Chapter 21. Let’s Talk About the Concept of a Platonic Relationship #2
“Maybe I’ve decided to expand my services to the wider community,” Rob replied. “Make other people’s lives brighter by helping them find their soulmates.”
“But why would you pair Kim off with someone else when you can ask her out yourself?” Amanda said.
“I agree with Paulie,” Jennifer said. “Who wants to bet that Robbie’s going to be the one getting hitched next?”
“How can you be so sure? He doesn’t even have a girlfriend yet.”
“She’s going to be his girlfriend, dumbass. Look at how he’s looking at her. He’s next.”
How he looks at me? I glanced at Rob, who was watching his family with a mixture of exasperation and amusement on his face.
“I agree. And a mother’s intuition is never wrong.”
“Maybe you can do a double wedding with Cousin Clare. Have you heard? She proposed to her boyfriend last month.”
“Can you just elope? I’m getting tired of weddings, honestly.”
“Everyone needs to calm the fuck down.” Rob raised his voice a little, although a smile was playing on his lips. “Kim and I are just friends, okay?”
“But you don’t usually bring female friends to family events.” Amanda was giving me furtive looks she thought I didn’t catch. “Not after Lucy. Oh, I’m so glad Evie didn’t invite her.”
“Go away,” Rob said, but without any heat to his words. “Find someone else to annoy.”
She gave him a pout. “Is that how you treat your favorite sibling?”
Paul flashed me a sympathetic smile. “I apologize on behalf of my sisters. Robbie and I have no choice, we’re stuck with them. You know the saying, ‘You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family’? Underneath all this craziness, we’re normal and lovable.”
“Who are you calling crazy, Paulie?”
The siblings started talking over each other, earning looks from the other wedding guests around us, and with that, I fell in love with his family.
They might be loud and opinionated, and Rob might act like he was annoyed with his siblings, but it was obvious that they all loved and supported each other.
I stole a glance at him, and he had one arm around his mother, while his other hand was gesturing wildly, trying to emphasize his point.
I had to admit, I was secretly enjoying this side of him I’d never seen before. There was a lot to be said about how someone treated their mother, and seeing the way he interacted with his mom and siblings told me all I needed to know.
And honestly, I really, really liked what I’d seen so far.
Suddenly the group went quiet, as Rob’s father strode our way.
“Hey, honey.” Michelle gave the man a hug. “You made it.”
“My lunch meeting finished earlier than expected.” He gave her a kiss and turned his attention to the rest, his eyes briefly pausing on me, before turning to his youngest son. “Robert. I’ve only seen you at the office once this week.”
“Dad, it’s the weekend,” Kylie said. “Are you seriously talking about work?”
James threw her an impatient glance. “Yes, because Rob has been slacking off again.”
“I’m not slacking off.” Rob glanced at his mother, who was vibrating with a nervous energy next to his dad. “I’ve just been busy with work.”
“With that old house you’re renovating? Didn’t I tell you it’s not a good investment?” His father let out a scoff. “Why are you still wasting your time on that ridiculous little project? You need to start taking your life more seriously.”
I gaped at him. Did he just say ‘ridiculous little project’? Did he really not know what his son had been up to?
“Rob’s fine, Dad,” Alexandra said. “He’s doing perfectly well on his own.”
“Honey, we’re at Evie’s wedding.” Michelle hooked her arm into her husband’s, her smile tense, as panic flickered in her eyes. “Can we please not make a scene? We can talk about this another time.”
Rob slid his mother another look, then sighed with reservation. “Fine, Dad. I’ll come Monday morning. Okay?”
“Make sure you do.” James fixed him with a glare. “Because that’s what you said last week, and you never did.”
“Excuse me,” I interrupted. “I don’t think you know much about your son.”
Silence fell over the group as their gazes pivoted toward me.
“Your daughter is right.” I gestured at Alexandra.
“Rob is doing very well on his own. You’re aware that he runs his own construction business, right?
He renovated my friend’s store last year and turned it into an amazing, state-of-the-art bakery.
That house he’s remodeling, have you seen it?
It’s gorgeous. It would make a wonderful home for anyone to live in for many years to come.
