"It was okay, I suppose." Her snobby attitude did nothing to endear me to her. Ugh, I just don't get what Jake sees in her!
"How big is this home, do you suppose?"
"Jake told me it has 10 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and is around 48,000 square feet."
"Oh my goodness! That is incredible!" I couldn't help how amazed I was. I had never been anywhere like this before.
Vivienne ignored my enthusiasm and it seemed as if she had something on her mind. "Sarah?"
"Yes?"
"What did you think of Ethan?"
What a strange question. I wonder why she is asking me that.
"Um, well, he certainly knows how to make an entrance!" I wanted to keep my response lighthearted.
"That he does." She chuckled softly to herself but I could see something else was there. "Did you find him charming?"
"Charming?" What was she getting at?
"Yes. Well, I know that you are single, I assume that you are anyway. I thought maybe you might be interested in him." She looked away when I searched her eyes to see what she was talking about. And then it hit me. I see what's going on here. You like him Vivienne. Well isn't this an interesting turn of events? If you’re interested in Ethan, why are you hanging on to Jake?
I decided to bait her a little bit to see how much information I could get out of her.
"Oh yes! He was very charming and so handsome. He was very flirtatious with me. Are you asking because he said something to Jake about me? Do you think he may be interested?" I couldn't help but play it up a bit. She was fishing for information for herself and she wanted to make sure no one else was interested in him. Clearly Vivienne had a thing for Ethan. I saw her face fall at my feigned enthusiasm.
She cleared her throat before speaking. "No, he hasn't said anything. I was just curious because you're both single. I thought you might make a nice couple."
I held her gaze until she was visibly uncomfortable. "Really." I set my eyes on her letting her know I knew she was lying.
Her eyes darted away as she looked around for some sort of escape. I decided to let her off the hook for now. I would delve deeper into this situation later.
CHAPTER 2
After we were done eating, I was standing near the pool admiring the hydrangeas when I felt a light touch at the small of my back. I turned to see Joshua standing beside me.
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
I looked into his gorgeous eyes and still couldn't believe this was all real.
"I am having a lovely time. Your mother is so warm and welcoming."
"That's because she likes you. Mother doesn't take very well to women I have brought to meet her." He looked out into the beautiful greenery of Beverly Hills.
What? Is this how he sees this visit? Bringing a girl home to mom is a big deal in my world. I didn't want to make a big deal about what he'd said for fear that he would close himself off again. Joshua was more relaxed than I've ever seen him and he was starting to open up to me.
"I like her too. She's not at all what I expected."
He gave me a curious glance.
"Oh, I don't mean anything bad by that! It's just that this is not my world Joshua." I waved my hand around the beautiful backyard. "I am not used to being surrounded by and submerged in this world of incredible wealth. I guess I imagined your mother would be kind of aloof. But she was so nice to me. She made me feel at ease right away. Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"I'm glad you didn't tell me beforehand that I would be meeting her. I would have been a nervous wreck."
"I figured as much. Well, you're probably wondering how long we're going to be here."
"The thought had crossed my mind."
"Mother's birthday is Thursday and we are having a big party for her that night. We'll head back to New York on Saturday."
"Oh, that sounds fun! Is the party going to be here?" I assumed it would be because the house was so enormous.
"Yes. It's going to be in the ballroom."
"There is a ballroom?" I didn't even try to disguise my wonderment.
Joshua chuckled. "Yes, there is." He hesitated and looked at me. "Let me take you on a tour of the home."
I couldn't hide my excitement. I had to admit, I wanted to see the rest of the house but I didn't think it would be appropriate to ask.
As we were walking toward the door to go inside, Bunny came over to us. "Where are you two off to?"
"I thought I'd give Sarah a tour of the house."
"Oh, how nice, darling. Just don't take her to the gallery. That is going to be our special trip tomorrow afternoon." Bunny smiled at me and patted me softly on my arm. "Enjoy the tour dear."
I couldn't get over how nice she was. Joshua seemed to be happy here and I was thoroughly enjoying my time with him. As we strolled through the house I noticed how relaxed he was.
"You seem pretty relaxed here. I know I haven't known you all that long, but I've never seen you this way."
I could tell that my comment caught him off guard. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. He stopped for a moment but then continued to stroll casually down the hallway.
"You're very observant. I am relaxed here. My family is very important to me and I don't get to see mother that often. She always makes me feel safe, calm and relaxed."
"I can understand why. She's very warm."
"Like I told you, she has never been this way with anyone I’ve brought to meet her."
Here was my second opportunity to say something about being ‘brought home to meet mom’ and this time I wasn't going to hold my tongue.
"Joshua, there is a difference between bringing home a woman to meet your mother and bringing home a new business associate who happens to be a woman."
Joshua stopped walking and turned to look at me. His gorgeous eyes smoldered as he held my gaze. He then slowly looked me up and down, lust written all over his face.
"Is there?"
My eyes started blinking and I was completely tongue-tied. My stomach was fluttering and my mouth suddenly went dry. My voice was very small when I finally spoke. I glanced at the floor and then looked into his eyes.