I grinned and nodded at Rick who was
standing at the bar. He was Anna
’
s
secret service far guard, but he was like one of our group now too because he
’
d been with her for the last five years.
“There he is,” I said, laughing as Rick
dropped his beer while talking to a pretty girl. He really had no idea how to
talk to a girl and got so flustered that it was just plain awkward to watch.
“At least he makes me look good,” he
admitted, shrugging. He turned towards Rick. “Rick, wanna go scout some?” he
called, nodding towards the group of three girls that were standing off to one
side.
Rick nodded and headed over. The girl he
was talking to had walked off when he dropped his beer anyway.
“Seriously, Seth, don
’
t you ever give up? You must have hit on every girl in the room
under the age of thirty,” Rosie laughed, shaking her head.
He
smirked at her.
“There
’
s one thing you
should know about me,” he stated.
Rosie grinned.
“You
’
re a hugger?” she interjected before he could
continue. I burst out laughing, knowing that was one of Lotso Hugging Bear
’
s lines from
Toy Story 3
. I
’
d seen that movie enough to know it word for
word.
He looked at her like she was crazy as she
started laughing too. “I
’
m a
what?”
She shook her head quickly. “Nothing.
Ignore me, I
’
ve had too many
orange juices, I think I should move onto something stronger.”
My gaze flitted to the table where DJ was
sitting with my parents and Rosie
’
s.
He was busy playing with one of the games that my mom had bought for him – they
were
all
playing actually, even George. My mom was fussing over DJ,
cooing at everything that he did while she chatted happily with Tracy. My dad
seemed to be getting on well with George; they were talking about football by
the look of it. I frowned. Seeing George smile at other people was just plain
annoying. He wasn
’
t prepared to
give me a chance, yet he would happily sit there and converse with my dad like
they were old friends.
“Want to dance?” I asked Rosie, nodding
towards the dance floor where a few couples were dancing. She smiled and passed
Cameron to Anna, before following me over there. I pulled her into my arms, and
we started slow dancing to the beat. I sighed deeply and looked at the table of
our family. “I
’
m really sorry that
he doesn
’
t like me.”
Rosie shook her head, her eyes soft and
caring. “If he doesn
’
t like you
then that
’
s his problem,” she
replied, shrugging.
I smiled weakly, knowing that statement
wasn
’
t true. If he didn
’
t like me, then it was all of our problems.
Everything would be awkward if I couldn
’
t win him around. Dejectedly, I pressed my forehead to hers, just
breathing in her smell. It was like everyone else disappeared when I was with
her, like nothing else mattered apart from this moment.
A little tug on my pants leg and small
hands prying our bodies apart made me pull back and smile down at DJ. “Grandad
tolded me I had to get between yous two before you started kissing,” he chirped,
nodding his head back towards the family table.
I laughed at the kid
’
s honesty. “Oh, really? Better do what Grandad says then, Kid,” I
mused, bending and scooping him off the floor, sitting him on my hip as I
pulled Rosie back to me too. DJ wrapped one arm around each of our necks as we
started dancing again, the three of us. Rosie smiled at me, her expression
looked a little proud as if I had done something right, but I wasn
’
t sure what it was.
“Grandad really sent you over here?” she
asked DJ. He nodded in response. “
Grandad George?
” He nodded again, and Rosie sighed, a little frown appearing on her
forehead as her arm tightened around my waist.
“I think Grandad doesn
’
t want you to get girl cooties, Nate,” DJ offered, nodding along
with himself, as if that made perfect sense in his head.
I laughed. I was pretty sure there was
another reason that asshole sent DJ over here, and it had nothing to do with
looking out for my health. I had the distinct impression that the guy was
pushing me to see if he could piss me off. I just needed to hold on to my
dignity and remember that they lived a two
-
hour train
ride away; I wouldn
’
t have to see
them very often. I offered Rosie four times a year visitation rights with my
parents; hopefully she
’
d give me
the same offer. I could cope with him pushing my buttons four times a year.
We danced until the end of the song and
then Rosie checked her watch. “We should probably go soon, it
’
s DJ
’
s bedtime. My parents and I can get a cab back if you want to stay
and hang out with the boys,” she offered.
I smiled gratefully but shook my head. “It
’
s okay, I
’
m ready to leave too,” I agreed. She smiled and led me back to the
table
where
our parents
were still sitting
. As soon as we reached them, my mom was holding out her arms for
DJ. He grinned and went to her willingly, which made a huge smile stretch
across her face.
“Let
’
s finish the game then, sweetpea,” she suggested, nodding back to
the game of Buzz Lightyear Operation that was laid out on the table.
“I
’
m gonna fixed up the laser this time!” he decided. She sat down,
settling him onto her lap as he pulled the game towards him, starting to play.
“
Nice dance?
” George asked me,
smirking
wickedly.
“Yep,” I replied, popping the p, not
letting him get to me.
Just four times a year, buddy, that
’
s all I
’
m seeing you!
“We
’
re thinking we should head off now,” Rosie chimed in.
