She stops and looks at me. “You don’t have to classify me as anything, Drew. I’m sorry I put you on the spot.” She looks defeated, and I feel like an ass.
I practically crawl across the bed to her. Grabbing her by the hips, I bring her back into my arms. “I want you to be my girlfriend. I haven’t said that to a girl in a long time, and I didn’t know if I would ever say that. But I do. I want you to be mine.”
She melts into my arms, and I feel the tension leave her body. She grabs the sides of my head and kisses me with abandon. When we finally come up for air, we sink back into the bed.
“Drew, now that I’m your girlfriend, can I meet your mom?”
Fuck. Me.
“Bailey, we just got over one fight. Can we not do this?” I’m whining like a fucking girl.
“Are you embarrassed by me?” Her voice is small.
“No, baby, I’m not embarrassed by you at all. My mom is just . . . difficult. We’re so new that I don’t want her scaring you off. I think we need time to grow in our relationship before you have to endure a dinner with her.”
“Oh. Okay.”
I sigh with relief.
“I’m going to go shower. Is that all right?”
“Want me to join you?” I smirk.
“As amazing as that sounds, I don’t think I’d actually get clean, and I need to get going. I have some errands to run. I also want to catch a meeting.”
I nod my head and let her get up from the bed, watching as she sways toward the bathroom. I look at the clock. 10:40 a.m. I should probably get up as well. I grab my phone and see I’ve missed a call from the devil herself. I decide to call her quickly to see what she wants. If I’m lucky, she’s calling to cancel dinner.
“Drew, darling. Are you among the living, or have I caught you in bed?”
“I’m up, Mother. What’s going on?”
“I was calling to remind you about dinner since we know how flaky you can be at times.”
I cringe. “No, Mother, I haven’t forgotten.”
“See you soon.” She hangs up before I can even respond.
Hours later, I’m walking into my childhood home. It’s more like a museum filled with antiques, priceless paintings, and stiff furniture adorning every corner of the pretentious estate.
“Drew,” my mother croons as she waltzes into the room. A beautiful blonde follows closely behind. I have no idea who she is, but she peruses my body boldly.
“Drew, you remember Allison Estep. Her parents are Susan and Allister Estep.” Her brows rise as if to indicate that I should absolutely know who these people are, and I do—old money with trusts to rival the Hiltons.
“Yes, of course. Allison, it’s nice to see you.” I smile.
Allison gives me a sheepish grin. She knows what my mother is saying, and she enjoys the praise her family name brings. My mother is obviously up to her matchmaking.
“Mother. A word, please.”
She looks from me to Allison and frowns. “Drew, that’s rude. Can we at least eat first?”
I don’t give her a second to continue. I walk briskly out of the room with my mother right on my heels.
“What’s the meaning of this, Drew Lawson?”
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but I won’t be a pawn in your games. I’m not interested.”
“It’s time for you to start thinking about your future.”
“What if I am, Mom? What if I like my life?”
She scoffs. “Your life is a train wreck. You live at the club pining over a girl who died of a drug overdose.”
The mention of Alexa has my blood running cold. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You blame yourself for that girl’s death. It wasn’t your fault that she was an addict. Her parents are to blame.”
“It was my fault.” I stress the last word.
“I just want you to be happy.”
Her sad eyes have me softening. “I am, Mom. I promise.”
“Will you at least talk to Allison? She’s such a pretty girl and from such a well-respected family.”
“No, I have places to be.”
Without another word, I walk out.
39
Bailey
I’m mildly hurt that Drew didn’t want to take me to meet his mother, but I understand. I need to proceed slowly with this. Going too fast isn’t good for either of us. To keep my mind off Drew, I call up Harper and invite her over for sushi. She was the one to extend the olive branch, but I haven’t seen her since. It’s time we have some sister time.
“This is nice,” Harper says around a mouthful of California roll.
“Mmm,” I say in return.
“So, what’s new with your job?”
I avert my eyes. I don’t want to have this conversation with Harper. I know how she feels about Drew, and she can’t know about us right now. “Everything is good. Still waiting on the restaurant closing to begin. How is Cal?” I ask, despite the fact I don’t care. He’s not my favorite person, but I’d never tell Harper. She loves him, and that’s good enough for me. I think he’s a pompous ass. Something about him is slimy. Harper is happy, though, so I put up with him.