Page 39 of Falling for You

Annie

Oh God, I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

After years of hints, drunken questions and downright blackmail (if you get married before I turn sixty, I’ll get Dad to pay for a bar. Please, Annie. I just want to look nice in the pictures!), I am willingly bringing a man home for them to meet.

And not only that, I’m doing it with absolutely no warning. Not only have I not told my parents that I’m bringing Nate round; I haven’t even told them that he exists .

I did debate calling them once me and Nate started walking home, but I knew that no matter how much notice I gave them, it wouldn’t be enough to stop Mum from exploding with adrenaline.

So I thought the best bet was not to say anything and let them find out when Nate appeared on their doorstep.

At least then Mum might behave herself a bit more. I hope.

I’d planned on being annoyed at Nate for the rest of my days.

I was ready to write off our amazing date as a weird one-off, never-to-happen-again experience.

Like a spontaneous night out with your friends that was amazing, but you know you could never recreate it so everyone just promises to never try.

But then he was right there, standing in front of me.

I was angry at first but it just faded away, and after sixty seconds of us talking I was back in Infernos, laughing opposite him as we danced like we were the only two people in the club.

It felt impossible to stay angry with him, unnatural even.

Like something inside me was going: no, this isn’t the right feeling to have with him.

It’s not anger, it’s something else. It’s something better.

Also, I was hardly going to leave him to freeze to death.

I glance up at him and feel a pang in my heart. He looked different when I saw him on the platform. I don’t know if it’s because he was freezing and lost or if it was something else, but he just looked … different. Slightly smaller, slightly less bright. I couldn’t leave him, I just couldn’t.

Although I have a feeling I’ll regret this generosity of spirit in approximately ninety seconds.

‘Okay,’ I say, turning to Nate as I pull out my keys. ‘There are some things I should warn you about my parents.’

He looks at me questioningly. ‘Right?’

‘They can be a bit … intense.’

‘Intense?’

‘They’re great,’ I add quickly, worried that I’m painting them out to be nudists or role-play addicts. ‘They’re just a bit … intense.’ I glance at the upstairs window and to my alarm spot Mum, gawping down at us both.

‘You’ve already said that.’

‘I know, but I can’t think of any other way to describe them.’

He smiles and squeezes my arm. ‘I’m sure they’re great.’

I open my mouth to say something else when the door bangs open to reveal my mum and dad. They’re both wide-eyed and flushed, and Mum is out of breath from sprinting down the stairs to check that she isn’t hallucinating.

‘Hi,’ I say tightly, eyeballing them both to try and send them a message telepathically.

Don’t act weird. He’s just a man. You’ve seen men before. Stay cool.

‘This is Nate,’ I say. ‘Nate, these are my parents.’

I’m about to say their names, when to my alarm Mum throws her arms around Nate’s neck and for an awful moment, I think she’s about to burst into tears.

‘Nate!’ she cries. ‘Hello! We’ve heard so much about you!’

I stare at her, horrified. She didn’t even know he existed until about eight seconds ago!

I turn to Dad, hoping he’ll bring some sanity to the table, when to my horror I realise that his eyes are shining.

‘We’re so pleased to meet you, Nate,’ he says gravely, shaking his hand as if, after years of praying, Nate is finally here to make a bride of their desperate, gremlin daughter.

‘Right!’ I say quickly. ‘Everyone inside, it’s freezing. Mum and Dad? In the kitchen, now .’

‘Oh Annie, he is lovely .’

‘Mum!’ I cry, snapping my fingers at her as she slips back into her I-need-to-buy-a-new-hat trance. ‘What did I just say? He’s a friend who is stuck here because of the snow; I said I’d help him find somewhere to stay. He doesn’t know the area, he’s American.’

‘What football team does he support?’ Dad pipes up.

I roll my eyes. Why is that important? ‘Just be normal, please?’ I say. ‘Don’t terrify him by giving him the Spanish Inquisition.’

‘Fun fact about the Spanish Inquisition—’

‘Not now, Dad!’ I run out of the kitchen and find Nate awkwardly perched on the living-room sofa. The fire is roaring with brilliant, yellow flames, sending a lovely woody smell through the house.

‘Sorry about that,’ I say. ‘They were just a bit … excited. Not that they’ve ever heard of you before,’ I add quickly, wanting to shut down any idea that I’ve spent the last week doodling I heart Nate on the back of my hand.

‘Really?’ Nate says lightly. ‘I told my mom about you.’

‘Really?’ I blink at him, taken aback.

‘She loves romance,’ he says. ‘She wanted to hear how my dating life was going in London, so I told her.’

‘What did she say?’

He smiles, looking down at his hands. ‘She wanted me to try and find you.’

‘And did you tell her?’ I sit down next to him.

‘Tell her what?’

‘That we found each other!’ I say, feeling myself redden.

‘Ah.’ A shadow passes over his face. ‘No. Not yet.’

I push my lips together. God, read the room, Annie.

He didn’t message you, he hasn’t told his mum any more about you.

He isn’t into you . I just need to find him somewhere to stay for the night, do my Good Samaritan deed and then forget all about him.

Weird lovely feelings or no weird lovely feelings. That is what I have to do.

‘Right,’ I say, pulling my parents’ laptop out from under the sofa and tapping in their password.

‘So, here you go. If you google B she’s one shared glance away from bursting into a spritz of confetti.

‘Oh?’ Dad says, much cooler than Mum as he lays out the granite placemats, setting our brass cutlery down on the long, rectangular table.

‘Well,’ Nate says, turning back to me and smiling. ‘She made quite the first impression.’

‘Of course she did!’ Mum gushes, and it takes everything in me not to lean forward and thwack her.

‘Why’s that, then?’ Dad says innocently, and he sneaks in a wink towards me which makes me burn with embarrassment.

Mum pulls the lasagne out of the oven, her hands covered in the red gingham tea towel as a cloud of steam billows around her.

‘Well,’ Nate says, taking a sip of his wine. ‘For starters, she was dressed as a bat.’

Mum puts the lasagne on the table with a thud.

‘A bat?’ She turns to me. ‘Annie, were you in one of your costumes?’

I nod. ‘It was Halloween.’

‘Oh!’ Mum holds the tea towel to her chest. ‘In the bat costume? Gosh, that was a fantastic outfit. Wasn’t it, David?’

‘One of your best,’ Dad twinkles.

‘Have you seen any more of them?’ Mum gabbles. ‘Of Annie’s costumes? They are so brilliant.’

‘No,’ I say, grabbing Mum by the arm as she starts to scurry past me. ‘Mum, Nate doesn’t need to see every costume I’ve ever made.’

‘I’d love to.’

I’m about to give Nate a warning look when I realise that he’s smiling at Mum, and he looks like he’s genuinely enjoying himself. He’s not mocking me or cringing at how over the top my parents are; he wants to see.

‘Really,’ I protest. ‘Mum, it’s fine.’

‘How about we eat first?’ Dad says, popping the cork of another bottle of red wine.

‘Yes,’ Mum says, taking a deep breath as she walks back towards our dining table, but not before running her hand along Dad’s arm and giving the tips of his fingers a squeeze. They both sit down, and Nate and I follow.

Mum smiles at us both, her face glowing. ‘Let’s eat.’