You also know that he owns a stake in Alec Mackenzie’s company, don’t you?
And it’s partly owned by Goodwin Property Group?
” Fine, so I might have conveniently left out the fact that they’d sold their ownership, but whatever. I was on a roll here.
Rob’s dad was scowling at me, irritation displayed across his face. “This is a family matter. You don’t know what you’re talking about—”
“I do know what I’m talking about,” I cut him off. “But you obviously don’t. Your son is an amazing guy, a hard worker, and he is successful in his own way. The least you can do is appreciate what he’s done in his life, instead of belittling him for his choices.”
I glanced at Rob, wanting to reassure him that I was there for him no matter what. He was staring at me, his eyes popped wide in disbelief.
Nobody said anything following my speech, and the loud silence in the group was deafening, even though we were in the middle of a party.
Michelle looked frazzled, while Rob’s dad was shooting daggers my way, which annoyed the hell out of me, so I lifted my chin and returned his glare.
My grandparents had always emphasized the importance of being polite and respectful to people older than me, but this man was condescending to Rob, and he didn’t deserve even an ounce of politeness and my respect.
James gave a quiet scoff and said to Rob, “Monday morning. Don’t be late.”
He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving the rest in awkward silence.
“Wow.” Paul was staring open-mouthed at me. “You have balls of steel.”
Michelle closed her eyes and exhaled. Before I could say anything, she turned to me and grasped my hands, her expression apologetic. “I’m really sorry. He’s been stressing over a major project at work.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I said. “I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
“That doesn’t give him an excuse to be an ass, Mom,” Kylie said.
Michelle sighed. “I know, honey. I’ll see if I can talk to him tonight.”
“Thank you for standing up for Rob,” Alexandra said to me. “You’re good for him.”
I nodded, but my attention was on Rob. He was still staring at me. The disbelief had turned into gratefulness, and there was a fiery look in his eyes, as if he was about to grab me and drag me into a secluded corner and do delicious, unspeakable things to me.
What? Where did that thought come from?
Amanda said to Rob, “I like her. She’s now my favorite person in—”
He cut her off, his attention still riveted on me. “I see our target by the drinks table, and I’m on matchmaking duties, so Kim and I are leaving, okay?”
He placed a hand at the small of my back and led me away without waiting for his family’s answer. As soon as we were out of earshot and a safe distance away, he stopped, turned me around to face him, and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Thank you for saying all that,” he murmured. “It means a lot.”
“Anytime. It’s the truth, and you don’t deserve to be treated like that.”
We stood like that for a few minutes, and it was such a wonderful place to be in, surrounded by his warmth and his comforting scent, and right now, the prospect of having to meet and charm another man really wasn’t appealing at all.
I wanted to stay like this the entire night, and I didn’t want it to be with anyone else but him.
He was the first to pull away, looking as reluctant as I felt. “I guess we should go and find Aiden?”
I slowly nodded. Remember what you came here for.
When we found him, Aiden Cho was chatting with an older woman who seemed to be thoroughly enchanted by him.
“That’s the bride’s grandma,” Rob said. “She seems to be enjoying his company.”
“I guess it’s a good sign. He’s patient with older people.” Which was exactly what my grandfather had said about Rob.
“True. Patience is an important virtue.”
A man was standing next to the woman, wearing a fond smile as he watched her chuckling at everything Aiden was saying. “Is that her husband?”
“Yeah. They’ve been married for fifty years, and it’s one of the strongest marriages I know. That man is so secure in their relationship and even though she might be giggling like a schoolgirl at some handsome young man, he knows her heart is only reserved for him.”
No wonder Rob was such a firm believer in true love, because his entire family was full of examples of solid, loving marriages.
When the couple walked away, Rob nodded at me. “That’s our cue. Let’s move.”
Aiden was looking at his phone when we approached, and Rob gave him a friendly pat on the back. “Aiden. Great to see you again, man. How’s things?”
“Oh, I can’t complain.” Aiden gave him a friendly smile. “It’s such a lovely day for a wedding, isn’t it? Evie and Jason look so happy. And I heard you played a huge part in getting them together.”
“They’re perfect for each other, so I didn’t really have to do much.” Rob gestured at me. “This is Kim, by the way. Kim, Aiden is one of Evie’s college friends.”
