Chapter Six #3
“Hey, they want to be rude to me without knowing me, bring it on. I don’t tolerate it,” Louis answered calmly.
“Add that to the fact that they are disrespecting you in your own home, I am so not happy. However, they are your parents. We are under your roof. Which means I sincerely apologise to you.”
Her heart stopped. He truly meant it. He may not have apologised to them, but he was sorry for upsetting her.
Again, her father gave an appreciative noise. “I may consider letting my daughter out . . .”
“Oh, how kind of you,” Louis responded under his breath.
Rosie elbowed him in the ribs, and he coughed out air.
“You seem a decent fellow. What did you have planned for her?” her father asked. “As you can imagine, I only want the best for my daughter.”
“I completely understand that. And as I have previously mentioned, I am planning on dinner,” Louis answered with a strained smile. “I would like to take her out to dinner, if that is acceptable to you?”
Rosie’s heart plummeted. He had had enough, and it would not surprise her if he left and never came back.
“Where?” her father stressed. “She isn’t dressed very well.”
Gritting his teeth, Louis put his hands in his pockets. “I assure you that she is dressed perfectly.”
“Well, we are hungry,” her mother declared. “It would be extremely disappointing of her to leave us without ensuring we have dinner ourselves.”
“I am sure you are quite capable of cooking for yourselves.” Her mother gasped at Louis’s suggestion. “Or calling for takeaway. I was under the impression she was your daughter, not your maid.”
Now, her mother was beyond seething. That dark expression told them all that her anger had gone nuclear. Louis had become the enemy, and she would not be beaten.
“Unacceptable.”
“Thought it might be. You give off that vibe.”
“Louis!” Rosie snapped once again. As much as she enjoyed him defending her, he was getting too involved. It was her life, and these were her parents. “You are not helping. You are making it worse.”
That smile her mother gave Louis was one in victory. Louis stiffened and nodded; his stricken expression broke her heart.
Rosie, this isn’t fair. You are giving mixed messages. You want to go out, he is helping you, and yet you are upset with him?
He shouldn’t be rude to my parents.
Rosie, they shouldn’t be rude to him or controlling you.
Stressed, she was not sure what to do.
“Not a very good first impression, is it?” her mother goaded. “You meet her parents, and you are so incredibly distasteful.”
Fair play to Louis, he breathed but didn’t respond.
“Mother,” Rosie warned. Drooping, she led him to the door. Her parents had won. She didn’t have the energy to go out and then come back to an argument or just continue to argue with him here. “I will call you.”
But he didn’t open the door. Instead, his body language changed. It was more relaxed, free.
“Perhaps I can offer an alternative?” he suggested loudly. “Your mother is incredibly right. I am being rude to them. They have raised a beautiful young woman and that deserves respect.”
Oh, smart man. Go with the compliments.
Not that you deserve an alternative since you have not defended him. Not really.
Both her parents smiled at the praise; thrilled that they were getting the respect they thought they deserved.
“My mother raised me better than this, and she would be shocked to hear what I have done. Especially, if she found out that I left your parents hungry,” he continued. “I responded the way I did because I am always one for action, and I need to learn to work with my girlfriend and her needs.”
The way he said “girlfriend” made her giggle. He was testing it out on his lips, and he smiled.
“I hope you will forgive me. I actually planned to take your daughter to my home and cook for her. I have the ingredients in my car as I went shopping to get it fresh before I collected her, and I am more than happy to cook it here. There is plenty.
“That way, you get to spend time with your daughter. I can still cook for your daughter, and you also have dinner prepared for you. My apology to you.”
Rosie frowned. Whispering, she asked, “And what do I get?”
Louis leaned in close. “You get to watch my shoulders and arms move as I cook for you. And you have backup. I told you. You are not alone, and I meant it. Regardless of the situation, I am here for you.”
And didn’t that warm her cheeks up. She loved watching him, and having a person in the house that was there for her meant the world.
“I am sorry, Louis. I have hurt you and let them hurt you.”
Slumping, Louis’s eye twitched. “You are loyal and loving. I understand. They are your parents and I need to learn about them to help them like me. Let me go get the food.”
That was when she noticed he still had her cat in his jumper, who was now fast asleep.
“You planned to cook?” her father asked haughtily.
