“You aren’t going to ask him where he went to college? What he does for a living? You’re really going to talk about sports?” Renee spoke her mind in front of William, like it was eating her alive.
William smiled again before he took a drink of his wine, like her outburst was funny to him. “She’s been anxious about this dinner all week…”
“Do you want me to interrogate him?” I asked incredulously.
“You’re just…being weird.” She lowered her voice as if William wouldn’t be able to hear her even though he was right beside her.
“Renee, I don’t give a shit where he went to college or what he does for a living. All I care about is the way he feels about you. If he’s good to you and does right by you, that’s all that matters to me. So, let me get to know him.”
She dropped her gaze, like she was embarrassed by her outburst.
His arm moved around her shoulders, and he gave her a gentle squeeze. “She’s just worried because she’s crazy about me.” He grinned as he looked at her, his hand rising to her hair and gently brushing it from her face. “Obsessed with me, really.”
“Oh, shut up.” She hit him playfully. “Am not.”
“Sure, baby.” He pulled his hand away. “Whatever you say…” His eyes lingered on her for a few seconds before he looked at me again, and those few seconds told me everything I needed to know about him.
He was the one crazy about her.
Renee excused herself to the bathroom after dinner.
I watched her walk away before I turned back to him. “I’m not sure what she told you about me, but I’m not some crazy psychopath.”
He was about to drink from his glass but stopped because he couldn’t control the laugh that came from his lips. “She didn’t say anything like that.”
“It seems like it.”
“We’ve been seeing each other for a while, and I suggested we all get together. She’s met my parents.”
“Really?” She didn’t mention that to me.
“Yes. But trust me, she resisted. Of course, they loved her. Come on, why wouldn’t they?” He drank from his glass. “But every time I suggested the two of us getting together, she kept sidestepping it, avoiding it, making excuses…”
I shook my head in disappointment.
“Look, I’m gonna be straight with you, man.” He set his glass down. “I want this to go somewhere. I don’t introduce just anyone to my parents. I did it pretty early on because I just knew. You know what I mean?”
Carson popped into my head. “Yeah, I do.”
“So, I kinda pressured her into it. I think that’s why she’s so uneasy about the whole thing.”
“Maybe she’s not as serious about the relationship as you are.” Maybe she wasn’t ready for this. Maybe he forced their relationship to move too fast…just the way I did with Carson.
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “Trust me, she’s crazy about me. The problem is…she thinks so highly of you that she would be devastated if we didn’t get along. You’re all she has in the world. It makes sense.”
My reaction didn’t change, but I felt my heart soften inside my chest, felt the affection for my little sister grow. We were close, but not super close. We didn’t actively spend time together outside the office, but it did feel like a parent-child relationship, where we were close but never quite friends. I looked a lot like our father, and I wondered if that was the way she saw me, as the man in her life outside her romantic relationship.
“I told her not to worry about it, but you know, she likes to worry…”
I didn’t know this had been eating at her for so long.
“There’s no reason to dislike me, and if you did, in time, you would come around. But that didn’t ease her mind.”
“Well, she should feel better now.”
“We’ll see,” he said with a chuckle.
“Tell me more about yourself.”
“Now you’re going to interrogate me?” he asked with a smile.
“Share whatever you want to share with me.”
“Let’s see…” He swirled his glass before he took a drink. “I’ve got one brother. He lives in the city, and I’d say he’s my closest friend. I’m close with my parents. Sorta have a helicopter kind of mom…if you know what I mean. So obviously, I wanted her to approve of Renee, but I wasn’t worried she wouldn’t. Wouldn’t care if she didn’t either.”
I really liked this guy. Didn’t take himself too seriously, he was easy to talk to, and he spoke highly about my sister in any context in which he described her.
“I’m a physician.”
“What kind?”
“Cardiologist.”
He didn’t seem like the doctor type, so I was surprised.
“I like to fish, even though I don’t go to the cabin very often. Too busy.”
“Have any kids?”
“No. Never been married. I was in a long-term relationship in medical school, but we just grew apart.” He shrugged. “And we were both too similar. It just didn’t work. Renee is the first woman I’ve really dated since then, and that was like three years ago.”
I could tell my sister was special to him based on everything he said, especially since he was the one to encourage meeting each other’s families. “How long have you been seeing each other?”
“Six months.”
I smiled slightly because my sister lied to me. She’d made it sound pretty new, but she was keeping her cards close to her chest, still unsure if she wanted me to meet him or not.
“What’s with the grin?”
“My sister has been hiding this relationship for a long time.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, she’s a weirdo.”
I chuckled. “Well, I’d like to get to know you better. As I mentioned, we play basketball on Wednesday nights. Will you be there?”
“Definitely. But how competitive is this?” he asked. “Because I’m decent but not amazing.”
“Kinda competitive, but it’s fine. We’ve got all kinds of players on the court.” Including a small brunette who made up for her size with her ferocity.
“I’m down for a match.”
“Great.”
My sister came back from the restroom, and we left the restaurant, heading outside to the sidewalk to say goodbye.
William extended his hand and shook mine. “It was great to meet you, Dax. I think the two of us hit it off pretty well.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think we did.”
His arm returned around her waist, and he looked down at her. “You can relax now.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Well, goodnight.” William prepared to turn away.
“Actually, do you mind if I take my sister home?” I asked. “Want to speak to her in private.”
“Of course.” William hugged her close then leaned down to kiss her. “See you later, baby.” He turned around and walked up the sidewalk.
My driver pulled up to the curb, and I opened the door for her.
She eyed me before she got into the back seat.