Until I Met You (27 page)

Once all the toasts and eggs were placed on the table, Seth sat and pondered for a moment.

“That was my mum on the phone.  There was talk about having a barbecue a few days ago, but she wasn’t sure about the weather.  Now she’s got the forecast for this Saturday—and knows it’s going to be a warm day—she wants to go ahead with it.  I told her that I wanted to bring you.  How do you feel about that?  You’ll get to meet a few members of my family.”

That thought suddenly scared me.  I had never had to meet parents before.  Not ones I was supposed to impress anyway.  Seth mattered to me and so did the thought of his parents liking me.  That was what scared me more than anything.

“You don’t seem too thrilled with the idea.”

He noticed the way I hesitated and I felt a little guilty.  I kept thinking back to the massive amount of energy he must have put in by driving all the way down to Cornwall to meet all my family and friends.  The least I could do is offer the same.

“It’s not that,” I finally said.  “I’ve just never had to do this before.  It’s all new to me and a little bit scary.  I’ll do it though.  I want to do it.  In fact, I very much look forward to it.”

He gave me a big beaming smile and clasped my hand.  “This is the first time I’m doing this also, Angelina.  Don’t be surprised if I get a few phone calls throughout the day.”

And he did.  Straight after breakfast from his sister.  Then after the washing up from his brother.  Then about an hour after that from his auntie.  They were all shocked and stunned at him wanting to bring a girl, and they all said they couldn’t wait to see me.  It was then that I had a little glimpse into what it was like for Seth when he met all my friends and family.  He was like the most fascinating creature on the planet—all because they had never seen me with someone before.  Not someone they knew I liked so much anyway.  It was all quite frightening.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping.  I was really amazed at how patient he was with me going through the aisles.  He almost seemed to enjoy the experience—which shocked me a little.  I thought it was only right that I buy something for his new home, so while Seth was trying on some new clothes, I went wandering about and found the most amazing crystal candlesticks.  They were the most expensive candlesticks I had ever seen, but Seth was worth it.  As soon as I saw them, I had to get them, regardless of price.  They were beautiful and would look perfect in Seth’s new modern home.

Chapter 15

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling lighter than air.  I’ve had the most amazing two weeks off with Seth that I could ever wish for.  He loved my present and I was glad he never reprimanded me for getting it.  I wouldn’t have liked that.  He accepted them graciously and they now have a happy home being displayed in his clear glass kitchen cabinet.  We used them that night with our meal and just basked in one another’s company, enjoying the last remaining days we had together—alone—twenty-four seven.

The only annoying part about my stay was when we went out for a meal one evening and one of his ex-bunnies was there.  Her name was Tania, and I remembered her as one of the girls from that night we first met.  She threw daggers at me all evening, and when she introduced herself she made it plainly obvious she didn’t like me.  The thing with me is, I knew that two could easily play at her game, so I asked her if she wouldn’t mind moving because she was interrupting the footsie Seth and I were playing underneath our table.  Seth smiled, seemingly impressed, and Tania stomped her foot and marched away.  It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. 

“Now that one, I’ll call Thumper,” I said, and we both rolled about laughing, causing a right scene throughout the restaurant.

Other than that, the evening went well, and I was bathing in everything Seth.  What I was quickly reminded of when I woke up, was today is the day I meet Seth’s family.  I wasn’t quite sure I was ready yet, even though I’ve had five days to get used to the idea.  Seth did say that Paul would be there and I felt a little relieved about that.  At least I would know someone at the barbecue.

Once we were in the car I was a bundle of nerves and Seth could tell.  He started up the F-Type and she roared to life, giving me slight relief from my nerves.  Hearing that sound never ever gets old.

Closing my eyes, I took a couple of deep breaths.  Once I opened them I saw Seth looking at me.  He grabbed my hand and told me everything was going be okay.  I instantly smiled my relief as he put the car into drive and headed out of the basement car park.

The drive itself was under an hour, considering Seth liked to open the Jag up whenever he could.  It was all a thrill to me, and not once did I feel scared or intimidated by his driving.  In fact it was too much of a distraction.  He had his baseball cap on again and the stubble all round his chin looked good enough to lick.  It was taking all of my self control not to undo my seatbelt and do just that.  If I didn’t think it would put us in danger on the road, I would have.  He was just too irresistible.

He caught me leering at him a few times and laughed.  He even chastised me when he caught me looking at his crotch a handful of times.  It was a great distraction from what I knew was coming.  I really didn’t know what to expect other than I was going to meet them.