“Yes.” Louis smiled brightly. “To show I am not just a hockey player. Your daughter deserves the best, and I wanted to prove I could cook. I am quite capable of looking after her.”
Getting their way of keeping Rosie home and having dinner provided, they couldn’t exactly argue with that.
Her mother recovered first, used to people serving her. “That would be lovely, thank you.”
Louis headed out to his car. Rosie followed him. He was extremely upset. His body language was stiff and unsure.
“Louis, I am so, so sorry.” She had just apologised, but being alone and outside, she could say more.
“For, what?” he asked. “Your parents invading on you?”
“Louis . . .” she warned him. Then winced. She was telling him off, and he had feelings, too.
Pinching his lips together, he sighed. “Fine, I get it. Off limits. You have nothing to apologise for. You didn’t know this was going to happen.
That is stressful and I need to learn what you are like when stressed, so I can better prepare and assist. I do need to apologise to you, and I hope my food will go a long way with helping with that. ”
Opening the back door of his car, he grabbed a bag full of ingredients.
“I was rude. Yes, they were rude to me, but I shouldn’t have retaliated.
I am so used to helping others fight battles, I need to learn that it is not always appropriate.
” Closing the door and locking the car he stared at her.
“You. Spencer. Emerald. Sometimes I can’t fight your battles.
I need to let you stand on your own two feet.
I hope you will forgive me and be patient with me. It is something I need to learn.”
Rosie stared at him. Truly stared at him. He meant every word, and she wished she could just accept the help. However, what she needed more was for her parents to accept she had a life. She had no desire to cut them off, but it was getting close to that point.
“Thank you. But I do owe you an apology. I need to get used to others meeting my parents and understand they have feelings, too. My parents are in the wrong, yet I took it out on you. That is not fair.”
His expression turned grave. “You know why they are doing this, don’t you?”
“They want what is best for me,” she answered quickly. It was rehearsed, and he saw that straight away.
“True. But you are all they have left. They are clinging on to you, and controlling you, because they can. You let them, because you care and don’t want to lose them. That is power to them.” Louis paused. “A relationship changes that.”
Tears came to her eyes. “You are wrong.”
Is he? They became worse when your sister left.
Louis cupped her cheek. “I really hope I am.” Lifting her chin, he got her to look at him. “I also need clarification. Am I your boyfriend?”
It was time. She had instigated it, but she could still get him to ask.
“Are you asking me?”
That smile was divine, and he must have sensed what she was after. He gave her the control to decide when, but she was now giving him permission to ask.
“Rosemary Eddison, will you please be my girlfriend?”
“Yes. As long as my parents have not scared you away.”
Shrugging, he responded, “They can try, but they won’t succeed. It is you that matters to me, anything else I can learn to deal with.”
Leaning in close, he asked, “Is this okay?”
Her head bobbed so fast. She definitely wanted this. Wrapping an arm around her waist, his free hand cupped her cheek while he kissed her gently. Sighing happily, he deepened the kiss and only stepped back to breathe. Then he claimed her hand.
“Let’s go fix my first impression with your parents.”
Double checking his car was locked, they headed back to the house. The cat was still sleeping. Inside, he put Cashmere down so he could wash his hands. Once ready, he asked about dietary requirements, then got to work. Rosie watched Louis cook.
“So, you do really cook?” her mother asked, also fascinated as he moved about in the kitchen.
“Yes, I do. My dad actually taught me,” Louis answered calmly, chopping vegetables for the stir fry.
“Your father?” That obviously shocked her.
Louis laughed. It was a soft laugh, not a disrespectful laugh. Like it was a welcome memory.
“Yeah. Mum burns everything she touches. The lasagna she brings is always made by my dad, but her contribution is to bring it and make sure I am fed. Dad loves cooking, and he loved teaching me. I spent a lot of my childhood in the kitchen, learning from him.”
Confusion crossed her mother’s features. “Don’t you have a cook for that?”
Yes, because everyone had a cook in their world.
He shook his head. “We enjoy doing it ourselves. Especially when we are together. It makes some fun family time.”
Rosie had no idea what that was like. She was not the best cook because she had never been shown how, and she certainly hadn’t spent time with her parents in the kitchen.
Simple dishes she could do, but anything more complicated she messed up.
With long hours, she didn’t spend much time learning, either.
“Which means they are not rich.” Could her mother curl her lip any higher?