Chapter Twenty-Five
‡
After traveling all night and through several time zones, Dizzy’s parents were happy to lie down in the guest room, giving her some much-needed space to talk to Easton. He was fixing breakfast and doing his best not to look or talk to her, an action she didn’t understand. Why was he upset? It was her parents that had shown up unannounced. She was the one that should be banging pots and pans around. She loved her parents dearly but they could make her crazy without even trying. The good residents of Tremont thought she was strange? They’d forgotten about Tami and Louis. They made her look downright normal.
“What did those eggs ever do to you?”
Easton’s back was to her but she could easily see his knuckles turn white as he tightly gripped the spatula’s handle. Good thing she liked scrambled eggs because with his mood that was all she was going to get. No over easy. No sunny side up.
He lifted the frying pan off of the burner and scooped the eggs onto two plates, joining the toast Dizzy had pulled from the toaster. They’d settled at the kitchen table and Easton dug into his breakfast as if he hated those eggs, stabbing them with his fork over and over. Deciding she wouldn’t push, she began to eat her own meal but her gaze kept flickering back to him to gauge his expression. Food was not helping his mood. Eventually, he’d cleaned his plate and he didn’t have much choice but to speak.
“Your parents hate my guts. No, scratch that. They hate my entire family.”
Finally. With relief, she set her own fork down on the edge of the plate and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“To be fair, they don’t hate you personally. They hate your money.”
“They’d like it better if I was broke?”
“Yes.”
He was looking at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Because that would make me a better, more honest person? That’s bullshit. I’d still be me. Money doesn’t make me a bad person.”
“Of course, it doesn’t,” Dizzy assured him. “This is just Tami and Louis’s political views run amuck. Just be patient with them. It’s easy to hate a faceless international conglomerate but once they get to know you, they’ll like you. I’m sure of it. They like Leann.”
“They probably think she’s adopted.” He sprang from the chair and went to the coffee pot to refill their cups. “I don’t like having to apologize to your folks for who and what I am. The Anderson family does a lot of good for this town. Do they know that?”
“They do. They’re just fired up these days, far more than usual. Like I said, just let them get to know you. Everything will be fine. I told them what a great person you are.”
“I heard and I do appreciate that,” he replied curtly, although it didn’t sound like he appreciated it. “In fact, I heard the whole conversation. It turns out your dad isn’t so chatty. He said something to me about using birth control and then that was pretty much it. I tried to engage him but we ended up discussing the weather and school starting up soon.”
“Louis isn’t much of a talker,” she sighed. “Tami handles that most of the time. It works well for them.”
“In the thirty-plus years that they’ve been married I doubt the poor man has been able to get in a word edgewise.”
Dizzy pushed her plate away. She didn’t like his tone. They were her parents, after all.
“Now wait a minute. That is my mother you’re talking about. Whatever they’re doing in their marriage it’s obviously working, so I don’t think we should be second-guessing what goes on between a husband and wife.”
Easton put his plate in the sink with a clatter. “If he starts complaining, she probably just tells him he’s happy. Is he allowed to have his own thoughts?”
Standing, she cleared her own breakfast dishes and then brushed by Easton to place them in the dishwasher. He needed to simmer down and quick. She understood that he was upset but badmouthing her parents wasn’t the way to deal with it.
They were her parents. For good or bad. They were a handful but their heart was in the right place. They truly just wanted world peace and to end hunger.
“Once he gets to know you my dad will talk your ear off about anything and everything, but he just met you. Give him and my mother a break. You’re not exactly a talkative extrovert. Most of the time you don’t even want to be around people.”
“Because I have work to do.” He sounded exasperated but Dizzy didn’t give a shit. He was being a jerk. “It’s completely different.”
Exhaling slowly, she thought carefully about her next words. This entire conversation had gone off the rails so quickly. “Listen, I know more than anyone that my parents can be difficult. They won’t be here forever, though. They’ll quickly get bored and they’ll leave for another dig or a demonstration or something like it. While they’re here I won’t let them interfere in my life, I can assure you of that. They raised me to be independent and that’s exactly what I am. They can have an opinion as can everyone else but I don’t have to live my life according to their whims. Honestly, Easton, they’re hardly here. Just ignore them.”
Apparently, she’d chosen the wrong words because Easton threw up his hands in frustration. “Sure, this time they’ll leave, but they’ll be back. At holidays. Birthday celebrations. They hate me. Full stop. And they hate my family. My family, Dizzy. And you don’t seem to care at all.”
Of course, she cared but he had blown their influence out of proportion. They were only two people.
