[Dating by Design 02.0] Statistically Improbable

by Jennifer Peel

  “You don’t need to get them anything.”

  “Of course I do. I don’t want to make a bad impression. What did you get them?”

  He looked out the window and spoke quietly. “I paid for their trip to Australia.”

  “What a good son.”

  “It was more for me than them. It meant I only had to spend one holiday with them.”

  I sat up. “Why do you do that?”

  He turned toward me. “What?”

  “Pretend like you’re not a good man.”

  He leaned in. “I’m not pretending.” He stole a kiss.

  “It will be our secret.”

  He leaned back and smirked.

  The grumpy flight attendant made me put my armrest down until we were in the air, but as soon as it could be lifted, Zander did the honors. I slept in his arms the entire flight. It wasn’t a bad way to travel. The added bonus was it kept the nerves at bay. I was nervous about meeting his parents and going back to real life. I should have been nervous about my relationship with Zander, but my heart was calm. I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I found peace in knowing we were trying.

  Zander kissed me awake when we entered Atlanta’s airspace.

  I sat up sleepily and ran my fingers through my hair. “Do you think we could stop by my apartment first so I can freshen up?”

  He brushed my bangs. “You’re gorgeous.”

  “So are you.”

  “I know.”

  “We’re barely home and the crown is back on.” I smiled.

  “You like arrogant men.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so, darlin’.” He was probably right. I was blaming evolution.

  I took his hand as we walked toward baggage claim.

  He looked down at our clasped hands.

  “Is this weird for you now that we’re home?”

  He nodded, but he held on tighter. “I’m adjusting.”

  “Didn’t you ever hold hands with Brooke?”

  “There’s no comparison.”

  I was good with that. I leaned into him as we walked toward our destination. “Your parent’s names are Charlene and Don, right? Or should I just call them Mr. and Mrs. Grainger?”

  “Darlin’, relax. My mom will love you, my dad will most likely ignore you like he does everybody. They’ll embarrass me and probably you. You have nothing to worry about.”

  It sounded worrisome to me. We passed by a floral shop and I made him stop. I wanted to at least have something when we showed up to his apartment. The plan was that his mom was cooking dinner for us. Mrs. Marshall had invited everyone, but Zander declined. I really think his parents embarrassed him. And I was going to get my first taste of it.

  I noticed Zander drove slowly home. I couldn’t tell if it was because he missed his car or if he was dreading seeing his parents. Maybe both.

  “I missed this traffic.”

  “Was Wyoming that bad?”

  “I think I finally feel my toes.”

  “You seemed warm enough last night by the fire.”

  He reached over and played with my hair. “You may be the death of me.” My dad had finally slept in his room and the kisses had grown heated last night. He ended up walking away from me for several minutes.

  “Would you mind?” I grinned.

  He laughed. “I do like you.”

  I liked him too.

  I touched up my makeup in the car and ran a brush through my hair. I didn’t care what Zander said. I wanted to make a good impression.

  “I plan on ruining that lipstick later.” He grinned over at me.

  “Fantastic.” I popped the pink case back in my bag.

  “I should warn you that my mom . . . she under dresses sometimes.”

  “What does that mean?”

  His face turned a shade of red. “She finds some types of underclothing prohibitive.”

  “Are we talking a Brittany Spears no panty incident?”

  He cringed. “Thanks for that image. No. Think more north.”

  “Oh. Bras can be a pain. You guys have no idea.”

  “I’ve heard my mother complain enough over the years, I think I get it.”

  I reached over and placed my hand on his tight, muscular leg. He was wearing my favorite pair of jeans. “You saw how I grew up; it takes a lot to shock me.”

  ~*~

  I did my best not to look shocked when we entered Zander’s apartment and his mom came running toward us. I didn’t expect her to be so heavily endowed or so exuberant. She was nothing like Zander, except their eyes resembled each other. Zander was collected and suave. His mom had no inhibition. It didn’t help that the red shirt she wore was made of a thin material. And I think she had already had one too many. I could smell the alcohol before she reached us.

  Zander held my hand tightly. I squeezed reassuringly. I understood now why he didn’t want to take Mrs. Marshall up on her offer to join them for Christmas dinner.

  She wrapped herself around her son, breaking us apart. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

  I was glad to see Zander reciprocate. “Merry Christmas.” But he was quick to step back and take my hand. “Mom, this is Meg.” I felt like he was holding me back to protect me.

  I held out the mixed bouquet of Christmas colored flowers. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Grainger.”

  She placed her stubby hand across her chest. I did my best not to look at it. “Finally, he brought a girl home.” She took the flowers, but she crushed them between us when she hugged me. She was about my height, so I got a good whiff of her breath and it stung my eyes. “Call me Charlene, you darling girl.”

  “Okay.” I stepped back before I felt ill. And I wanted a better look at her. I just couldn’t believe this was his mom. She looked older than I thought she would, like she had spent too much time in the sun. Her graying hair was a mess and her eyes were dimmed, I’m sure by the alcohol.

  She smelled the flowers. “These are beautiful. I’m sorry we didn’t get you anything. I had no idea he had a girlfriend until a couple of days ago, but Nan and Kenadie filled us in last night.” She was slurring some of her words.

