Chapter 33 Audrey
Chapter thirty-three
Audrey
The next evening comes quickly, my stomach bubbling with nerves as I lay my outfit out on Rhett’s bed.
I don’t know how it happened, but I have a few pieces of clothing hanging in his closet.
I'm not sure if meeting his family or the fact that I plan on leaving those clothes here frightens me more. Both make this thing between us more real, that’s for sure.
Penny texts me a picture of herself on the balcony with a glass of red wine, wishing me luck this evening, leaving me wishful for my own glass of wine to take the edge off. Unfortunately, Rhett’s fridge is full of domestic beer and a half full bottle of whiskey.
“Okay, the white dress it is, Mabel.” She lifts her eyes to me, laying like a puddle on the floor. I’ve grown used to her always being near, always listening to my random monologue.
There’s no floor length mirror in this house, only one over the antique dresser in the bedroom, so I have to assume this dress still looks good on me.
I slip it on, and rip the tags off, throwing them into the trash can.
It’s a beautiful white eyelet dress that makes my barely sun kissed skin glow.
I pair it with leather sandals and gold hoops.
I figure it’s put together but casual enough for this so-called potluck Sunday dinner.
I was taught to always dress like you’re about to meet the president, and that type of ideology sticks with you for life.
To combat the summer heat, I clip my hair loosely back, and as I dab a splash of perfume on my neck, the bathroom door cracks open. Rhett enters slowly, our eyes locked in the mirror. A white towel hangs low on his hips, and I hold in the small moan trying to escape my lips.
His stare is too much, so I peel my attention away, adjusting my hair, but Rhett stays standing there, running his hand through his damp locks.
“What?” I ask quietly, turning around and leaning my hips back on the dresser. The room feels smaller than it already is, and my limbs feel buzzy.
He blinks lazily, slightly shaking his head as he moves towards me. “You’re stunning, Audrey.”
The way my name rolls off his tongue makes my skin tingle.
“Oh, this? It’s nothing. But thank you.”
He comes over, boxing me in between the bed and the dresser and I’m too aware that all he has on is a towel.
“I could get used to this; you know?” He breathes on my neck, kissing it gently.
I have an almost irresistible urge to run my fingers down his rippled chest and outline his tattoos with my fingertips.
I want to learn the story behind each one, learning another piece of this layered man.
A feeling I never had with Jackson. He held me at arm's length, but Rhett holds my heart in the palm of his hands.
My breathing quickens as he leans in, placing kisses down my exposed collarbone, his hands roughly tracing the outline of my hips up to my breasts. Shuddering under his touch, I open my eyes, focusing on the man in front of me.
“We better get going,” he whispers in my ear before kissing the sensitive skin on my neck.
“You are a tease, has anyone ever told you that?” I playfully shove him, but he barely moves.
“Every day, darlin’.”
I leave him in the bedroom, not sure I can handle any more heat and exhale my breath in the kitchen, making sure I have everything I need. The macarons are secure in Tupperware. I feel like I should’ve grabbed Renee flowers. But maybe I’m overthinking it.
Rhett walks out into the kitchen, his cowboy boots tapping on the wood floors, and he lifts my face to his with a single finger under my chin.
“Don’t worry, they are going to love you.”
I feign a small smile, nodding.
Rhett’s childhood home is only a few minutes away, and the car ride goes by in a flash.
Breathtaking magnolia trees line the property, and a humble but charming yellow house appears behind beds of wildflowers.
The second the truck comes to a stop, Mabel leaps from the open bed, sniffing the other two messy dogs who make up our greeting party.
“I told you we were a rowdy bunch.” Rhett winks, stealing a quick kiss before leaping out of the truck. As I open my door, I hear little voices.
“Uncle Rhett! Mom, Uncle Rhett is here!” Two blonde haired girls run barefoot through the front yard towards us. They both have sundresses on, full of grass stains, and one is wearing crooked butterfly wings.
I can’t help but smile and Rhett offers me a hand, squeezing it right before I’m bombarded by kids and dogs, all vying for our attention.
“This is quite the hello!” I tease and his nieces giggle, staring at Rhett and I.
“This is Jessie.” Rhett ruffles the hair of the little girl with butterfly wings. “And this is Jenna.” The other one has on rainbow rainboots. “Girls, this is Audrey. She’s going to have dinner with us, and she made cookies for y’all.”
Both of their faces light up, and they come closer to look into the container.
“What kind of cookies?” Jenna asks, standing on her tiptoes to get a look into the box I'm holding.
