Chapter 452

"Sorry," she said softly.

"No, it's okay," I tell her. "Let's try on these clothes."

I didn't think it was going to take as long as it did, but within the next couple of hours, we were finally finished with trying on the clothes she bought. She didn't just buy a few nice outfits, she bought a ton. There were bags more than when she initially came into the parlor. She had an entire car full of clothes.

"I couldn't decide," she stated with a sheepish smile after the hundredth blouse I tried on.

After a while, I settled on a nice evening dress with a cardigan. The maid helped me do my hair so it flowed in even ringlets down my back and was pulled out of my face. She applied a little makeup, but not enough to make me look like a hussy; just enough to make my features pop and brighten my face a little more.

I put some flats on for shoes, thankfully she also went shoe shopping, so I didn't have to worry about either. Once I was dressed, I took a look at myself in the mirror, feeling my stomach knot.

I was still wrapping my head around the fact that I was having dinner with Gavin's mother... Donna Landry. From what I knew about her these last couple of days, she couldn't stand me. I could only imagine how this dinner was going to go. No amount of dresses and hair was ever going to make that woman like me, so I didn't understand why she would invite me to dinner with Gavin.

As I met Gavin in the parlor, I noticed him before he noticed me. He was scrolling through his phone, seated on the couch. He wore a business suit like he was about to go to a business meeting, and I suddenly felt as if I wasn't dressed properly enough. Maybe I should have worn something fancier; this was a dinner with his mother after all.

He looked tense as he stared at his phone and for a moment, I wondered if it had anything to do with Irene.

I cleared my throat, getting his attention.

His eyes shifted from his phone to me; there was a moment of pause in his expression. His eyes scanned my entire body, taking in my dress that hugged my figure, but was still classy enough for dinner at his mother's manor. Then his eyes found mine for a moment, his expression softened making my heart skip a beat.

"Are you ready?" I asked him. "You seem lost in thought."

He swallowed before turning his phone screen off and standing. He shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Yeah, we should get going. She hates it when people are late," he murmurs. "Shall we?"

I nod, watching him carefully. I wanted to ask him if he talked to Irene some, but I didn't want Matt to overhear. It would have been better if we had this conversation in the car. I expected either Taylor or Erik to drive us, so I was surprised when it ended up being Gavin the one to drive.

"Why are you driving us?" I asked him as we pulled away from the villa.

"Do you have a problem with my driving?" he asked; he sounded dry, but I was starting to understand him well enough to know that he was teasing.

"No, but I thought driving places yourself was above you," I teased right back.

"I drove on our date, did I not?" He countered. His brows raised.

My cheeks were heated at the mention of our date; until now, it kind of felt like an elephant in the room.

"That was different," I said, ne

going soft as I looked out the

window. I felt him smirkingut

even looking at him and for some

reason, that annoyed me.

I turned to look at him, narrowing my eyes.

"Got something to say?" I boldly asked.noveldrama

He shrugged.

"Are you going to keep that attitud during dinner because getting

er to like you won't be eacPhe

he

me, that smirk never leaving his lips.

"And why would I care if your mother liked me?" I asked, folding my

iOSS my chest. "I don't

$ me... she already do armed

care if she like

me."

"Tonight will certainly be interesting," he muttered.

"You find this funny, don't you?" I asked him in disbelief.

He shrugged one shoulder.

"Yeah, maybe I do," he murmured. "So what?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but the sight of the manor caught my

attention, and my entire body went cold.

We were here.