Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
O h no, she was latching onto one of his invitations again. “The driver can drop me at the hotel.” Mallory waved her hands in quick denial. She’d clearly snared him with some type of proximity guilt. “I don’t want to intrude.” Dinners with parents implied commitments and promises. That wasn’t what this was. She didn’t want to get confused.
“Mom’s expecting us.” Dylan linked his fingers with hers. “I know, not the plan. But come in, enjoy dinner. I’d like you to.”
She couldn’t resist his warm request, the feel of his fingers entwined with hers, or his deep voice. “I’d like that too.” And honestly, that was true. She wanted more time with him. The circumstances had her off-kilter, and she needed time to process how the last week had gone and the growing connection she was feeling for him.
They were temporary. No . They were the past.
Lighten up.
It was dinner. She needed to calm down and enjoy herself.
Mallory did a quick check of her face and ran a brush through her ponytail. That was the best she could do. She was wearing tennis shoes, black yoga pants, and a t-shirt with the Eiffel Tower on the front. Her twelve-hour flight, travel clothing of choice. Zipping up her hoodie might help.
They got out of the car. She was having a friendly dinner with a colleague. That was what she would focus on.
Dylan went to the trunk and retrieved gift bags. “Souvenirs.”
He’d bought stuff for his family, like she had. Aww, that made him even more attractive, in a sweet way.
Dylan lifted a bag covered with scrolled gold lettering. “Cognac for my parents.” He tilted the silver-blue bag. “Signature cologne, of course. Did the giftset I sent reach you?”
“Yes, thanks.” Mallory grinned. “I admit, it’s set to become a souvenir for one of my cousins.” She touched the cream stripe on the third bag with the tip of her finger. “Pretty. What’s this one?”
“Chocolates for my sister.”
“Good idea.” She should have talked with him about souvenirs before they left the airport. “I didn’t think of chocolates. My cousins would have liked that.”
“Any siblings?”
“Nope. But I have seven cousins, four girls and three guys. I’ll have to find some famous chocolates from Seoul. Is that a thing?”
He nodded. “Chocolate’s a thing most places. My sister Jenny can recommend some chocolate shops.” He led the way to the house. The sky was dark, but the house was lit cheerily, lighting the path up the sidewalk.
“Is Jenny older or younger?”
“Younger.”
Younger would have been her guess, given his indulgent tone. Due to her nap on the plane, Mallory wasn’t tired, and a meal actually sounded nice, though her body wasn’t sure if it was time for dinner or breakfast.
They slipped out of their shoes in the foyer and exchanged them for guest slippers. Their house shoes tapped on the bamboo floors as they crossed into the modern living room where Dylan’s parents waited.
“We made it.”
His mom, a petite, dark-haired woman, was elegant and pretty. His dad hugged him next. They were the same height, with enough resemblance to easily peg them as father and son.
His mom lightly slapped his arm, affectionate concern on her face. “You’re finally home.” After greeting their son, they looked over at her.
Even for dinner with family, his mom wore full makeup and a pretty red lip stain. Dylan’s mom’s gaze showed only welcome. “Aren’t you pretty.”
Sweet of her to say. Especially in her travel-weary state. Mallory relaxed, and she released her hold on her upper arms, which she hadn’t realized she’d been grasping. No one cared what she wore. Her hoodie sleeves hid her scar; no one was asking about her family.
“You work at Texk?” his mom asked.
She should have touched up her own makeup more. Mallory chewed on her lip. “Not exactly.”
“Mallory’s a client of Texk,” Dylan said easily. “She was my interpreter in Paris.”
“ Oui. ” Mallory offered the familiar agreement lightly in French, making the others smile.
“How’s your Korean?” Mrs. Lee asked.
“I know a little. My family is in the hotel business, so my grandfather made sure we had language training early.”
“I didn’t know that.” Dylan eyed her.
Mrs. Lee nodded. “I’ll give you my contact information in case you need help getting around town.”
“Thank you.”
Dylan sniffed the air. There was no hint of food cooking, just lemon cleaning fragrance.
He made his eyes big and pleading. “Are we ordering in?”
“We’ll start the meal once Jenny comes home.”
On cue, Dylan’s sister, a slim, pretty girl in her late teens, bounded in, giving her brother a hug. They did intros, then the men went out to grill and the women went to the kitchen to heat up the sides.
At first, Dylan’s mom and Jenny insisted Mallory sit with a cup of tea and simply chat with them, especially when they learned Mallory was from Texas, because Jenny planned to study abroad in Austin next semester. But after Mallory displayed genuine interest in helping, they let her. Though the dishes were foreign, a childhood spent cooking with her own mom and her cousins made joining in feel natural.
“Dinner is ready.” Dylan’s dad carried in a platter loaded with ribs to the low table in the dining room. Dylan followed him with a second platter.
The food was delicious and the conversation easy. From the way his family interacted with her, they had zero suspicion that she and Dylan were anything more than work colleagues.
His mom totally bought his story. Which was actually accurate now. Tuesday was almost over and closing in on Wednesday. That date shift made her and Dylan simply work colleagues who’d only had a fleeting chance at being something more.
How did she feel about that? At ease? Comfortable? Nope, still sorry for losing the chance to be with him.
After a dessert of tea and the French chocolates that Dylan had brought for Jenny, Jenny tilted her head at Mallory, giving her an intent look, then she squealed. “I know why you look familiar.”