just as touched by my daughter’s gesture as I was. He’d spent all week asking me questions, wanting to know everything he possibly could about the two women in my life. But as the time got closer, his nerves had started to get the best of him until he’d turned into the frantic, rapidly speaking, adorable mess beside me.
“But what if they don’t? What if they take one look at me and decide I’m not good enough for you? What if they think I’m too young or not sophisticated enough? Oh, God! What if we sit there the whole time and can’t think of anything to talk about!” he said, nearing hysteria.
I’d started to laugh but stopped when I saw his face and realized how serious he was. It didn’t matter where we went, Oliver could make friends with anyone. He even knew that the lady who worked at the post office was expecting her third grandchild in a month. I’d been with him when she pulled him aside to show him the sonogram pictures. I couldn’t imagine a scenario where he wouldn’t know what to say.
“Honey, I promise you that everything will be just fine. I’ve already told them a lot about you and you know all about them. I’m sure you’ll find stuff to talk about and if not, I’ll be there to help steer the conversation. Besides, you aren’t the only one in the hot seat tonight. We’re all meeting Andrew for the first time too,” I reminded him.
“Oh! That’s right. That definitely makes me feel better,” he said, exhaling deeply. “Okay, new plan. If things start to go wonky, we throw Andrew under the bus and ask him what his intentions are with your ex-wife,” he joked. He squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been acting like a crazy person today. This is just huge, you know? They’re important to you, so I really want them to like me.”
“I get it. I really do, but all you have to do is be yourself and there’s no way they won’t fall in love with you. After all, I did.” Oliver leaned across the armrest to kiss my cheek and then rested his head on my shoulder with a contented sigh.
One positive thing about him focusing so much attention on meeting Brooklyn and Gayle was that it had helped to keep his mind off of what had happened with Korey. So far, things had been fairly peaceful. We hadn’t seen or heard anything from Korey since I’d tossed him out that day, but I had several friends and colleagues keeping their eyes and ears open in case he tried anything. One false move and I would end things for him. I wasn’t about to let Oliver be hurt by that man ever again.
I pulled up in front of the restaurant and handed my keys to the valet, then went around to the other side of the car to open the door for my date. As always, he looked stunning, but I had to admit that seeing him in his sleek black suit, black shirt and fuchsia tie with eyeshadow to match, was making me have some very inappropriate thoughts. Inappropriate for having dinner with my ex-wife and teenage daughter anyway. I sighed loudly just thinking how difficult it was going to be to try and get through dinner while keeping my hands to myself.
“What were you just thinking, Mr. Bishop?” he purred, looking up at me with a knowing smirk.
I leaned down and whispered in his ear so no one else would hear. “If you must know, Mr. Hughes, I was just thinking that maybe later, I would peel that suit off of you and we could put that tie to better use.”
A soft whimper escaped his glossy pink lips and I responded with a growl. Being with Oliver had awakened desires in me that I hadn’t known existed before. It seemed like the more sex we had, the more I wanted. Sometimes, I wondered if I was trying to make up for all those years that I’d missed out on knowing the pleasures of a man’s body, but then it also could’ve been that for the first time, I was madly and passionately in love with someone. Perhaps it was a combination of the two, but either way, I wouldn’t have wanted to be with anyone other than Oliver. He was truly perfect for me in every way.
To anyone else walking by, it would’ve appeared as if he were simply fixing my tie for me. Only I was privy to the subtle tug he gave the material or the way his eyes darkened to a deep russet color. “We better get in and find our table before I drag you into the bathroom of this very respectable establishment and drop to my knees for you.” With that, he smoothed his hands down my tie, turned, and walked away. I stood there, trying to remember how to breathe until he called out my name. “You…coming?” I turned to see him holding the door open, a proud smile gracing his lips.
With a low growl, I followed him into the restaurant where I gave my name to the maître d’. Oliver gave me a panicked look when the man informed us that the rest of our party had already arrived. He latched onto my hand and I gave it a reassuring squeeze, keeping hold of him as the maître d’ led us to our table.
Brooklyn saw us first and she stood, making her way around the table to greet us. “Hi, Daddy,” she said happily as she hugged me. I drew her into my arms and hugged her back.
“Hi, sweetheart. You look gorgeous.” She’d always been a pretty girl but being out on her own had changed her into a beautiful young woman, full of confidence and grace.
“Thank you. And you just keep getting more handsome each time I see you.”
I turned to Oliver who’d been watching us intently. “Honey, I want you to meet my…Oliver.” I wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence because we’d never really put a label on what we were to each other, but I decided thatmy Oliverfit just perfectly so I left it at that.
Brooklyn laughed as she turned to Oliver. “Hi, his Oliver. I’m his Brooklyn,” she teased and then gave him a gentle hug. I could see his face over her shoulder and he looked startled at first, but then he smiled and hugged her back.
“It’s really nice to meet you. Your dad has told me so much about you.” My heart gave a flip as I stood there, grinning like a loon. The two people I loved most in the world were finally in one place, meeting for the first time. And it was going well.
When I turned my head, I saw Gayle watching me with a peaceful, happy look on her face and I wondered if she’d been thinking the same thing when she’d introduced our daughter to Andrew. I walked over and gave her a hug, wished her a happy birthday and then turned to the man seated next to her. Andrew was a handsome man with a genuine smile and kind eyes. The way he looked at Gayle when she introduced the two of us, as if the sun rose and set just for her, made me like him immediately.
I finished introducing Oliver to everyone, blushing profusely when Gayle whispered to him, loud enough for me to hear, “Hang on tight to him. He’s one of the best.” He turned and gave me a quick perusal.
“Yeah, I know he is.” The smile on his face was warm and sweet and I returned it with one of my own.
“Okay, you guys. That’s enough,” Brooklyn scolded, pointing at all four of us. “You’re still my parents. I don’t need to see you guys making googly eyes at each other.” When she wrinkled her nose we all started laughing.
The rest of dinner went much the same, with good food, wine, and lots of lighthearted banter. Andrew and I discovered that we both shared a passion for basketball, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when I told him my company had season tickets and that I’d give him a set whenever he wanted to go.
“Careful now, you keep offering stuff like that and he’ll start liking you more than he does me,” Gayle joked, making us all laugh.
