Chapter 50 Chapter Fifty

Chapter 50 Chapter Fifty
Danny POV 

It wasn't easy to get me to shut up quite easily, but my mother has succeeded to do it in one punch.

“ Mom, I'm not sure this is the most appropriate comparison but I'll take it.” 

"Yes Vanessa is my girlfriend and she is impressive," I said carefully.

"But Mom, we've only been officially together for a few weeks. It might be a little soon for the whole 'meet the parents' thing."

"Nonsense," Alice said briskly.

"If she's important to you, we want to meet her. This Friday?” 

“ You live in another city” I said and she hummed 

“We'll fly you both home for Thanksgiving, do something casual, nothing fancy. Just dinner."

In the background, I heard my father's voice, muffled but clearly disagreeing with something. I couldn't make out the words, but the tone was enough.

"Mom, I don't think— she may have something planned with her family" I finally said and my mother huffed. 

"Fine, find out if she'll like the Christmas break or Thanksgiving," Alice said firmly. 

"And Danny? Bring her. I insist. It's been far too long since we've had a nice family dinner, and I want to meet the girl who's made my son smile again."

The way she said it—the girl who's made my son smile again—made my chest tight. My mother had a way of seeing right through me, of knowing things I didn't say out loud.

"I'll talk to her," I said finally. 

"But I can't promise anything. She's really busy with her dissertation, and—"

"Just talk to her," Alice said gently.

"That's all I'm asking. Give her some time to think about it, and let me know. No pressure."

I knew better than to argue with my mother when she'd made up her mind.

"Okay," I agreed. 

"I'll bring it up later and let you know."

"Perfect," Alice said, sounding genuinely pleased. 

"I'm looking forward to it. And Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let your father get to you," she said quietly. 

"He means well, even when he doesn't show it. He just wants what's best for you."

"I know," I said, even though I wasn't entirely sure I believed it.

"I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too, Mom."

The line went dead, and I sat there staring at my phone, trying to process what had just happened.

In the span of ten minutes, I'd managed to piss off my father and commit myself to what would likely be the most awkward dinner of my life.

I thought about calling Vanessa right then, getting it over with, but I couldn't bring myself to dial. 

How was I supposed to tell her that my mother wanted to meet her? That she'd have to sit through dinner with Jonathan Glover, even I didn't want to sit through dinner with my him and he was my father

And then there was the bigger issue—the one nobody had mentioned directly, but was evidently going to become a problem later if it wasn't taken care of.

Vanessa's last name was Williams. 

Trent Williams' daughter and my father's sworn enemy's daughter.

I would like to think my father would not make a fuss about it at dinner but you could never tell with my dad.

His tone of disagreement when my mom had invited Vanessa to dinner was a very clear sign.

My phone buzzed with a text from my mother.

I'm serious Danny. I am excited to meet her, she must be very special.

Another text came through immediately after.

Your father will come around. Give him time.

I stared at those messages, hoping desperately that she was right this time. 

There was only one way to find out, and that was to actually have this dinner. To bring Vanessa into the lion's den and see what happened.

But first, I had to convince her to come.

I grabbed my keys and headed out to my car. This wasn't a conversation I could have over the phone. I needed to see her face, hold her hand, reassure her that whatever happened at this dinner, we'd get through it together.

The drive to her apartment took fifteen minutes, but it felt like an hour. I rehearsed different ways to bring it up, trying to find the right words that wouldn't send her into a panic spiral.

"Hey, so my mom wants to meet you" —too casual.

"We need to talk about my parents" —too ominous.

"How do you feel about awkward family dinners?" —too flippant.

By the time I pulled into her parking lot, I still hadn't figured out the right approach. I was just going to have to wing it and hope for the best.

I knocked on her door, and Bean answered, wearing pajamas and what looked like a face mask.

"Oh, hey Danny," she said, looking surprised. 

"Vanessa didn't mention you were coming over." she muttered and I shrugged.

"She doesn't know," I admitted.

"Is she here?"

"Yeah, she's in her room working on her dissertation," Bean said, stepping aside to let me in. 

"Fair warning though—she's been at it for like six hours straight. She might be slightly feral."

I couldn't help but smile. 

"I'll take my chances."

Bean pointed toward Vanessa's bedroom.

"Good luck, soldier."

I found Vanessa exactly as Bean had described—sitting at her desk surrounded by papers, her laptop open to what looked like a spreadsheet full of data, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She was so focused on her work that she didn't even notice me standing in the doorway.

"Hey," I said softly.

She jumped, spinning around with one hand pressed to her chest. 

"Jesus, Danny! You scared me."

"Sorry," I said, moving into the room.

"Bean let me in." I mumbled seating besides her 

" Wow, I didn't know she was home. She's rarely home these days" she mumbled softly rubbing at her eyes 

" You okay?" I muttered 

"I'm fine," Vanessa said, but she looked exhausted. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her desk was littered with empty coffee mugs.

"Just trying to finish transcribing this interview data before I lose my mind."

I walked over and gently closed her laptop. 

"You need a break."

"Danny—"

"Five minutes," I said. "Just give me five minutes, and then you can go back to your data."

Vanessa sighed but nodded, letting me pull her up from her chair and guide her to sit on the bed. I sat beside her, and she immediately leaned into me, her head on my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked. 

"You have your 'something's bothering me' face."

Of course she'd noticed. She always noticed.

"I got a call from my parents today," I said.

I felt her stiffen slightly.

"Oh?"

"My mom wants to meet you. She's invited us to dinner on Friday." 

I wanted to say that right there but the way she stared at me exhausted but trying her best to keep her eyes open. 

I have up 

“ It's nothing, I can't handle” I mumbled softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“ Let's watch a movie and fall asleep” I muttered and she nodded snuggling into my side.

“ Did you have fun today?” she murmured drowsily as I went online and selected some romcom that I knew was popular.