by J A Fielding
“Nice to meet you all,” she said with a smile.
“Now, girls, why don’t you show these two to their room. I’m sure they would like to rest up before the party,” Victoria said. Steven looked at her surprised.
“Mother, I said no parties,” he groaned.
“It was out of my hands. When the Smiths heard you were coming over, they insisted on having dinner together, the same way we used to do before you all grew up,” Victoria said smiling. “It’s nothing big. Just us and the smiths,” she said before walking away. Steven looked at Julie and mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to her but Julie just smiled. By the time they got to their room, Julie had already noticed that Amber was the bubblier sister. Lory and Leanne were a bit reserved while Joanna looked more like a problem child, the kind who made the parents on edge every time they heard her name. After a quick nap and a shower, Steven and Julie made their way downstairs to the lounge where the rest of the family was. Julie had worn the blue dress she had bought with Meg earlier that week and a pair of silver, red bottomed peep toe heels that showed off her perfectly manicured toe nails. She wore her hair up in a tight bun and matched her outfit with a silver chain and a pair of silver earrings. Her makeup was ever so light, just enough to give some accent to her eyes and lips. When Steven saw her, he smiled and breathed a long low whistle.
“Are you trying to give me a hard on?” he winked as he looked at her.
“Is that Steven talk for ‘you look good’?” she asked with a smile.
“Forget good, you look so damn sexy I’m almost tempted to take you right now. We could always be late for dinner,” he said. She smiled and shook her head.
“I’m not sure I want your mother to hate me so soon,” she said. “And you don’t look so bad yourself,” she added as she looked at his dark gray pinstriped pants and the burgundy shirt he had on. He smiled and spun around.
“So, you approve?” he asked.
“Oh I will show you just how much I approve after dinner,” she teased stepping closer to him. He smiled when she kissed him lightly on the lips. “Shall we go?” she asked.
“Wait, there is something I have to tell you before we go down there,” he said. She looked at him and wondered why he was suddenly so serious.
“What? What’s going on?” she asked.
“The Smiths,” he started.
“What about them?” she asked.
“Their daughter Stephanie and I used to date,” he said. Julie pulled away and took a long breath.
“Okay,” she said in a quiet whisper. “When?”
“It was a long time ago. We were both in college by then. I just thought you should know before we go down. I wouldn’t want you to hear it from someone else,” Steven said. Julie looked at him for a long minute before she shrugged.
“We all have a past, right?” she said with a smile. Steven smiled back at her and gave her a kiss.
“Did anyone ever tell you, you are perfect?” he asked. She looked at him and smiled.
“Come on, we don’t want to keep everyone waiting,” she demanded.
As they walked downstairs, Julie could hear the soft music, music she would normally not listen to. Some kind of Mozart thing. Steven took her hand in his as they walked into the lounge where Victoria and Steven’s sisters were, as well as five other people she did not know.
“Hey, mind if we steal her away?” Amber asked as she pulled Julie away from Steven.
“Hold your horses, Amber. Julie, this is my father Ian Davenport,” Steven introduced as Ian gave Julie a kiss on the cheek.
“It is finally time he settled down and I think you are just the woman for the job,” Ian said with a smile. Julie laughed and looked at Steven.
“It’s really nice to meet you. You have a beautiful house…home,” she said, quickly correcting herself. There was no way she could call a property of this magnitude a mere house.
“Actually, it was all Victoria’s doing. I just paid for it,” Ian said with a smile. “Anyway, I would like to introduce you to Patrick and Rebecca Smith, their son William and daughter Stephanie,” Ian said as he introduced Julie to the Smiths. She noticed that Stephanie didn’t give her a very friendly look, but then again, she was not there to impress her. As soon as the introductions were over, Amber took her away from the group and led her into the living room.
“I’m sorry to have to drag you away, but believe me, you don’t want to be around that Stephanie,” Amber said.
“Yeah, I kind of guessed that she didn’t like me very much,” Julie said with a smile.
“About that, maybe you should talk to Steven,” Amber said. Julie gave her a smile and shook her head.
“Don’t worry about it. I already know about him and Stephanie,” she said. Amber smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh good, that saves me a lot of awkward silence then,” she said with a smile. “And trust me when I tell you we are better off in here than out there. Besides, that bitch Stephanie always made me uneasy. I just don’t trust her. I’d rather stay away from her unless I most certainly have to,” she added with a smile. Julie smiled.
“Crazy eyes?” she asked. Amber raised an eyebrow.
“Crazy eyes?”
“That’s how we Americans describe someone with a look you don’t trust,” Julie explained. Amber smiled and nodded.
“Nice name,” she said with a smile. “Crazy eyes,” she repeated as she made a face. Julie laughed as a uniformed young woman walked in holding a tray on what looked like juice and champagne. Amber picked a glass of champagne and handed one to Julie. “Or are you more of a juice person?” she asked, holding the glass back briefly. Julie shook her head and took the glass from her.
“Thanks,” Julie said to the woman before she walked away.
“So, you must have given my brother something to make him so into you,” Amber said, looking at Julie who was looking back at her surprised and confused.