When we got there and entered a security gate, I almost had a full on panic attack.  I knew they were rich, but I didn’t realise they owned a mansion out here.  The place was huge, and quite frankly, intimidating.  The meticulously cut lawns and trees seemed to span for miles as we made our way to the enormous house.  The house itself was brick with the most amazingly huge windows.  It had climbing plants that curved graciously round each window, and the colours were a mix of violets and soft pinks.  It was absolutely stunning.

We pulled out in front of the house onto the gravel, and Seth swiftly came round to open my door.  He held out his hand, quickly pulling me up towards him with a smile.

“Don’t be nervous.  It’s fine.  You have nothing to worry about, Angel.  I love you and you love me.  That’s all that matters to me.  Nothing and no one can ever change that, okay?”

I nodded my head and he kissed me tenderly causing me to sigh contentedly.

“Hey, nephew, stop sucking on that poor girls lip, and get inside!”

Jumping out of my skin, I looked towards Paul coming down the stairs.  “Sorry,” he said laughing.  “I didn’t mean to make you jump.”

“That’s fine, how are you Paul?  It’s good to see you.”  I smiled at him as he pushed Seth out of the way, almost causing him to fall over—all because he wanted to give me a hug.

“You might be my uncle, you little jumpstart, but you ain’t family enough for a good knuckle sandwich.”

They started pushing each other around a little until a big female voice filled the air.  “You two, cut it out this instant!”

Looking up to find the voice, my eyes nearly fell out of my head.  She caught my gaze, stopped momentarily, smiled the same cheeky Seth smile, and carried on her journey.

I was shocked beyond words who it was.  For a moment I forgot where I was and whispered, “It’s Cruella Di Vil.”  It was only when Seth said, “Who?” that I remembered there were ears around me that could hear.  I whispered very briefly who she was and he started laughing.

“She likes to do that a lot,” he explained.

“You mean she’s not really gay?”

“No,” he said, laughing harder.  “She likes to play games with the estate agents.  She says it releases some of the boredom of buying houses.”

I rolled my eyes, but then had this sudden unwelcome thought.  She’s not Seth’s mum is she?  Surely not, she’s way too young.

Seth soon put my mind at ease when he introduced us.  “Angelina, I would like to introduce you to my aunt, Belinda.  But then I believe you two have already met.”

“Angelina, darling.  So nice to see you again,” she purred.

She kissed me on both cheeks and stood looking at Seth and I.  “Okay, Miss Charmers.  You can stop the act now.”

Everyone laughed and Seth politely told her I called her Cruela Di Vil, which earned an arm slap from me.  Belinda thought it was hilariously funny.  Considering she liked practical jokes, then my joke shouldn’t faze her one little bit.

“I can also do cock-a-ney,” she said with an impish grin.

“Cock-a-ney?” I asked, smiling.

“Yea, I wanna buy a Mickey Mouse.  Preferably one with apples and pears ya know?  And a dining room big enuff to put me Cane and Abel.  It’s got to ave an hanger, once I gets in, so I know where to put me Weasel and Stoat, and the tables got to be big enuff for me Ruby Murray of a night time—Innit?”

The laughter came spilling out of me as I looked towards Seth, who was now rolling his eyes at her.  He must have heard this a thousand times. 

“Well, Cruella, you have to have something big enough to house all your Dalmatians.”

She laughed and stopped abruptly.  “That’s true.  I like her.”  She pointed at Seth and smiled. 

Seth beamed back towards me and some of the nerves I felt were gradually fading away.  That is, until I hear and see what must be Seth’s mum.  She walked down the stairs elegantly with her blonde hair flowing behind her.  She looked a lot like Belinda, who I can see now looked a lot like Seth.  I didn’t know why I never saw that before.  She was very pretty—I knew that much—but I think I was too busy trying to avoid any kind of contact with her.  Funny thinking about it now.  All along she was just joking around with me.  I should have felt like a sucker, but instead I was quite charmed by the lovely Miss Charmers—and I never thought I’d say that in a million years.

“Darling, it’s been ages.  Where have you been?” she asked, racing in for a hug. 

She seemed to completely ignore me, as she belted towards her son.  Once the distinct impression that she was going to be difficult surfaced in my mind, the nerves kicked up a notch.  Unfortunately, I quickly realised that my instincts were bang on.

“Mum, I’d like you to meet someone very special to me.  Her name’s Angelina Bradshaw, and she recently moved from Cornwall up to London.  She works for Jonathan.”  He then turned to me and said, “Angelina, this is my mum, Melissa.”

I distinctly thought I saw her stiffen when he mentioned my name.  I thought there was going to be trouble, but she politely offered me her hand, smiled—somewhat falsely—and ushered us to come inside.

