"He's one lucky guy," Whit said, and Sophia nodded as she stepped away from the mirror and pulled me into a hug.
I just hoped Easton would agree.
I had just walked back into my apartment after work that evening when a knock sounded on my front door. I opened the door and felt my eyes go round.
"Mr. Price," I said as I took a step back from Easton's dad and then noticed the petite brunette behind him.
"Mrs. Price," I added, still a bit startled but feeling a little more at ease by the surprise. "So good to see you both."
I grinned at the couple who I had come to appreciate over the years. Easton's dad and stepmom were the easier set of Easton's parents to like. I was now closer to Easton's mom than I was when we first met ten years before, but that wasn't saying much. I was pretty sure she blamed Easton's vagabond lifestyle, her words not mine, on me. I wasn't sure how since I’d only been on Easton's video trips a few times in our entire friendship, and she knew Easton's love for adventure didn’t start when he became friends with me. But I guessed she had to blame someone. And she wasn't about to blame her precious little boy.
"Hello, Josie," Mr. Price said in his formal way that reminded me the suit he wore cost more than my car, and he probably had more cash on his person than my apartment was worth. Saying the guy was loaded was an understatement. Easton's mom was also not lacking for money, to put it lightly. "We were in Nashville for the night and thought we'd take Easton out to dinner."
I fought the urge to groan. Did Mr. Price know what his son did for a living? Did he not know that Easton was traveling more than he was home? I knew Easton often got frustrated that his parents didn't understand him, and this was a prime example of his argument.
But I still felt sorry for Mr. and Mrs. Price. They'd driven an hour to come see their son who wasn't even here.
"I'm so sorry. Easton's on a trip," I said, trying to rack my brain for where Easton was at that moment. But my nervousness at being in front of his dad and stepmom kept my thoughts from running correctly.
"He is?" Mr. Price asked, and I fought the urge to tell the man about Easton's incredible career.
I knew Mr. Price loved his son, but I doubted he was adequately proud of the empire Easton had built. It wasn't in real estate, like Mr. Price’s empire, so it wasn't as important to him. Easton's business wouldn't ever be legitimate in his father's eyes, and I knew that as much as Easton tried not to care, that thought killed him. He, like almost everyone else I knew, hoped to one day make his parents proud. Easton craved their approval.
"He often travels for his videos. Your son works hard." I couldn't help but add that last part even though Mr. Price intimidated the stuffing out of me.
"Hm," Mr. Price said as if he were actually considering my words.
"He does, doesn't he?" Mrs. Price finally added to the conversation.
The tiny brunette who had to be at least twenty years my senior but looked much much better in a tight dress watched me, and I could see that she was proud of me for sticking up for Easton. Easton's parents had divorced back when Easton was just in kindergarten and both had remarried before he was in the sixth grade. His stepparents were nearly as big a part of Easton's life as his parents, and I knew Mrs. Price loved him as much as Easton's own mother did, just each in her own way.
"If Easton's out of town, why don't you join us for dinner?" Mrs. Price asked, and I looked from her red, fitted, designer dress to the jeans and pullover I wore.
"That's okay," I said as I took a miniscule step back.
"Oh no, that's a great idea," Mr. Price said as I worked hard not to let the pure terror I felt show on my face. How was this a great idea? I might like Mr. and Mrs. Price better than Easton's mom, but a dinner alone with them?
"We hardly get time with Easton, and we know you're the most important person in his life," Mr. Price said.
Whoever said flattery will get you everywhere was right. Because somehow, ten minutes later, I was in my fanciest dress, makeup touched up, and my hair in a low bun as I sat in the back of the Price's fancy rental car on my way to the priciest restaurant in Saratoga.
Appetizers were full of conversation about Easton's job, and I was more than thrilled to boast all about my guy. Well, not my guy yet, but I knew my near-future plans were coloring the way I spoke about Easton. Mr. Price seemed oblivious, but Mrs. Price seemed to catch on to my admiration. Hopefully she'd assume my googly eyes and gushing words were just those of a proud friend. I didn't need her guessing my intentions before I had a chance to tell Easton how I felt.
During the main course, we moved on to my job, and I quickly turned the conversation back to the Prices. Turned out Mr. Price could talk about real estate for hours.
Finally, as dessert rolled around, Mrs. Price segued the conversation to their work relationship, which was a little better than the actual ins and outs of a home sale. I knew from Easton that his dad and mom had both married their partners at work after the demise of their first marriage. Due to differing ideas on management, Mr. Price and the most recent Mrs. Price both left the real estate agency they had worked at since before Easton was born to start their own agency when he was about seven. The rest was history.
"I always knew Madalene wasn't the great love of my life," Mr. Price said as he took the hand of Madalene, the new Mrs. Price. How could he say that? Right to her face. And how was she beaming back at him?
I tried to school my features so I didn't look as incredulous as I felt.
"Eloise was the great love of my life," Mr. Price said about Easton's mom, and this time my mouth fell open. I couldn't help it.
Madalene giggled as Mr. Price chuckled.
"I know. If someone had told me any of this before I married my Eloise, I wouldn't have believed it either. But that kind of passion bottled up in a marriage was asking for an implosion. And boy did that happen. It nearly ruined our lives, our businesses, and our child. So we got out. And I found Madalene. My partner," Mr. Price said.
Sometime during his speech, I had closed my mouth. Not because I agreed with what he was saying, but it was rude for me to leave it hanging open like that in a restaurant that cost a hundred dollars a plate. Now if we had been at my normal burger joint, I might’ve let it stay just as it was.
"I'm going to give you the same advice I've given Easton. Find the person you can work with. That's so much harder than finding passion or even the great love of your life. What stays, what endures, is this. A work relationship made better by marriage." Mr. Price pointed between himself and his wife.
Didn't it rip her heart open to hear that she wasn't the great love of his life? That his ex had filled that roll, and she never would? I knew my heart tore for her as she smiled from her seat beside me.
Mr. Price looked at me expectantly, but the last thing I wanted to do was agree with him. Maybe this was what had worked for him, and he was older and maybe wiser than I was. He'd for sure lived more life.
But how could he have given up on heart-palpitating, butterfly-inducing love so easily? I knew I wouldn't take a work relationship of comfort and ease over what I felt for Easton. It made me all the more resolved to make my grand gesture, but I had to get out of this conversation somehow.