Chapter Seventeen
U sually Sundays were spent relaxing at Seth’s house while we worked on the big Sunday dinner with everyone. Seth always tried to go above and beyond, marinating meat, prepping ingredients. It was a whole thing that I was still trying to get used to.
But this time around, I had to go with Bryan to a fancy brunch with his parents, and then help Toby with his hospital adventure with his little brother. I wasn’t really sure what to expect with either of them, but promises were promises.
Even if all I wanted to do was hide in Seth’s living room, playing some game I was terrible at.
Instead, I waited at my house with Janice fussing over my face with small makeup touch ups as Bryan waited for us.
“Okay, we seriously need to go,” Bryan said for the tenth time while glowering at his phone. “My mom is starting to lose her patience. We need to be there like ten minutes ago.”
“Okay.” Janice moved her hands away from my face. “I’m sorry. I relinquish Cadence now.”
“About time.” Bryan grumbled, grabbing my hand and practically dragging me out of the house.
I glanced back at Janice. She raised an eyebrow at me, amused by the whole situation.
And then we were gone and all too quickly in front of the fancy country club.
“On a scale of one to ten, how wary of your parents should I actually be?” I asked.
“A twelve.” Bryan jumped out of the car and came over, opening my door for me.
“Seriously? A twelve?”
He shrugged. “We have the upper class and then we have the upper class . My family is practically at the top, with a handful of other families. And I’m not just talking about this town, or this state. I’m talking about the country. They have only known the life of living above everyone else, never having to lift a finger to clean or do any of the rough work. They’re the final decision makers who tell people how to do their jobs. They’re a twelve while the rest of the people here are a ten or below.”
I gaped at Bryan, not expecting that intense, elaborate response. I slowly wrapped my head around what he said as he led me toward the building. There were others also headed in, all nicely dressed, looking like they ate plates of money for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Bryan stopped us at the stairs and pulled me to the side, leaning in close to make sure only I heard him. “Remember, you’re my girlfriend today. I...I can’t let my parents know about the whole multiple boyfriends thing. I just can’t. They won’t react well to that. I’d probably have a better reaction telling them I was gay even if it meant they disowned me. Okay?”
“You think they’d disown you for being gay?”
“They’ll disown me for anything they perceive as a stain on the family reputation. And even if times are changing, they are not supporters of the LGBT community.”
“Okay.”
“You still want to go in?” he asked. “Or did I scare you away?”
“You need to go in.”
“I do.”
“Then I’m going in. Even if your parents are a scary twelve and can probably eat me as a snack.”
Bryan smiled for the first time today, pulling me into a quick hug. Then he grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs.
Our invites were checked at the door and then we stepped inside, following the sound into a massive, elegantly decorated space. The room buzzed with people’s soft voices. In the background, the low notes of a gentle melody hummed through the air.
“So what’s first?” I asked.
“We need to say hello to my parents so they know I’m here.”
“Right. Okay.” I nodded. “We can so do this.”
“Yeah, we’ll crush it. Let’s go. I just spotted them. Looks like the mayor of a nearby town is trying to get his claws into them.”
“Will it work?”
Bryan snorted. “Never does. They don’t blindly make connections at these kinds of parties.”
As we weaved through the crowd full of elegantly dressed people, I couldn’t help but notice that some of them glanced our way. Bryan’s way to be exact. They knew exactly who he was and their calculating gazes sent a cold tremor down my body. They were scheming.
If what he’d said about his parents was true, then Bryan would be seen as the weak link, their way in.
I straightened my back, reminding myself that I couldn’t be his weakness. I tightened my grip on Bryan’s hand like it was a lifeline. He squeezed back, but didn’t look at me as we slipped by a group of men.
He guided me toward the large window overlooking the back of the vast property. A couple—dressed similarly enough to mark them as a pair—stood in conversation with a man who appeared to be their age. Their smiles were polite but still professional and cold.
And the man talking to them knew he didn’t have them.
Hello, Bryan’s parents.
Bryan’s mother was tall and slender, her features a mirror of the ones I’d grown so familiar with in him. She had light brown hair, dark eyes. Her dress was long and black.
His dad, who was also tall, was the one with the black hair, styled back away from his face. He wore glasses. His tailored suit fit his figure perfectly. His sharp, dark eyes scanned the room as he pretended to listen to the mayor’s enthusiastic chatter.
Bryan wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his side, his hand resting against my waist.
“Dad. Mom.” His voice was calm, carrying a weight I hadn’t heard before.
“Oh, Bryan.” His mom’s smile widened, but it was still cold. Practiced. “So glad to see that you were able to join us.” Her gaze flickered to me. “Who is this?”
“I’d like to introduce Cadence Wiles, my girlfriend.”
Both his parents were looking at me now, their expressions betraying only the slightest flicker of surprise at the announcement before they schooled their faces into what was probably their go-to polite neutrality.
“Cadence.” His mother’s tone was cool as she gave me a quick glance over, assessing every detail of my appearance. There was a reason it took so long for Janice to help me get ready. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” I extended my hand. She hesitated for half a beat before shaking it briefly, as though touching me was beneath her.
Bryan’s father nodded curtly. “Bryan hasn’t mentioned much about you.” Clearly, he had no interest in shaking my hand.
“We’ve recently started dating,” Bryan spoke up. “She’s been a part of my life lately.” His hand tightened around my waist. “That’s why I wanted to introduce her to you today. She’s been wonderful.”
“Has she?” his mother murmured, her gaze flickering to my dress. I knew it wasn’t up to the shimmering elegance that adorned her body, but I knew it was still on par with the others in the room.
