“Lucy might have had a hand in arranging it,” I tell him. No sense in trying to hide that fact, as Lucy would never let it be a secret if the topic ever came up around her. “But,” I interject before he can bust my ass about Lucy setting me up, “I asked Megan on my own and she agreed.”
“He’s right,” she confirms to Tyler.
“Still think you could have done better,” he says, his voice full of mirth.
“Like you?” she asks, throwing his humor right back at him.
“Damn. I like this one,” Tyler quips.
“Me too,” I confirm, smiling down at Megan. The more I’m around her, the more I get to talk to her, the more I want to talk to her and get to know her more. The fact that she’s absolutely stunning doesn’t hurt, and I’m kicking myself in the ass for not realizing that before tonight.
“Andrew!” My grandmother calls my name as she descends the stairs of the stage.
“Grandmother,” I greet her, leaning down to place a kiss on her cheek. “How are you today?” I ask.
“Doing just fine. Who’s this lovely lady?” she asks, pushing for an introduction.
“This is Megan, my date for this evening. Megan, this is my grandmother, Alice Montgomery.”
“The one Lucy was telling me about?” she asks, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
“The one and only,” I confirm as I look down at Megan. A soft smile tugs at her lips and all it takes is one look at them and I can’t keep my mind from wandering to what it would be like to have them wrapped around my cock.
“It’s lovely to finally meet you, dear. I’ve heard all about you from my granddaughter.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Montgomery. I’ve heard about you, as well,” she tells her.
“All good, I hope,” she says, giving me a stern look. “And, please, call me Alice.”
“Of course,” Megan assures her with a sincere smile. I like seeing the two of them talking, and the thought of Megan at family dinners or other events at my grandmother’s hits me square in the chest. What would it be like to have someone with me at family events?
“I need to check the podium for my speech, I’ll be right back. I trust the two of you to behave yourselves and not try to run Megan off with all your gory stories of me and my childhood,” I state, looking at my grandmother and brother, giving them both as stern of a look as I can.
“We won’t damage your reputation too much,” Tyler says with a smirk.
“I apologize in advance for anything they say, and don’t believe ninety percent of what they try and tell you,” I plead with Megan.
“Just go. I’m not going anywhere.” She laughs at my discomfort leaving her alone with these two. They might be two of my favorite people on this planet, but they can sometimes throw me under the bus more often than I care for. I look from Megan to my brother to my grandmother, before returning my eyes to hers. “I promise they can’t run me off, at least, not tonight. You are my ride home, after all,” she says quietly.
“I’ll be right back, and if they give you too much crap, you can come up on the stage and get me,” I assure her.
“I’ll be fine, Drew,” she says, rolling her eyes at me now. I don’t know why I’m so worried about this, but I find myself wanting to make the best impression I can with Megan. Without thinking, I reach out and grab her hand, squeezing her fingers with my own before I take off up the stairs, taking them two at a time to reach the top of the stage.
8
MEGAN
I SIT HERE CAPTIVATED by this evening’s events. From the entertainment, to the speeches given. Both Drew and his brother spoke. Told of the importance that his family’s foundation is doing, of the kids, both local and around the world, that the money they have raised has gone to help. The astonishing number of kids they’ve helped live by paying for life-saving medications, operations, and hospital stays. Everything that comes with having a child that suffers from a sometimes-deadly heart condition. With the speeches done, a band begins striking up some music from the stage to help the evening fun continue on. According to the agenda on the table, the band will play for about an hour, and then the live auction will take place, before the band closes out the night. Drew wasn’t lying when he said his grandmother doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to this event, but I can see why she doesn’t. From the sounds of it, they tend to raise millions of dollars from this event alone. That doesn’t include all the other smaller events they have throughout the year that raise money for the foundation, nor the monthly donors they have.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Drew asks when he sits back down after finishing his duties up on stage.
“I am. Your family is amazing, everything this foundation does is amazing,” I tell him.
“I’ll agree with you on that. I’ve always been proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last ten or so years, since it was founded. The first couple of years it was mainly my grandparents and a few family members who all donated, along with a few of their wealthy friends. Now their reach is far and wide.”
“The video they put together was amazing. Made me wish I could afford to donate to the great work that’s being done.”
“Nope. That’s not why I brought you here with me tonight. I know this night is supposed to be about raising money for the foundation, but please don’t feel guilty if you can’t.”
“One day. That’s going on my vision board. My list of goals. Be able to afford to donate to worthy causes like this one.”
“You’ve got a good heart, Megan,” Drew tells me.
“I’d say the same about you,” I reply, leaning in slightly closer so we can hear each other over the noise of the band on stage. Most of our table mates have all gotten up, either mingling amongst the other guests, getting fresh drinks from the bars spread out around the room, or dancing their way around the dance floor set up in front of the stage.
“Would you like anything to drink?” Drew asks.
“I’d love a glass of wine,” I tell him. I stuck to lemonade throughout dinner, but a glass of wine to wind down the night sounds perfect.
“Coming right up,” he tells me as he stands and heads over to one of the bars. I watch as he goes, getting pulled into a few short conversations as he does. It doesn’t look like there’s a stranger in the room when it comes to Drew. I’m sure that comes with being a local and the fact that this is his family’s foundation.
“Sorry that took so long,” he says, placing the glass of wine down in front of me. He’s got a beer bottle of his own in his left hand.
“Not a problem, I enjoyed talking with your parents while you were gone.” I tell him. “Thank you for this,” I say as I pick up my wine and take a healthy swallow. “Mhmmm,” I hum as the liquid slides down my throat. “That’s a delicious wine, where is it from?”
“That’d be my grandmother’s favorite wine. It is from Von Eck Wineries in California. She serves it at every event she hosts. My grandparents visited the winery before my grandfather died and she’s been hooked ever since. Orders wine directly from them by the case.”