6
Sam
Ben was staring at him, his mouth gaping open. This was why Sam hadn’t wanted to tell him where they were going. Hell, this was why he hadn’t even wanted to bring Ben along in the first place. Because Ben was going to look at him differently. Instead of seeing Sam, manager of the Press Room, he was going to see Sam, son of rich people. And Sam hated that. It was all anyone had ever seen when he was growing up.
“So, let me get this straight. We’re going to your family reunion in the Hamptons? Like…the actual Hamptons?”
“I don’t think there are fake ones,” Sam said, failing to keep the irritation from his voice.
Ben grinned. “Sure there are. Hampton Inn, Hampton Suites…”
“Oh, fuck off.” Sam rolled his eyes. “It’s the real Hamptons.”
Silence fell between them and lasted for a few seconds before Ben spoke again. “I don’t think I brought the right clothes for the real Hamptons.”
“I told you it was mostly casual. We go horseback riding and boating and stuff. You don’t have to be dressed up for that. Just tell me you brought something to swim in.”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I did.”
Sam shrugged. “Then you’re all set. Not that it matters. Three days with them, and then you’ll never see them again.”
“Yeah, but I actually want them to like me.”
That stopped Sam up short. When was the last time he had ever cared about whether his family liked him or not? Whether they respected him and the decisions he made.
When he left home, five years ago, to go to college. He did however, want his family to like Ben. That was why he had tweaked a bit of his fake-boyfriend’s biography so they would be more open to getting to know him.
“They’ll like you,” he said, trying to ease Ben’s worries.
He didn’t know for sure, though. They had been accepting enough of Ambra’s husband, which was a bit of a shock. When Ambra had announced that she was marrying Matías Bautista, several members of their extended family had written to tell her in no uncertain terms that not only were they not coming to the wedding, but that she was marrying beneath her, even if her fiancé was one of the most highly-respected Spanish chefs in New York City. His parents had made sure, though, that Matías never felt out of place in the family. Sam hoped they would do the same for Ben. It certainly helped that they thought he was a nationally-recognized, rich artist.
“Will you tell me about them? And the rest of your family? Or am I just going to have to go in blind?” Ben asked.
Sam sighed. “What do you want to know about them?”
“Well, for starters, what are your parents’ names?”
That, at least, was easy. “Bradley and Rosalind.”
“Any other family I should know?”
“You already know about my sister, Ambra. She’s married to Matías, a chef. My grandma’s pretty cool. I think you’ll like her. Her name’s Hattie.”
He knew how all the names sounded—like old money, with the exception of Matías—but that was exactly what they were. Even his own full name sounded pretentious, which was why he had shortened it to Sam the minute he left.
“What do your parents do?” Ben asked.
Involuntarily, Sam’s hands clenched around the steering wheel. He didn’t look over at Ben as he answered. “Dad’s a partner at an investment firm. Mom doesn’t work, necessarily, but she’s involved with a bunch of different organizations. She volunteers and stuff.”
Ben was silent for a while. “So your family’s rich.”
“Yeah,” he said, trying and failing to keep a sullen note out of his voice.
Sam’s heart sank. He had hoped that he would have a bit of time with Ben before things got awkward because of his upbringing.
But Ben took him completely off guard by laughing. “I knew there had to be something else. No manager of a coffee shop can afford that apartment and this car.”
In spite of himself, Sam smiled. “The car was a birthday present, but I pay the rent all on my own. You’d be surprised what the manager makes. It sure isn’t minimum wage.”
“Well damn. Still makes more than I do.” He kept grinning. “So if you’re family’s rich, you’re rich too, then.”
“No, not really. I…well, technically I have a fund, but I haven’t touched any of it. I figure I’ll need it for retirement.”
He didn’t mention that there was enough in the trust fund to have him covered for most of his life. Sam wasn’t the kind of person who could just live a life doing nothing. The Press Room offered him a chance to do something he loved, while interacting with people he liked every single day. And if he hadn’t been working there, then he never would have met Ben, so that was a plus.
“But if you needed it, you have money at your disposal.”
Sam gritted his teeth. “If you put it that way, yeah. I do. I just don’t like telling people about it.”
“Must be nice.” Jealousy laced Ben’s tone. How could it not?
“Not really. Not with the responsibility that comes with it. I live in Connecticut for a reason. So I didn’t have to deal with their crap.”
“But you still care enough to go to a family reunion?”
“Of course. They’re my family.”
Ben held his hands up. “No need to bite my head off. I’m just trying to understand the dynamic. I mean, it’s no big secret you’re not close with your family. I just want to know the backstory.”
“The backstory is they had money and expectations. I had goals that didn’t match those expectations. The money’s still there, but they don’t pretend to understand why I made the choices I did, and I don’t pretend to care.”
“Okay,” Ben said with a nod.
They fell silent once again, guilt twisting in Sam’s stomach. He hadn’t meant to snap at Ben, especially since he didn’t want to damage their friendship, but talking about his family put him on edge. Between the lies he’d told his parents and the fact that he craved a relationship with Ben that he was too scared to initiate, there was so much that could go wrong. This whole arrangement was a bad idea, and one that was undoubtedly going to blow up in their faces.