“She is,” Bryan said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. He was making a stand for me against his parents.
Both of them stared at him, giving none of their thoughts away. The silence stretched, but not for long. The mayor seized the opportunity to redirect the conversation as he captured Bryan’s dad’s attention. Sensing an out, Bryan tugged me gently away.
“They’re not so bad,” I whispered sarcastically as we walked.
Bryan snorted. “Trust me, that was them being on their best behavior. Let’s grab food.”
There was a huge buffet laid out with a bunch of artistically arranged easy finger foods.
“Are these edible or one of those weird food art pieces?” I asked.
Bryan chuckled. “Safe to eat, I promise.” He grabbed something on a cracker and stuffed it into his mouth to prove his point. He grimaced, but managed to turn it into a smile.
“Palatable?”
“Just pretend it’s amazing.” He grabbed a small plate and filled it with random stuff. I followed along. As we walked to a side table, we guessed what we were about to put into our stomachs. None of what we said sounded appetizing.
We were sitting for all of thirty seconds when a group of women approached. They were dressed nicely, jewels adorning their ears, neck and wrist. Their heels clicked against the marble floor and a couple of them quickly adjusted their hair.
“Bryan,” one of them said brightly, her glossy red lips curving into a big smile showcasing her perfect white teeth. “I knew I’d get to see you here today.”
It took me a moment to realize it was Elisa Kramer. I had met her at the last function Bryan brought me to. She was a very confident girl, knowing exactly what she wanted.
“You’re Elisa, right?” I said, holding out my hand. “I met you at a dinner party a few weeks ago.”
She frowned at me, hating that I was interrupting her and forcing her to pay attention to me instead of Bryan.
“Who are you?” She feigned ignorance as she politely shook my hand, but the subtle tilt of her head and the way her question carried an air of condescension didn’t get past me. I was used to it already.
“Cadence Wiles. Bryan’s girlfriend.”
Her mouth popped open in surprise, and I had to fight to keep my smile polite and not victorious. She didn’t know me, but she didn’t have to. My presence by Bryan’s side was enough to unsettle her.
“Oh,” she said lightly, not expecting that kind of introduction. But I could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to accept this news and adjust her approach.
I was here as Bryan’s buffer and I wasn’t going to fail, not against these girls. They wanted his attention, and I needed to make sure I would always be in their way. I channeled every bit of my experience from past events as I remained stoic, prepared to push back against her.
“His girlfriend? I haven’t heard about this,” she said.
“Well.” I casually shrugged as if her lack of knowledge didn’t matter in the slightest. “We’ve been dating for a couple weeks. I’m sure you would have eventually heard about it.”
I made sure the implication was clear, and by her expression, she got it: she wasn’t important enough to Bryan to have been in the loop.
Her expression tightened, her facade briefly dropping, but she was seasoned, and she was able to recover quickly. “How sweet,” she said, her tone bordering on patronizing. “Bryan’s always been private about his relationships. It’s nice to see him branching out.”
I raised an eyebrow, letting her words hang in the air. “He’s wonderful,” I said simply, my tone deliberately warm as I tilted my head at Bryan. “I’ve never been treated so well before. He makes me really happy.”
Bryan had only been watching the interaction. At my words, he flashed me a genuine smile. His response to what I said made me breathless. I may have said what I said as a jab against Elisa, but it didn’t mean the words weren’t authentic. He really did treat me well and had made me happy.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Elisa, grabbing our attention. Her perfectly manicured fingers curled into fists at her side. She glanced at the other two girls who’d approached us with her. They weren’t even trying to hide their curiosity, their eyes darting between us like spectators at an intense match.
“Of course.” Her smile returned in full force. “Bryan is a great guy. A lucky catch for any girl who’s able to grab his attention.”
Her words carried an unspoken challenge, but I didn’t flinch. Instead, I made sure to keep my smile plastered on my face, making sure my confidence came off as unwavering.
“Sometimes when you know, you know.” I kept my voice light but firm. “And Bryan and me? We know.”
Her composure faltered, slipping as her eyes narrowed slightly. But before she could respond, Bryan wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.
“While it’s been great catching up with you, Elisa, I need to get some food into Cadence before we make our rounds.”
I leaned into Bryan as he dismissed Elisa so easily.
Elisa hesitated, her lips parting to say more, but she thought better of it. With a tight smile, she gave us a shallow nod and stepped back, letting her friends surround her and lead her away.
The moment they gave us their backs, I let the smile drop my face. “Ow. My jaw.” I rubbed it. Fake smiling like that was hard. How did these people do it for so long? I only had to do it for like two minutes.
Bryan turned to me once they disappeared from sight. “You are so fucking brilliant.”
I couldn’t help the faint smirk tugging at the corner of my lips. “I told you, I’m great at my job.”
Bryan laughed, shaking his head. “Too amazing.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Well, I wasn’t lying. Eat up because we do need to make rounds before I can politely leave.”
“Now that we’ve dealt with your parents and Elisa, how much harder is the rest of the charity?”
“Oh, we basically succeeded. Now we coast through until I’m allowed to leave and then we’re free.”
“Sounds perfect to me.” I shoved food in my mouth that had meat in it that I couldn’t identify. It wasn’t chicken, pork, or beef, and that was about all I could determine.
“Don’t question the food. Just chew and swallow.”
“What if it kills me?” I asked after finally washing it down with some water.
“It won’t. That’d be bad for business.”
I laughed and, still feeling like a winner, finished the little plate of weird food before letting Bryan bring me around to talk to others who wanted to get to his parents through him.