Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)

She held in a smile. “I’m pretty sure they are. They’re just a little strange. All parents are.” She was sure if hers were alive she would be complaining about them. For a second she let herself think how nice that would be.

“Oh,” she said as an obvious solution occurred to her. “Why don’t you put your parents up at the hotel? Is it full? Do you want me to make some calls?”

He dropped his arms to his side. “No hotel,” he said flatly. “It’s too risky. I like this town and I want to stay here.”

“Okay, and that has something to do with your parents how?”

“They don’t have boundaries. Not as you know them. They’ll walk down the hall to get ice. But they’ll be naked. Or they’ll have sex in the lobby.”

She felt her lips twitch. “Sam, you have to take a step back. Seriously, they can’t be that bad.”

“You’re wrong. They’re worse than you think. You’ll meet them tonight and then we’ll talk.”

“I can’t wait,” she said with a grin.

“You say that now.”

CHAPTER TEN

DELLINA ARRIVED EARLY to Henri’s. She spoke with the catering coordinator, then checked out the private room they would be using. Although it was large for a party of four, she wanted to see how the flow worked. After going through where they would hold the wine tasting, she returned to the private dining room to find that Sam and his parents had arrived.

Dellina stopped in the doorway, studying them before they had a chance to notice her. Sam’s dad was tall and rangy. He looked fit and athletic, with an easy smile and a bit of gray at his temples. Lark wore a low-cut dark blue dress the color of her eyes. Her wavy blond hair had been pulled back in two decorative combs. Her makeup was light, her expression pleasant and when she laughed, the happy sound seemed to fill the room.

Sam turned and spotted Dellina.

“You made it,” he said. He spoke easily enough but there was a hint of tension in the muscles in his jaw and the tightness by his eyes.

“I was looking at the rest of the venue for Friday night.” She walked toward the three of them. “I’m Dellina.”

She held out her hand. Reggie introduced himself and his wife, then shook her hand. Lark smiled at her, announced, “You’re very pretty, child,” then pulled her close for a warm hug that had Dellina suddenly missing her own mother.

Lark released her. “Sam has told us so much about this weekend party. It sounds as if you’ve been running around, getting everything ready.”

Sam’s parents looked at her with equally welcoming expressions. She felt herself relax in their presence.

“I’m excited about having it all come together,” she said. “We don’t usually get weekends this fancy in town.”

“We’re looking forward to it very much,” Lark said as she linked arms with her husband.

A server appeared with glasses of champagne. A second followed with a tray of appetizers.

“Please,” Dellina said, motioning to the drinks and food. “I’m looking for objective opinions. This is our final chance to tweak the menu. I would very much appreciate your honest thoughts on every part of the meal.”

They toasted to the weekend and then tasted the appetizers. Dellina was careful to have one of everything and take notes.

“I like the presentation,” she said, putting a puff on a plate so it could get cold. One of the challenges of appetizers was that people tended to chat before eating them. Having something that tasted good at room temperature could be difficult.

Reggie looked at her notes. “You’re organized.”

“I have to be.”

“You own your own business?”

She smiled. “Yes. It’s just me. Sometimes I think about expanding but then I’d give up control. Plus there are parts of what I do that I really love. I wouldn’t want to hand them off to someone else.” She paused. “I do think about hiring an office manager, though. I’m not great with balancing my own books.”

“I understand that,” Reggie told her. “When I retired from basketball, I had to figure out what to do with my life. I had a degree I couldn’t use and no experience beyond a great jump shot.”

Lark moved close to her husband and leaned against him. “That’s not true. You had loads of life skills. You just had to find out the best way to use them.”

He nodded. “I went back to college and paid attention in class this time. I got my master’s in business. Went to work for a large company and worked my way up.”

Dellina smiled at Sam. “So you come by your interest in finance honestly.”

“Dad was an influence,” he admitted.

Reggie beamed at his son. “Sam’s very intelligent. A planner, too. He played football, but was looking to the future. I spent a couple of years being lost after the crowds went away.”