Fantasy for Hire - Erika Wilde Page 0,51
I’m no longer an investment broker,” he said, certain he saw Teddy’s shoulders slump at that announcement. “I’m concentrating on the landscaping business.”
“Oh,” Gloria said, and the sound wasn’t a complimentary one.
Austin knew if he intended to see Teddy again, he wanted the truth out on the table now. “I know landscaping doesn’t sound as glamorous as an investment broker. It’s a lot of hard work, and some days long hours, but overall I find it very satisfying.”
Evan, Sr., glanced from Teddy, then back to the man she’d brought to meet their family. Austin was certain he wasn’t what the elder Spencer and his wife had in mind for their daughter, but Austin was exactly what he said he was. What they saw was what they got.
“And your parents,” Evan, Sr., went on, as if striving to find some redeeming quality. “What do they do?”
“Both of my parents are dead.” Knowing he had nothing left to lose, he added, “It’s just me and my brother, Jordan, who is currently an unemployed architect.”
Dismay filled Gloria’s eyes as she looked at Teddy, as if she couldn’t believe her daughter had settled for less than one of the prominent businessmen in their league.
Teddy’s five-year-old niece, Katie, came out of the playroom at that moment, anticipation wreathing her pretty face. “Grandma, we all ate our dinner. When do we get to open our presents?”
An adoring smile softened Gloria’s features as she looked at her granddaughter, and Austin had the thought that this woman was a marshmallow beneath her haughty exterior. “I suppose now would be a good time, since you all have to get to bed soon so Santa can come visit. Why don’t you get everyone to wash up and meet us in the parlor?”
Katie raced from the room, her little-girl voice announcing to her cousins, “We get to open our presents!”
The adults laughed at the responding squeals of delight and “yipees” that drifted from the playroom, and they all moved back into the parlor. Austin made himself comfortable on the sofa while Teddy helped pass out the gaily wrapped Christmas presents under the tree, obviously having fun with the task. For as much as she’d claimed that kids weren’t her forte, Austin couldn’t help noticing how much she enjoyed playing the role of aunt, and how loving she was with each child. A smile played at the corner of his mouth as he watched Teddy divide her attention between helping Drew, her three-year-old nephew, put together a chunky wooden puzzle, and her six-year-old niece, Molly, diaper her new “Baby-wets-a-lot.” Her maternal instincts weren’t as suppressed as she might want to believe.
Susan settled herself next to Austin, and he smiled amicably at her. There was mischief in the other woman’s gaze, and a glint of determination. Leaning close, taking advantage of Gloria and Evan, Sr.’s, distraction, she said in a low voice, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, Austin. The Spencers are a different breed. Everyone goes through the initial interrogation process. What ultimately matters is how Teddy feels about you.”
Austin appreciated Susan’s encouragement, but after that enlightening dinner conversation, he wasn’t so sure fitting into Teddy’s life would be as easy as surviving the Spencer’s third-degree. Not only did he feel as though he’d never measure up, he honestly had no idea where he stood with Teddy—if what he did for a living mattered to her, or how she truly felt about him—beyond their “agreements.”
Maybe it was time he found out.
Chapter Nine
Teddy leaned her head against the passenger seat’s headrest and released a long pent-up breath—in relief, exhaustion and a good part frustration. Beside her, Austin was quiet as he pulled out of her parents’ driveway, the moonlight reflected through the windshield illuminating his pensive features.
“That was a disaster,” she said, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Not the entire evening,” he graciously conceded with a smile that wasn’t quite as sexy and breathtaking as usual. “I enjoyed watching the kids open their presents, and talking to your brothers and their wives.”
Her siblings seemed to like him, too, which pleased her. However, Teddy didn’t miss the fact that he had no compliments for her parents—not that they’d deserved any accolades after the way they’d grilled him. “I never would have thought my parents would behave so atrociously,” she said, her tone contrite.
He brought the car to a halt at a stop sign and glanced over at her, his gaze expressing an odd combination of understanding and regret. Reaching across the console, he gently brushed his