  “I didn’t expect anything.” I leaned into Zander. He put his arm around me.

  She reached for my hand. “Come, tell me all about yourself.”

  “Where’s Dad?” Zander cut in.

  She waved her hand. “Off for a walk.” She didn’t sound happy about it. And Zander’s features tightened. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be back soon.”

  We all ended up on the couch together. Zander sat between us, on purpose I was sure. Zander looked around at the glasses and tissues on his coffee table. He made an effort not to say anything about the less than pristine conditions of his normally immaculate apartment.

  “Have you started dinner?” Zander looked toward the darkened kitchen.

  She swayed some. “We decided to dine out. Your dad made reservations.”

  Zander stretched his neck and took a deep breath. “That’s not what you said when I talked to you Friday.”

  “Things change.” She obviously wasn’t picking up on his discomfort.

  I reached up and rubbed his neck. “I could throw something together if we wanted to stay here.”

  “You are a sweet girl, but it’s not necessary.”

  Zander met my eyes. Exasperation was written in his.

  “I’m exhausted from traveling all day. Would you mind if we did takeout?” I didn’t want to be bold, but I would have done anything in that moment to make it better for Zander.

  His mom paused to take a drink of the wine in front of her before holding it up as if she was toasting us. “Why not.”

  Zander turned and kissed me. “Thank you,” he mouthed so his mother wouldn’t see or hear.

  “You two are so cute together.” She took another drink.

  Zander removed the glass from her hand. “I think you’ve had enough for now.”

  I tensed, thinking she may argue,
but she didn’t. “You’re no fun.” She fell back against the couch and passed out. I had never seen anything like it.

  Zander set her glass down. Waves of anger and embarrassment were rolling off him.

  I rubbed his back. “How do I make this better for you?”

  He leaned over and rested his arms on his legs. “That feels good.”

  I continued to rub, making sure to get his shoulders and neck where his tension seemed to lie. “Do you want to talk?”

  “What’s there to say?”

  “You don’t have to say anything.” I ran my hands through the back of his hair.

  It was silent for several minutes while my hands got to know every inch of his back and neck.

  He sat up and faced me. His gaze was piercing. It ran through my whole body.

  “How do you do that?” I smiled.

  “What?”

  “Make me feel you without even touching me.”

  He leaned in. “I think you’re just good at reading me, probably too good.”

  I ran my fingers lightly down his face.

  His eyes closed and he let out a cleansing breath. “I don’t want to end up like my parents.”

  “You have a say in that.”

  His eyes fluttered open. “You think they chose this?”

  “Maybe not consciously, but yes. They still have a choice.”

  His eyes narrowed, but there was a hint of a smile in them. “Thank you, Meg.”

  “For what?”

  “For getting to me.”

  “That’s my pleasure,” I whispered above his lips.

  “I’m going to ruin that lipstick.”

  “It’s about time.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I stretched and yawned in my own bed Monday morning. Jasper pawed at me. Zander had taken me to pick up my furry friend at my aunt’s before he took me home. Aunt Beth was tickled to meet him. It was the oddest Christmas. Zander’s dad had finally returned. He, too, was a surprise with his balding head and paunchy stomach. He was dressed in holey jeans and a baggy t-shirt. I saw hints of Zander in him, but he looked defeated by life. There was an underlying current of anger between father and son. It was understandable after what Mrs. Marshall and Zander had told me about him.

  Zander had been reluctant to leave me last night. We ended up eating takeout Thai food at my place in front of my dried-out Christmas tree. After the Thanksgiving and Christmas we’d had together, I was wondering what New Year’s was going to look like.

  I knew I would have to worry about that later. I had work and the wedding to get through. Kenadie was gracious enough to say I didn’t need to come in, but I could hear the stress in her voice. It was a busy time of year and I had left her shorthanded for a week. She was relieved when I told her I was coming in, along with Zander. I’m sure everyone in the office knew we had been together. That was weird for me, and satisfying.

  I was looking forward to when more personal relationship managers were hired and Zander moved on to his new role. It would make it easier to work together, but for now, I would have to deal with it. I was anxious to see how our coworkers were going to react. Zander had no intention of keeping it secret that we were seeing each other. That surprised me.

  I had to admit, I didn’t miss dressing in layers when I got ready in the morning. It was in the fifties and fair. I wore my burgundy sheath dress Zander liked. I also made his favorite cinnamon crumble muffins. I tried to forget Eva’s slight about the treats I brought in every Monday. I was who I was.

  Zander’s car was already there when I arrived. I purposely parked by him.

  I made a beeline for his office after saying hello to Daphne. She couldn’t quit smiling at me. I knew the day would be interesting. I waved to Kate as I walked past her office. Her look was more I hope you know what you’re doing. I hoped I did too.

  I paused at Zander’s door. He looked deep in thought staring at his screen. I felt like every day he was becoming more and more attractive to me. Though I wouldn’t mind if he went a little rogue again with the rugged look. My insides whooshed just thinking about it. “Good morning.”

  He looked up, but the intensity remained from whatever he was looking at on his screen.

