To Love And Be Loved

Chapter 31

"So, you are her boyfriend, hun?" said the girl. She was a smaller replica of Cass, only with bigger eyes, a thick mass of curly hair and if possible, a cuter face. She picked up the remote and began to switch the channels.

"And you are Cassie's sister, hun?" Victor asked, sitting down next to her. She gazed up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Only Gabriel calls her Cassie."

"Oh, really? I didn't know that."

She smiled. "Its okay," she said. She finally settled on a French program.

"So you speak French?"

"Oui."

"Cest bon, ca."

"Merci."

"Does the girl speak any other language?"

"The girl speaks Spanish and Italian and some Mandarin."

"Eso es mucho."

"Sono una che impara velocemente."

A young lady holding a glistening cup of juice on a white tray walked towards him with a shy smile. She drew a little table from behind them and placed the tray on it. "Thank you," said Victor and she curtsied slightly and left.

Victor raised the glass to his lips and drank deep. He half expected the fiery sensation of a whiskey to burn down his throat, instead, the drink was cool. He heard raised voices from the direction he guessed was the kitchen and wondered if he was the subject of the matter. He wasn't exactly a stellar boyfriend material. He wondered why Cass had asked him to stay. The day was coming when he'd meet her family but it felt too soon.

Was he taking things too fast? He thought. It certainly didn't feel this way with Catherine or Sofia; the French model he had once dated or any of his exes. He wondered what Sam would say if he told him. He remembered the way his heart had been beating when he met Cass' mother. Those were one of the scariest seconds of his life. Even after she had smiled, he could sense her disapproval in waves, like a ship's beacon and he knew it had been just for her daughter.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out. It was Seyi. He berated himself for forgetting that he had to be on camera that afternoon. Cass had called him in the morning and he jumped into his car immediately she hung up.

Victor switched off his phone and put it back in his pocket. He would have a very pissed Seyi to deal with later. A shadow fell over him and he looked up. It was Cass' mother. He gave her his famous smile and she replied with one of her's. "I've got this really heavy load in the car boot. Will you be so kind to help me?" she asked.

Victor's heart lurched in his chest. His mouth was dry and there was an ache behind his eyes that made him want to curl up in bed. He stood up and flashed a brighter smile. "Sure," he said. She gave him another smile. It seemed like they were holding a smiling contest.

FUCK.

He followed her outside and closed the door behind him. There was a black SUV parked in the little space beside the porch. She walked towards it and pressed a key in her hand. The boot opened lazily, with a mechanical whir. Inside the boot were dozen of potted plants. She took one and passed it to him. "Put it over there," she said, pointing at a little patch of grass in the garden.

Victor collected the plant, it was a small sunflower.

"Which one do you like?" Her voice was soft.

He dropped the plant and came back for the next. It was a rose, red and pretty. It reminded him of kissing Cass at his loft, how she felt in his arms, warm and real. "The rose."