My mom whimpered and her arms tightened
around DJ, as if she refused to let him go. “Nanna Dawn, you made me setted off
the lasers!” DJ whined, pouting.
I grinned and patted him on the head as she
loosened her arms. “Sorry, sweetpea, have another go,” she offered. She loved
the whole ‘Nanna
’
title thing –
that much was obvious by her proud expression as she kissed the side of his
head.
Rosie grinned and slipped her hand into
mine. “Shall we put all of DJ
’
s
gifts in the car?” she suggested, nodding towards the door of the function
room.
“Yeah, okay.” I grabbed the bags of toys,
leaving the one that they were playing with and then we headed out of the door,
hand in hand. As soon as we were on our own, I pulled her to me and kissed her.
When Rosie shivered in my arms, I pulled back, slipping off my jacket and
hanging it around her shoulders.
She smiled at me gratefully and pulled it
tighter around herself. “You are so freaking romantic sometimes, Nate.”
I kissed her forehead lightly. “Can
’
t have my girl getting sick,” I answered,
tracing my nose up the side of hers. “
You wait here; I
’
ll put these in the car.”
I turned and jogged towards the car, trying
not to feel the cold wind as I ran. After storing them in the trunk, I ran back
to her side. She was just standing there waiting for me, looking incredible in
my suit jacket that almost drowned her.
“
You look so
hot in my clothes. You know, maybe
you
should be the boss in
the little role-play game,” I growled, wrapping my arms around her tightly,
making her giggle.
She narrowed her eyes and gripped my tie,
pulling me closer to her. “Maybe I should. I
’
m a very strict boss you know, one step out of line and you
’
ll get punished,” she purred seductively.
I grinned and kissed her passionately,
holding her tighter as I almost knocked her off her feet from the force of the
kiss.
A loud, dramatic throat clearing made me
pull back and look over my shoulder. I was just about to tell the person to
take a hike and leave us in peace, when I spotted it was her dad. He
’
d followed us out of the hotel.
“I thought you two were putting the stuff
in the car. Or was that just an excuse so you could get your hands on my
daughter?” he asked me.
Flinching, I let go of her immediately
feeling like a kid that had their hand caught in the cookie jar. “We were just
talking,” I lied.
“Looks like it,” he scoffed, shaking his
head. He looked towards Rosie. “So this is just a physical thing then?”
“Physical thing?” she repeated, obviously
looking for clarification.
He crossed his arms over his chest, his
eyes tightening. “Sure, what else could you see in him?”
Rosie
frowned. “A lot
of things actually,” she answered, her tone harsh, matching his.
I felt like a rabbit caught in a fox hole,
just waiting to be ripped to shreds. This was it. This was the showdown that I
knew would come
.
“He
’
s not your usual type,” George commented.
Rosie
nodded in
agreement. “You
’
re right, he
’
s not my usual type at all. In fact, he
’
s the complete opposite of my usual type. My
usual type is a cheating jerk,” she countered, frowning angrily.
George
’
s eyes narrowed. “If you
’
re going for looks then you should have learn
ed
last time not to go for a guy like that. This guy, he
’
s not good enough for you, just like that
other dick wasn
’
t
.
”
Rosie
’
s shoulders
stiffened
as she looked at him in shock. “What the hell?”
I shook my head and put my hand on the
small of her back, not wanting to be the cause of friction in her family. He
was entitled to his opinion. “It
’
s
okay, Rose.”
She snorted in disbelief, her jaw tight
with anger. “It most certainly isn
’
t okay actually,” she replied tersely. She turned back to her dad.
The only other time I had seen her angry was when she was arguing with Josh
about the money for DJ
’
s show.
“You don
’
t know him at all. How
can you make a judgement like that?”
Her dad
raised
one eyebrow challengingly. “He
’
s a
cocky, self-centred punk, that
’
s
just after a quick thrill with a pretty girl.”
Rosie
’
s eyes tightened, and I cringed at the evaluation. That
was
me three months ago, but not now
;
I
’
d changed, Rosie had changed me.
“You think I
’
m with him because of the way he looks? Trust me, looks have nothing
to do with why I
’
m crazy about
Nate, or why your grandson
’
s crazy
about him. You want to know why both DJ and I are crazy about him?” she cried
angrily.
He nodded, his posture matching hers, not
backing down. “Enlighten me.”
“I
’
m crazy about him because when he tells me that he
’
ll meet me at eight o
’
clock, I know he
’
ll get
there at five minutes to, just to make sure he
’
s not late. I
’
m crazy
about him because of how thoughtful he is. For example, the other day he called
me and I was in the middle of grocery shopping, by the time I stepped outside
the store, he was there waiting for me with his car so I didn
’
t have to carry the stuff home. I didn
’
t ask him to do that, he just did it to
surprise me because he wanted to. I
’
m crazy about him because no matter how much of a shitty day he
’
s had, or how tired he is from working, he
’
ll still sit there for hours on end playing
with my son.
My
son, not his,
mine
.
Y
et he
’
ll still do that because he
’
s adorable. I
’
m crazy about him because he makes me feel
special that
an incredible, kind and generous person wants to spend time with me
and my son.”