Apparently, there’s something he wants to talk to me about.
He made that much clear this morning when we arrived at The Grand. Made it sound important, too. I don’t know what the hell it could possibly be, but I’m hoping it’s nothing serious – like disease, a new wife, or one of our businesses going under. There’s been some trouble with a property in Texas that we don’t keep a close enough eye out on.
“Son,” he begins, while we’re still in the back of his car. His driver politely raises the divider. That man has been working for my dad for decades. Don’t know what we could possibly be hiding from him. “This business with Alison’s daughter needs to be resolved.”
I turn my head. “What are you talking about?”
“Are you dating that girl or not?”
“I don’t know why it’s anybody’s business.” I clear my throat. “Besides, she’s a woman and would probably prefer being referred to as such.”
“Don’t you start that with me. You’re a boy and she’s a girl. That’s how it is when you get to my age.”
“Regardless, my relationship with Kathryn is rather complicated. Why? Mom hasn’t gotten to you, has she? She keeps bugging me about marriage and babies…”
“Forget your nosy mother. This is a bigger matter. Namely that you two have been seen together outside of work a few times now. At our office building, at the symphony, at restaurants… for the sake of all that’s good for our business, Ian, people are talking. I’ve had more than one tart come up and ask me when the wedding is.”
I roll my eyes.
“Well?” Dad continues. “When is the wedding?”
“What the hell? It’s not like that between us. It’s casual. That’s what I told Mom, and that’s what I’m telling you.”
“Son, sow all those wild oats if you want. I don’t even care if it’s with Spencer’s grown daughter, although keep in mind I would like to maintain a nice relationship with Alison. Rather hard to do if he finds out my son upset his daughter in such a way.”
“Are you finished?”
“Not at all.” Blast my luck, we’re stuck at a light, and there are too many cars around for me to get out and walk to my condo. “What I’m trying to tell you is that you need to be careful with a girl like that. It’s one thing to date a woman from the civilian world. It’s another to court a girl as well-bred as we are.”
I feel like we’re living in some tipsy world. Usually you hear the opposite of this crap in the media, but no, my father is worried about me dating a girl of good standing like Kathryn.
In truth, I don’t know what our relationship is. When she left Thursday morning, I had come down from my high that told me I was in love with her. It was like any other day seeing her. I found her handsome, I wanted to talk to her and maybe make her breakfast and coffee, but I wasn’t heartbroken when she left. Don’t worry, I’m confused on my end as well. Hence why I’m telling people it’s casual and complicated.
God knows it is.
“I’ve invited Spencer and your mother to the house next weekend. Lunch. I think it’s time we all sat down and talked about this.”
The car lurches forward. My stomach lurches up in my throat.
“You’re kidding, right? I don’t even think her father knows.”
“He will soon enough. Your mother is the biggest blabbermouth this side of the Mississippi. Trust me, son, this is in the best interest of everyone. You’re lucky we already know each other and get along. Think of it as a celebration. Not every day our kids get together.”
“Dad, I will tell you one more time. It’s complicated. I don’t know if things will get more serious with Kathryn.”
The car pulls up to where we’re having lunch. While we wait for the driver to get out and open my father’s door, he says, “Doesn’t matter. It’s been done. Next week we’re all having lunch at the house.”
You’ve gotta be kidding me. First I’m taking Katie to that BDSM Château, and now I’m taking her to my family home to officially meet the folks as my, what, girlfriend?
Is Katie my girlfriend?
Ha! As if. That would not be likely.
No matter how you look at it, however, these next few weeks are going to be beyond interesting. I can only imagine how Kathryn is taking it all.
Chapter 15
KATHRYN
Eva dithers between ordering a salad or the soup of the day at our favorite café. I’ve told her the news regarding this upcoming lunch my father informed me of, and now I’m pretty sure Eva’s brain is broken from all the hilarious implications.
“Soup, please,” she tells the server. I go with my usual of chicken salad. This place has the best recipe. We pay for it, too. “And you need an exorcist at this point. Pretty soon everyone will be in your casual sex business.”
I shush her, for all the good it does. While the exclusive café isn’t the busiest I’ve seen it today, there are still enough people milling about who could overhear what we’re discussing. I’m not in the mood for Ian and I to show up on Page 6 under the juicy sex scandal and gossip section. I’m tired of my sex life supposedly being other people’s business. Eva is right about that.
“I don’t know how this got out… aside from Ian hinting to his father, and his father telling his mother…”
“Ah, there you go.”
“This is so stupid.” I look around to make sure no servers are going to surprise me with their presence. “He and I are fully grown adults. We have our own places in the city. We have had multiple love lives independent of each other. Why are they making such a big deal out of this?”
Eva shakes her head at me. Is she mocking my naiveté I didn’t know I still had? Probably. “The simple answer is that they’re parents and want to at least pretend to care about their kids’ romances. Hey, you’re a step above my parents.” She shrugs. “Peaced out to Montana years ago and barely call me to say hello. I think they only talk to my brother because he runs everything now. I don’t dare think about the gay thing.”
“Sorry.”
“No worries. The complicated answer is that you’re, well, you. The Mathers care a lot about that because you’re the type of woman they would love to see their only golden boy get hitched with. Again, consider yourself lucky. My brother’s been dealing with Dad’s disdain ever since Monica became a public thing. Nobody wants Jackson Lyle’s ex who basically runs a legal brothel in the family…”
As usual, every topic diverts to the Warrens. Sometimes it’s charming how self-involved they can be. Other times, like now, I want to reach across the table and smack my friend upside the head.
“What do you mean I’m someone worth getting hitched with? It’s not like that anyway.”
“Yeah, yeah, so you keep repeating. What I mean is that no matter what one of these rich pairs of parents says around here, they all want their kids to marry laterally. Sure, some may posture that they don’t care if Ms. Jane or Mr. John come from a blue collar family in Factory Town, but they totally do. Marrying rich means more money in the family pockets, a new family member who knows how to behave and what’s what, and that good, delicious breeding nobody’s allowed to talk about these days without sounding like a classist, racist asshole.”
She’s got a point.
I don’t want to think about marrying Ian.
I’m sure he would make a great husband for a lucky woman out there. He’s those things my father would want in a son-in-law and more. Handsome, courteous, a real go-getter in the family business… I’m sure he would never want to hear about the BDSM thing, but I’m not sure he knows that about me either. Don’t want to know!
Ian is far from husband material for me, however. Besides the Dom thing – which I know I don’t want to experiment with more than a few times – we are both way too independent to deal with the other person full time.