“Because I’ve lived with them for thirty years,” she explained, keeping her tone as calm as possible when all she really wanted to do was slap him on the back of the head. “I understand them and they don’t hate anyone, Easton. They truly don’t. They may not approve of you but they don’t hate you or your family. Can’t you trust me on this? It will all be okay.”
It was clear that he couldn’t. A muscle jumped in his jaw and he was pacing around her small kitchen like it was a prison cell. Finally, he turned back to her, his expression sad.
“I just can’t help but believe that this is going to be a problem going forward. How can we build any sort of relationship and future knowing that your parents don’t approve of me and my family? And who are they to judge me, anyway? What gives them that right?”
“Nothing in the world,” she assured him. “They’re no worse or better than anyone else on this planet. They have strong ideas about things but they’ll come around. I’m just asking for your patience. When they come back downstairs I’ll have them apologize to you, then I’ll plan a nice dinner with them and your family. Everybody will get along fine. They were just surprised today.”
No one seemed to care that she’d been surprised too. Coming to grips with Tami and Louis sleeping in her guest room was something that she usually had a few weeks or even months to get used to.
“I don’t want a forced apology,” Easton said stiffly, his gaze dropping to the tile floor. “I think that maybe we should back off a little while your parents are here.”
It was as if his words had sucked all the oxygen out of the room and she was left struggling for breath. It took effort to speak but she managed to find her voice.
“You mean you want to take a break?”
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Easton still didn’t make eye contact. Asshole.
“Just while your parents are here.”
The back of her neck was hot and anger had her stomach churning. “And then?”
“We can start seeing each other again.”
He had to know he was being a giant pussy because he couldn’t look her in the eye.
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you go fuck yourself?”
His head snapped up and finally she could see his expression. A little fear, a little annoyance, and a whole lot of uncertainty.
And if he’d decided to express any of that to her, she would have cut him some slack, but since he was acting like a total asshole all bets were off.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll be happy to explain.” She sounded sarcastic as hell but she was too pissed off to tell. “If I’m not worth hanging in there for, then I don’t think you care about me enough. If you don’t want to work this out, then you probably won’t want to work anything out. Every time we have a problem you’ll disappear until it’s moot. That’s not a partner, that’s a magician disappearing into the ether when life gets a little tough. As lovely as your idea sounds, I’ll think I’ll pass. I don’t like conditional relationships.”
There was an answering spark of anger in his blue eyes and his face was red. Good, she’d made him mad.
“Listen, it’s your parents–”
“Who are a lovely and convenient excuse for you,” she cut in, tears burning the back of her eyes. Her heart hurt in her chest and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it. She’d allowed herself to be vulnerable and this was the result. “Why do I have the feeling this isn’t about Tami and Louis? I think this is about you, Easton. This isn’t about my parents not liking you. This is all about you and how uncomfortable you would feel escorting me to one of your godawful boring business cocktail parties. This is about me being on your arm when you meet the governor at a charity function. This is about me believing in psychics and ESP and the rhythm of the universe. This is about my being an artist and not a businesswoman. And this is damn sure about you having cold feet about being serious with someone who has crazy ass ideas. This is you using them as an excuse to pull back when things are getting too damn real.”
His reply was low, almost a whisper. “It’s not an excuse.”
All the anger had drained out of her. She had nothing left. If Easton didn’t want to fight for her and their relationship, there wasn’t much left to say. A few tears slipped down her cheeks and she dashed at them with the back of her hand.
“Here’s the thing…you might be using them as an excuse or you might not. But the results are the same. You’re leaving, pulling away and putting us on hold until a more convenient time. If that ever comes. I guess I’m supposed to just wait here until you come back, but that’s the one thing I can’t do. I’m all in, Easton. I’m here and ready to make it work. But you have to be all in too. I’m worth more than halfway.”
Her heart pounded in her ears as she waited for him to speak. It looked like for a moment he was going to and then he turned away toward the stairs. It was then that she remembered that Easton cared what other people thought of him. He cared that her parents didn’t seem to like him. It also reminded him that there might be others who shared their feelings, and he didn’t like that at all. And that reminded him of how his friends and business acquaintances would look at her. She was eccentric, after all, and she didn’t have a stock portfolio.
“I need to go to the office. I’ll talk to you later about security for tonight.”
The office. That magical place where Easton was completely in control and knew exactly what to do and say.
“My parents are here. I’ll be fine.”
She would be fine. It was her heart that was in pieces, and that wouldn’t mend anytime soon.