“What?” she asked with a smile.
“Well, Steven has never brought anyone to meet my parents. We only knew about Stephanie because we are family friends,” Amber said. Julie took a sip of her champagne and smiled.
“Really?” she asked. Amber nodded.
“Let’s just say, Steven isn’t exactly used to meeting reputable women,” she said. “So, last time we talked with my brother he told me you are a property agent?” she asked.
“A realtor,” Julie corrected her. “Yeah, that’s what I do. It’s actually how we met,” she said with a smile.
“Oh really?” Amber asked. Julie nodded.
“Yeah. I was tasked with finding him a house in Minneapolis. And he was really particular with what he wanted. But we worked something out,” she explained before taking another sip.
“You must be really good at what you do. Steven is not easily…satisfied,” Amber said and then suddenly blushed. “You know what I mean,” she added quickly. Julie laughed and smiled.
“I do,” she said. “And yes, I noticed, but…he is not that hard to deal with. In fact, he is one of the best clients I have ever worked with,” she said, a faraway look in her eyes. Amber looked at her and smiled.
“And I can see that he’s had the same effect on you,” she said. Julie looked at her with a smile before she took another sip of her drink to hide the fact that her cheeks were crimson.
The more Julie talked to Amber, the more she felt comfortable around her. Amber was like Steven, exactly like Steven, the only difference being that she was female. She did not even realize that the time had flown by before Victoria finally called everyone to the dinner table. When Amber and Julie were walking to the dining room, the most unsightly thing caught her eye. Stephanie was standing uncomfortably close to Steven, whispering something in his ear. She stood at the doorway and watched as Stephanie brought her hand up to hold Steven’s neck before he took a step back. Julie could feel her heart beating faster as she looked at Stephanie trying hard to physically get closer to Steven. She felt angrier
than ever when she saw Steven take both of her hands in his and then tell her something in low tones. Given the music playing in the background and the chattering of people in the dining room, Julie had no idea what they were saying. All that time, Amber had been walking towards the dining room alone, oblivious of the fact that Julie was bearing the scene all by herself. When she realized, she quickly walked back to where Julie was.
“Why, that annoying bitch,” she sniped under her breath before she cleared her throat loudly enough to catch both Steven and Stephanie’s attention. “Mother called us to the table,” Amber said. Steven walked towards Amber and Julie, leaving Stephanie to walk up to them, staring daggers at Julie. Steven slipped an arm around Julie’s waist and led her to the dining room.
“There you are,” Victoria said with a smile. “Steven you will sit here and Julie, I thought you may want to sit right next to him,” she said as she pulled out a seat for Julie.
“But I always sit next to Steven,” Stephanie announced.
“That was when the two of you were together. Julie’s with Steven now,” Joanna explained as she looked at Stephanie. Julie guessed that Joanna and Stephanie didn’t have the best relationship.
“Fine, but I hope you don’t mind, I asked my friend to join us. She is visiting me for the weekend,” Stephanie said as she sat down.
“I suppose we could always add another place at the table,” Victoria said as she sat down. Just then they heard the doorbell. Julie looked at Steven and wondered if this was something unusual at the Davenport household. They had uninvited guests all the time and it was never a big deal. All the attention turned to the doorway as the familiar sound of high heels on the marble flooring got louder signaling the guest getting closer and closer. When Stephanie’s guest walked into the dining room, Julie felt the color drain from her face.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” she thought as she looked at the same person she had termed a difficult client.
“Stephen you remember my best friend from elementary school, Kelsey Buckner,” Stephanie said as Kelsey walked into the room. Julie’s heart was suddenly beating faster again.
“Julie Parker? This is a small world,” Kelsey said smiling at Julie.
“You two know each other?” Steven asked. Julie nodded.
“Yeah, we’ve met,” Julie said, unsure of the emotion she had at that moment.
Chapter 6
Dinner was uncomfortable to say the least. Not only did Steven have a past with Stephanie but as it turned out, he had a complicated one with Kelsey too. This weekend was not at all what Julie had intended. It was only the first day and she was already dying to go back home. All through dinner, she endured Stephanie and Kelsey’s subtle hints at Steven and by the time she and Steven got back to their room, all she wanted to do was sleep.
“I’m sorry about…everything,” Steven apologized as he sat on the bed. Julie was at the dressing mirror slowly taking off her light jewelry.
“It’s fine,” she promised as she undid the bun in her hair. “It’s not like you planned this, right?” she asked as she kicked her shoes off. Steven rose from the bed and walked over to where she was and held her waist. “Are you the one who sent Kelsey to me?” she asked as she looked at their reflection in the mirror.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Yesterday she came over to the office. She wants a house like Elena and Carrie’s and since they are your clients, I thought that she was too,” she said as she turned around. Steven shook his head.
“She may have been trying to track me down and Elena and Carrie led her to me,” he said.
“Why would she try to track you down?” she asked. Steven shrugged.
“Unlike Stephanie, Kelsey can take break ups a bit too…hard,” he admitted.
“Was she the reason you moved to the States?” she asked. Steven shook his head no.