“Nice to meet you.” Aiden tilted his head at me. “I feel like we’ve met before.”
“Have we?” I gave him a polite smile. “Maybe I just have one of those faces.”
“Oh, I know!” His face broke into a huge smile.
“Are you a friend of Jenna Ng? Were you at her company’s Christmas party last year?
” When I nodded, he continued, “My firm consults for them, and her bosses were kind enough to invite us to their year-end get-together.” A warm smile crossed his face.
“I was actually trying to talk to you that night, but I had to leave early, so I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. ”
From next to him, Rob made a subtle thumbs-up gesture, before mumbling that he was going to get more drinks, then disappearing among the crowd.
I spent the next half hour talking to Aiden, and he was polite and funny, and his posh English accent made him sound like he had the intellectual ability to quote the entire dictionary off the top of his head.
And the best part was, he seemed to be genuinely interested in me and not someone else, like Neil was.
Aiden Cho was, undoubtedly, the perfect boyfriend material for the next few months.
And I knew I should be feeling a lot more enthusiastic about it, but somehow, I wasn’t.
“It’s been wonderful meeting you, Kim,” Aiden said. “Maybe we can catch up for drinks or dinner sometime?”
“I’d like that.”
“Brilliant.” He handed me his phone. “If you want to give me your phone number, I’ll send you a text.”
As he walked away, I glanced around the room to find Rob, wanting to share the news with him, and saw him talking to his father across the room.
Rob was gesturing wildly with his hands, and after a few minutes of what looked like a heated exchange, he stormed off, looking annoyed, while his father stood there shaking his head.
Rob was standing in a corner when I went to find him, nursing a drink and wearing a scowl on his face.
“Can I join you?”
“Always.” He glanced at me. “How did it go with Aiden?”
“Went great. Never mind that, are you okay? I saw you with your father.”
He shrugged, clearly struggling to keep his emotions in check. “Just my dad being my dad. You know that major project my mom mentioned? He wants me to drop everything I’m doing and work for him full-time, because he needs all hands on deck.”
“Why? He doesn’t have other employees in his firm that could work on it?”
“I have a lot of experience that he can utilize.” Rob sipped his drink, his eyes taking on a faraway look, as if he was anywhere else but here.
“Being involved with that project will bring tons of exposure to his firm, which they really need right now. It’s so massive that everyone who’s a part of the project was asked to sign an NDA.
” He turned to me, looking troubled. “He can be infuriating sometimes, but he’s my dad, and he means well.
What if he’s right? That I’m just wasting my life away?
And all the hard work that Alec and I did to renovate that old house wasn’t good enough? ”
“I’ve seen the house. You two did an amazing job.”
“But it’s been a few weeks, and we haven’t had any real interest yet.” He drained his drink. “You’ve met my siblings. They’re all successful and accomplished, making a difference in the world, and here I am, still without a real sense of purpose.”
“Listen to me.” I grabbed the sides of his face, making sure he was listening.
“You. Are. Good. Enough. Who cares what your siblings are doing? Success looks different for everyone, and there are no right or wrong ways to define it. Didn’t you tell me that you loved building things and making something out of nothing?
That you loved seeing how happy people are when they finally get to see what you’ve built for them?
That’s your purpose. You are making a difference with what you’re doing. ”
“Yeah, but—”
“No buts.” My tone was more forceful than I intended.
“You need to understand that you are doing something worthwhile with your life, and don’t let your dad tell you otherwise.
You don’t need his approval. Don’t let him, or anyone else, minimize everything you’ve achieved, no matter how big or small. ”
He stared into my eyes for a few beats, and I was suddenly aware of how close we were to each other. My hands were still cupping his face, and somehow in the past few minutes, he’d placed his empty glass on a table next to us, and his hands were both grasping my waist.
His gaze briefly lowered to my lips, before finding my eyes again.
I quickly dropped my own hands from his face and took a step back. What am I doing?
He wanted forever. A family and kids and the whole nine yards.
And I was here for a totally different purpose.
So whatever this was, whatever thoughts and feelings I was starting to have for him, it couldn’t—it mustn’t—go any further.