Rowan shows up after our weekly Friday meeting, wearing the most annoyingly smug smile on his face.
“Can you go back to not smiling? This isn’t fair.” I shut off my desktop computer.
His grin widens. “But I like the way you squirm.”
I shove my laptop in my backpack. “Asshole.”
He leans against the cubicle wall and tucks his hands in his pockets. “If you’re trying to turn me off, you’re going about it the wrong way.”
I think of our first kiss and how much he liked the word back then.
“What are you doing here?” I rasp.
“I wanted to let you know we’re going on a date tomorrow.”
“Okay…” I play it cool, but inside I’m swooning. Rowan is definitely making his intentions obvious, and I’m so here for it. It’s refreshing to not chase him down for a date.
“After we have dinner with your family,” he speaks with finality.
“Come again?!”
“Maybe later.” He winks.
I clutch onto the side of my desk to stop myself from falling out of my chair. “Don’t wink.”
“Why?”
“Because my ovaries might implode and that would be quite unfortunate.”
He chuckles to himself. “Ani invited me after our last meeting.”
“That little conniving—” I’m so not ready to introduce Rowan to my family.
“It’s cute how much she talks you up.”
Ugh. How can I get annoyed at Ani for that?
I sigh. “I’m not sure you’re ready for my family.”
“Please. I need to hear all about your parents getting married in Vegas. Their love for Elvis runs deep.”
“Don’t encourage them. They’ll whip out an old album and shower you with stories.”
“Ani mentioned they have a video of you performing with your ukulele in the living room. You can consider me quite interested in viewing that family film.”
I groan as I lay my head on my desk and raise my middle finger high in the air.
“Aren’t you the sweetest thing?” my mom gushes over Rowan the moment he walks through the door with a fancy-looking bottle of wine.
His whole body remains frozen in the doorway.
“Welcome.” My dad offers his hand.
Rowan shakes it and greets everyone else, including Claire, who stares him up and down before shrugging like she’s unimpressed.
“You came!” Ani all but tackles Rowan, giving him a big hug.
Everyone stares at them. My mom’s eyes shine as she clasps her hands to her chest.
My dad turns his head in my direction and gives me an approving nod. “I like him better than Lance already.”
“Dad!” I groan.
If Rowan heard him, he pretends he didn’t.
“Let’s eat!” Mom chants. Claire offers to help serve everyone my dad’s favorite food.
Rowan takes the seat next to me, and instantly my parents’ dining table feels like it’s meant for a dollhouse.
“Have you tried Armenian food before?”
He shakes his head.
“Are you a picky eater?”
He rolls his eyes. “I’ll eat anything but caviar.”
I laugh to myself. “Great! Then prepare to be amazed. My mom might be from Europe, but she learned all my dad’s favorite Armenian recipes.”
I grab a utensil and dig into my mom’s cooking. Claire makes the recipe every now and then, but nothing compares to my mom’s cooking.
“So, Mr. Kane, how are you liking Dreamland so far?” My dad takes a sip of the wine Rowan brought.
He looks down at me. “It’s growing on me.”
My entire face turns molten under Rowan’s gaze.
He gives my thigh a squeeze before looking at my dad. “And please call me Rowan.”
Mom grins. “Zahra told us all about the project you’re working on. It’s so nice that you want to celebrate the park’s anniversary.”
Rowan’s hand fists against his lap. “It’s what my grandfather wanted.”
“He was a great man,” my dad says.
Rowan nods. “I’m glad the people here appreciated him.” There’s a slight hesitation in his voice.
I grab onto his fist and spread his fingers out before locking ours together. “You don’t have to be nervous,” I whisper under my breath.
“I’m bad at small talk,” he whispers back.
I can only laugh and enjoy the show. Rowan being shy is such a welcome change compared to how he is around everyone in the office.
“How do you like Florida compared to Chicago?” Mom asks.
“It’s…hot.”
Everyone at the table laughs, and the tension dissipates from Rowan’s body.
“It must be a change compared to Chicago. We’ve always wanted to visit.” Dad nods.
“But we haven’t had a vacation in years,” Ani pipes up finally.
“Why not?” Rowan looks over at my sister with furrowed brows.
“Oh.” Her smile drops.
Well, shit. No one wants to be the one to break it to him.
The temperature in the room drops significantly. Rowan’s hand grips onto mine harder, like he’s afraid to let go.
“Because we can’t afford to take vacations even if we wanted to,” Claire offers in a neutral tone.
“Right.” Rowan’s voice sounds strained to my ears.
Mom, bless her soul, changes the topic and somehow salvages the dinner. Rowan seems more withdrawn than usual which says something. I don’t think my parents notice since they have only heard stories about Rowan, but I do. I’m plagued with nausea for the rest of the dinner, making eating my favorite food difficult.
Rowan scowls at me shoving my food around my plate like a child. Unlike me, he devours it all and asks for seconds, which only makes my mom happier.
My dad claps Rowan on the shoulder before giving him a hug. I’d laugh if I wasn’t already on edge, seeing as Rowan remains stiff as a board during the entire exchange.
Rowan unlocks his car and opens my door for me. I freeze, unable to get inside before I clear the air.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” I blurt out.
His hand holding on to the door tightens. “Why would you be sorry?”
“Because you were already nervous about talking and then that conversation happened.”
His jaw clenches. “It’s not your fault I’m an asshole, Zahra.”
I wince. “Don’t talk about yourself that way.”
“I thought you valued the truth.”
I gape at him.
“It’s the reality of the situation. I make business decisions that affect people’s lives for better or for worse. It is what it is.” He looks up at the dark, starless sky.
“But you could change. No one is forcing you to choose one side over the other.”
He lets out a bitter laugh. “Running a business is hard.”
“So is being human.”
He sighs and grabs my hand again, interlocking our fingers once more. “I don’t know the first thing about being human.”
“That’s okay. I’ll teach you everything I know.” I grin as I drop into the passenger seat.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” he mumbles under his breath.
Challenge accepted.