“I moved because I was expanding my company,” he explained. Julie pulled away from him and walked towards the bed. She sat on the edge and undid her hair bun. “Are you okay?” Steven asked as he looked at her. She shrugged and lay down on the bed.
“If I had known meeting your family would be the easy thing, I would have thought twice about taking this trip,” she said. Steven walked up to where she was and sat down next to her.
“We can leave any time you want,” he said. She turned and looked at him and then shook her head.
“Amber told me all about what your mother has planned this weekend. It would break her heart if we left before then,” she sighed.
“Are you sure? Because the party tomorrow will have a whole lot people, most of them more annoying than Kelsey and Stephanie combined,” Steven said. Julie shrugged.
“It’s just a couple of days. I like to believe that I am that strong,” she said, trying to force a smile. She looked at him and noticed the discomfort in his eyes. He was obviously having a hard time being here, maybe even more than she was.
“Are you really sure?” he repeated. “Because some of the events that my parents throw together…they do what you Americans like to say turn up,” he added with a smile.
“I’m fine. I will not be the woman who drags you away from a family event,” Julie said. Steven draped an arm around her shoulders and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“I love you,” he said in whisper.
*****
The following day was just as big as Steven had said it would be. If they were back home, this would be an old fashioned potluck…or more like a barbecue. At first, Julie was not sure what outfit would be appropriate for the day. If she was back home, she would have been good with jeans and a top but this was different. She didn’t even think Victoria had ever seen a pair of jeans. Steven had gone into town to check on his business, leaving Julie all alone. She had entertained the idea of going with him, but she was too tired after the weirder than weird dinner party. Steven had left her a note that he would join in the party later on after he was done. After having a shower, she laid out the three outfits she had brought with her on the bed and looked at them. Nothing looked or even felt right. She was still looking at the outfits laid out on the bed when she heard a soft knock on the door. She walked over to the door and opened it to find an all dressed Amber standing at the door.
“Wow, did I wake you up?” Amber asked as she walked into the room. Julie smiled nervously and shook her head.
“I am having a wardrobe crisis,” she said as she pointed at the bed.
“These are really cute,” Amber said looking at her. “Why exactly are you having as wardrobe crisis?” she asked.
“Cute is not exactly what I am trying to go for. Plus, look at you. You look ready for the red carpet. Trust me, cute won’t cut it,” Julie said as she sat down. She looked at Amber and sighed. She was in a one shoulder green maxi dress and wearing one of the sleeveless dresses she had brought on the trip would just not work. Amber picked up one of the dresses and held it against her as she walked to the dressing mirror.
“I wish I had the body for this,” she said as she turned to her side.
“What do you mean? Your body is perfect,” Julie said.
“It may be perfect, but I would need an ass like yours if I was to make this dress work. Otherwise, I would look like an overdressed mannequin,” Amber said making Julie laugh. “There’s that smile. Now let’s sort you out,” Amber said as she put the dress back on the bed and took Julie’s hand in hers. “Come on,” she said as she led Julie to the door.
“Where are we going? I have a bathrobe on,” Julie protested.
“My room is just down the hall and everyone’s outside anyway. It’s just you and me in here,” Amber said as the two walked out of Steven and Julie’s room. They walked quickly down the hall to Amber’s room which looked like a suite at the Hilton or something. Amber led Julie to a huge walk in closet and Julie noticed that most of the clothes still had tags on them.
“You haven’t even worn some of these clothes,” Julie gasped as
she looked through the racks. Amber shrugged.
“I know. Maybe mother is right. I do have too much clothes,” she said with a smile as she pulled out two dresses from the racks. “Try these on,” she said. After half an hour, Julie was dressed and ready. She settled on a white strapless maxi with a front thigh high slit. The dress had beautiful black and brown beading that made it look even more elegant than it already was. Julie had her hair straightened and worn in a simple side sweep. By the time she stepped out of the house, Julie was feeling like a million bucks. As she looked around, she realized that the Davenports were probably a bigger deal than she thought. The place had a number of celebrity guests, and to think this was a simple affair.
“Is this normal for you? All these people?” Julie asked in awe as she looked around. There were at least a hundred people there and she found herself wondering whether more were coming.
“Yeah, every year mother holds this party. She says it’s for business purposes but I never really get it,” Amber said. Julie shrugged.
“What exactly do your parents do?” she asked as she looked at Amber.
“Dad is a financial adviser and my mother has an events organizing company. She mostly caters to high rated clients, celebrities and stuff,” Amber said.
“Wow, where did Steven get an interest in properties then?” Julie asked. Amber smiled.
“Steven has always been a person to make his own way. My father wanted him to take over Davenport Financial but I guess my brother had something else on his mind. Plus, he really wanted to be independent of my parents,” Amber said. Julie nodded and smiled as the two walked over to a large table that had a generous spread of food. There were drinks, bites, everything but the main barbecue. Amber excused herself when Lory walked up to them and said something about Victoria looking for something …or someone. Julie didn’t really know what. She had just picked up a couple of skewered beef when Stephanie and Kelsey walked over to her.