“They are macarons. Have you ever had one?” I ask, unable to remember the last time I talked to kids. I hope I'm doing this right.
They gape at each other.
“My mom said those are fancy cookies and she can’t make them!” Jessie announces point blank.
Rhett bends down, tickling Jessie. “You can count on this one to be brutally honest.”
Just then, Renee and a spitting image of her round the corner of the yellow house.
“Girls, let them have some air!” The woman next to Renee calls out; must be Desi.
“This is my dog Sammy, and the old yellow dog is my Mimi’s dog, Tato,” Jenna says, eying me up.
“They are very cute. Did you say Mimi’s dog’s name is Tato?”
She nods, giggling. “Well, his real name is Potato. But we call him Tato. Because he lays in the sun like a baked potato,” she explains, and I smile at her and the dogs. I like this little girl.
“Welcome to the circus.” Renee and Rhett’s sister greet us. “I’m Desi.” His sister extends a hand, her face as welcoming as her mom's.
“It’s so nice to meet you…and thank you for inviting me to your family dinner.”
Renee dismisses it, “Are you kidding? We are thrilled.”
“Uncle Rhett's never brought anyone to dinner before,” Jenna adds, wrapping herself around Mabel's neck.
“Okay, Jenna, I think it’s time I push you on the swing.” Rhett swings towards her and she screams, as he chases her into the backyard.
“Well, that is true.” His mom laughs. “But if that’s something to eat in there, this will also be the first time Rhett ever showed up with food.”
I hand her the cookies, following them to the backyard where Jessie and Jenna hang off Rhett like a tree. His grin is ear-to-ear, and my heart unexpectedly flutters. Not sure what to make of that. Or any of this, really.
“They might be their uncle's biggest fan.” Desi saddles up next to me at the long table on the back patio. Renee is at the grill, which is full of vegetables, presumably from her garden.
“As if his ego wasn’t already through the roof.”
Desi laughs, her smile the same as her brother’s. Charming and coy. “Oh, I like you. Let me get you a drink. Red or white wine?”
“Red, please!”
As soon as the glass is in my hand, Desi turns to me again.
“So, tell me about yourself. We only just found out my brother had a girlfriend this week.” She creases her eyebrows. “I’m sorry. Is that the label y’all prefer?”
“Oh, it’s fine. It’s all really new,” I reassure her, adjusting my gold necklace. I tell Desi the polite stuff; what I do for work, where I'm from, where I live.
“Dinner is ready! Come on girls!” Renee calls out, and everyone joins Desi and I at the table.
Rhett wasn’t kidding. The meal looks incredible, and I have to stop myself from complementing every single dish as it makes its way around the table.
“So, did you finish the bookshelves yet?” Desi asks her brother as everyone dives into the food.
Rhett shakes his head. “I finished cutting the trim today, but I have to put it all together. End of the week it should be done.”
“Have you seen Rhett’s work? He calls himself a carpenter, but he is really talented with small details and millwork.”
“Damn Desi, who paid you to be nice to me?” Rhett taunts and his niece’s eyebrows spring up.
“You cussed, Uncle Rhett! You owe us a dollar!” they say in unison.
He narrows his eyes at his sister who shrugs before pulling out his wallet and handing a dollar over to the enamored six-year-olds.
“He did show me the custom front door he was working on this weekend...but I haven’t seen his finished work,” I added.
“He has a new client in Forest Hills, you know that neighborhood with the multi-million-dollar homes?” his sister adds, and my hands freeze midair, but I nod, heat pooling in my neck.
Forest Hills, where I owned a house I hated, one Rhett didn’t even know about.
“Rhett recently did stunning custom work in one of the luxury apartment buildings downtown, too, the historic one. Uhm…Brecken Building I think it’s called…
and the owner didn’t even thank him, write a review or anything.
I know the money is good, but those people suck—”
“Desi.” Rhett’s deep voice cuts his sister off.
“Sorry. I get carried away.” Desi flashes a smile at me, and I swallow a sip of wine, my throat still tight. Rhett’s fork hovers over his plate and I press my leg into him by accident.
“You know, you two never said how you met,” Renee chimes in.
I open my mouth, but Rhett beats me to the answer.
“Audrey lived in a building I was doing work on. The Brecken Building.” He pointedly says to his sister, and now I do shove my leg into his on purpose.
Desi stops chewing, looking up at me, her cheeks pink.
“Oh, my god. I am so sorry, Audrey. I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just protective of my brother. Really, I’m sorry.”