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“Derrick, darling, I’m glad to see you.” Mom suddenly appeared in front of me, and I leaned down automatically to let her kiss my cheek.
“Mom, I’d like you to meet Jessica Ellis. Jess, this my mother, Gloria Thomas.”
“Mrs. Thomas.” Jessica smiled at her. “I can see the resemblance.”
We got that a lot. Both Amelia and I had gotten our dark brown hair and deep green eyes from our mother, as well as quite a bit of our bone structure. Aside from our height, we hadn’t gotten anything from our dad.
“You’re a pretty thing,” Mom said with a smile as she kissed Jessica’s cheek. “Where did my son find you?”
That wasn’t a question I really wanted her to answer, especially in front of my dad, but it’d come out sooner or later. Maybe it was better to have this talk in public where Dad would have to control himself.
“She works at Broker Publishing,” I said. “And before you ask, no, she’s not my assistant.”
“Love.” Senator Fitzpatrick chuckled. “Sometimes we find it in the strangest of places, don’t we?”
I stiffened and felt Jessica do the same. “We’ve only been on couple–”
“My wife and I met when my frat dared me to steal a goat from the nearby high school’s 4H program,” the senator kept going, “Guess who the goat belonged to?”
“Senator,” Dad interrupted. “There are a few people we need to speak with.”
“It was nice to meet you,” Senator Fitzpatrick said to Jessica. “I hope to see you again soon.”
My hand went to the back of Jessica’s neck without me really thinking about it. A possessive gesture that surprised me as much as it did her, but neither of us pulled away. I’d never felt conflicted like this before. Like I wanted to show her off, but also wanted to make sure everyone knew that she was mine.
“Jessica, dear, what is it you do at my son’s company, exactly?” Mom asked. “I have a literacy foundation, you see, and I’d love to get the opinion of a woman in the industry.”
Jessica’s eyes lit up. Silently, I cursed. The last thing I wanted was for my mom and Jessica to form any sort of real relationship. I didn’t need to worry about Dad. He didn’t do relationships, not even with his kids.
Mom…hell. Not long after Amelia graduated from high school, it became quite clear that our mother regretted having nannies and boarding schools raising my sister and me. She loved us, but she still didn’t really know us. Every time one of us brought someone around that she hoped could be a connection to us, she clung to them.
After exactly two minutes, I cut into the conversation. “Mom, Alma Strucker just arrived. Isn’t she one of the speakers you were hoping to nail down for the luncheon this year?”
My mother paused mid-sentence and looked at me, startled. “What was that, Derrick?”
I angled my head toward the woman in question. “We’ve taken up enough of your time.”
My mother fixed a perfect, plastic smile in place, hiding whatever else might’ve been in her eyes. “Of course, darling. Thank you for coming. Jessica, it was lovely meeting you.”
As my mother walked away, I took Jessica’s hand. She gave me an odd look but said nothing as I led her to where my sister was talking with a couple of her friends. I’d seen Amelia slip in earlier but hadn’t had a chance to find her. Now, as her bright laugh echoed above the chatter, I felt some of the tension in my chest ease. I didn’t like being around my family, save for Amelia. I wanted her to meet Jessica.
Amelia caught sight of me and smiled, only noticing Jessica a minute later. My sister’s eyes widened slightly, and she didn’t wait for us to reach her. Instead, she excused herself and hurried over, hugging me quickly before giving the woman next to me an expectant look.
“This is Jessica,” I told her before she could ask. “Jessica, this is my sister, Amelia.”
“Jessica.” Amelia gave her a warm smile. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Jessica brushed her hair back and looked at me before offering a shy smile to my sister. “I didn’t know Derrick had siblings.”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “He likes to pretend he sprung into the world being fully formed and wearing an Armani suit.” Glancing at me, she said, “Get us drinks. We’ll be talking on the balcony.”
I opened my mouth to object, but Amelia was already walking away, pulling Jessica along in her wake. I stared after them, a scowl twisting my lips as I thought of all the things Amelia could tell Jessica. Things that might make my future ex-wife think twice about following through with our arrangement.
Silencing the whispers in my head, I made my way over to the bar to order cocktails. I gave the bartender a cash incentive to be quick about it. I didn’t necessarily trust my sister to behave.
I joined them ten minutes later on the balcony where they were laughing comfortably with each other. Jessica quieted as I approached, and I wanted to demand to know why they’d been laughing, but instead, I handed the glass to Jessica and gave my sister her lemon-drop martini.
Meeting Jessica’s gaze, I said, “Hope that’s okay. You ordered a Manhattan last week, so I assumed you liked them.”