  I tilted my head. “Something wrong?”

  He studied me.

  I invited myself in. His eyes followed me as I walked toward him and landed near him. I sat on his desk before setting my basket down. He looked me over and landed on my crossed bare legs.

  “Do you like what you see?”

  He showed a hint of a smirk before turning back to his screen.

  I was curious and took a peek too. I grinned when I realized what he had been doing. “So now you know the truth.”

  He looked between the screen and me. “You already knew?”

  “For a long time.”

  “That’s an unusually low number.”

  “Kenadie said you don’t put much stock in the compatibility percentages.”

  “You talked to Kenadie about us?”

  “She tried to talk me out of writing you off.” I grinned.

  He turned toward the screen and let out a heavy breath.

  I inched toward him on his desk. I leaned in and pointed at the large screen. “You know, this man chased me to Wyoming. That goes against what his profile indicates. And how many women have you been out with in the last couple of months?”

  He met my eyes and smirked. “One.”

  “Do I know her?” I loved teasing him.

  He ran his hand up my leg. Raised skin trailed as he went. “What’s your point?”

  “That maybe we aren’t all that improbable.” I jumped off his desk. “I should get to work.”

  He reached for my hand . “We should probably do lunch or something.”

  I couldn’t help but grin at him trying to be a good boyfriend. “Probably. I’m in the mood for Italian.” I set a muffin on his desk, grabbed my basket, and waved goodbye. “See you in the meeting.”

  I knew he watched me walk away. I could feel it everywhere.

  I walked back to my office feeling less anxious about the day ahead. I didn’t even flinch walking past Eva’s and Cara’s offices. I knew they saw me, but chose to keep their heads down. Fine by me.

  My unread email was daunting, but it kept me busy until our scheduling meeting. Zander was in charge this week. Kenadie had planned on coming in, but Jason’s family was in town and apparently there was some crisis with the wedding favors. Mrs. Marshall was up in arms that Ellen, the wedding planner, was only planning on doing personalized candies in a tiny drawstring bag. That was pitiful by her and her friend’s standards. Now everyone was getting personalized mugs with gourmet hot chocolates and teas. I was being recruited to help after work and when I wasn’t on my client dates. Poor Kenadie and Ellen.

  I walked into the meeting with my muffins, not sure what to expect. Zander was already there at the head of the table where Kenadie normally sat. He was looking over some papers in his hand. Will and Andy were also there, seated on the far side of the conference table, per their usual. They both smiled at me and the muffins. They didn’t hesitate to grab a few when I set them down in the middle of the table.

  “Welcome back.” Will smiled at his muffin.

  Andy nodded, his mouth was already full.

  At least the men were happy I had returned.

  I took a seat near Zander.

  He looked up from his papers and gave me a small smile. He looked good being in charge. He had a serious brooding thing going on and it worked for me.

  Cara and Eva were last. They kept their heads down and sat down near Will and Andy. That left Kate, Zander and me on the opposite end.

  Zander got right to business as soon as everyone was seated. “This is another short week, so we paired down the number of clients we are seeing. You will need to get everyone in by Wednesday night. Our connection meeting will be Thursday since we are off Friday. Let’s get down to assignments.” He divvie
d out each new client; everyone got several more than my two.

  We all looked to Zander, asking why with our eyes, especially the steaming women at the end.

  Zander glared directly at Eva and Cara. “Meg has outside obligations this week that will be keeping her busy.”

  Eva and Cara tried not to show any emotion. They had to swallow it down. I tried not to rub it in by smiling. Maybe a little smirk came out.

  Zander went right back to business and turned to Kate. “Is there anyone on the schedule you would like to discuss?”

  She set her pen down. “I don’t have anyone specific to report on, but as always, make sure to report any unusual or odd behavior to me.”

  “Does anyone have any questions?” Zander asked.

  No one said a word.

  “Meeting adjourned.” Zander pushed back his seat and stood up.

  I sat there waiting for everyone else to file out. Cara and Eva looked like they wanted to put their heads together and talk about me, but they took a look at Zander’s stern face and decided against it.

  “Are you determined to make them hate me even more?”

  He gripped his chair, sights zeroed in on me. I could see him deliberating internally.

  I waited patiently to hear what he had to say.

  “I’ve always had Kenadie when dealing with my parents,” he trailed off.

  “Are you trying to say you purposely rigged the schedule because you want me to be with you this week?”

  The internal debate raged in his eyes.

  I kept on smiling.

  “You want me to say it, don’t you?’

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Darlin’,”

  “Yes.”

  He took a deep breath. “I want you—”

  “That’s all I need to hear.” I popped up out of my seat. “I’ll see you at lunch.” I watched him watch me walk by.

  Before I exited the conference room, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back. He brushed back my hair. “I do like you.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Things were starting to get serious. I don’t mean between Zander and me, though that was going well, too. Very well. No, I was talking about the wedding. The Nanettes were living off adrenaline and sweet tea, and it wasn’t pretty. We were all at their beck and call. That included Jason’s family, the wedding couple, Zander, his mom, happily engaged Renee and Rick, Lana, and all the women from church.