I looked over at Seth nervously and he tightened his grip on my hand.  He was trying to offer reassurance, but I didn’t think any amount of that could help the fact that his mother had taken an instant disliking to me.  I wondered if she felt that way before we met, or whether it was just on first impressions.  I could debate that over and over until my head was sore, but it still wouldn’t change the fact.

We walked up the many stairs to the most audacious entrance I had ever seen in my life.  I did notice, however, that there was a lovely long winding slope coming from the door that led from both the left side and the right.  I quickly remembered that this must be for Seth’s sister, Carla.

When I walked in I was greeted by one of the biggest halls I had ever seen in my career of selling houses.  There was a grand winding staircase to the right that must have led up to God knows how many bedrooms and bathrooms.  The scene all reminded me of the house the Grayson’s lived in from the TV show called Revenge.  It certainly seemed they had the money to live in the Hamptons.

We were led from there into the vast kitchen area, and out towards the back garden.  It certainly didn’t look like a back garden; it was more like a Botanical garden.  There was a huge terrace which followed the most obscene amount of stairs leading down towards the grass.  There were tiers of the most beautiful flowers leading all the way down towards a massive, elegant marquee.  Inside, tables were carefully laid out with mint precision.  But what really shocked me was the people.  There were hundreds of them.  I thought it was just going to be a small gathering of family.  I didn’t realise it was going to be a full on house party.

I spotted Carla from a distance, and when she saw Seth, her smile lighted up my heart a little.  You could tell how much she loved him.  There was no denying that from his big sister.

Melissa excused herself for a moment to tend to some guests, which I was happy about.  This left me trying to impress the other lady in Seth’s life—and I really hoped she liked me.

“Seth,” she cried opening her arms out for a big hug.

“Hey, Pumpkin, how are you?”  He bent down to give her a great big hug, and when he managed to tear himself away, he looked over at me.

Carla spied me and gave me the most welcoming smile.  “So this must be the famous Angelina.  Your ears must have been burning for weeks.  You’ve certainly been the topic of conversation many a time in our house.”

My eyes bulged out of my head as she laughed.  “Don’t worry,” she said.  “It’s all good.  We’re just so glad he’s finally met someone that can calm him down a bit.  There’s certainly been a big change in my little brother lately—and it’s a good thing.”  She smiled at him adoringly and it instantly relaxed me again.

“Angel, can I get you drink of champagne?”

“Oh yes please,” I answered. 

He ventured off, leaving Carla and I alone.  I took some time looking around and found that Paul and Belinda had also disappeared suddenly.  With this amount of people, it was hard to keep count.

“It really is nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand.

Carla smiled and shook my hand.  “Us, too.  As I say, you’ve been quite the topic of conversation.  I think I love you already.”

I giggled a little.  “That’s good to know—although I’m not sure everyone feels the same.”  I glanced over to Melissa, who was talking to a couple of middle-aged men.  They all laughed at something she said, and it made me shudder a little.  I think I called the wrong sister the Dalmatian lady.

Carla gazed over to where I was looking and shook her head.  “I wouldn’t worry too much about my mum.  She’s not used to Seth having someone important other than his family in his life.  It will take some adjusting, but she’ll get used to the idea eventually.  I told her not to come down hard on you.  I hope she hasn’t got her claws out.” 

She started laughing, but the whole thing made me nervous.  She saw how serious I was looking so offered me her hand.   “Come on, Angelina.  You’ll be fine.  Enjoy the day, drink champagne and eat all you can.  You’ll never leave hungry after one of our feasts.”

Seth came over with my champagne and I felt more at ease.  We found a table where we sat and chatted for a while.  Carla told me all about her fantastic job at Little Stars.  I told her how much I admired the work she does, and she just shrugged her shoulders, modestly.  We then ventured onto the subject about me, telling her the story about how Seth and I met.  I was so engrossed, I didn’t realise we had been gathering a little audience around our table until people started laughing at my cookie jokes.

“So, that’s where you got the number plate from,” Paul laughed and patted Seth’s shoulder.  “He wouldn’t tell me when I asked,” he whispered in my direction.

Carla wanted to know a little bit about my job.  She said she was always hearing stories about her family buying and selling houses, but never from the estate agents point of view.  I told her some stories and she was enthralled by them.  Especially when I told her about a guy with a wig on his head that kept falling down little by little as I was showing him around the house.  It was hilariously funny, but hugely distracting when you’re trying to keep a serious face on.  By the time it was over, it was practically hanging over his eyes.

I also told her about Belinda, and how much she had put a number over me.  Belinda was there by this time and received a numbers of tuts from people—most of whom, I didn’t have a clue who they were.  It was then that Belinda looked at me with a frown.