Brooke Whittaker had all but forgotten Nicholas Williams after the "Great Christmas Disaster of 2010." But, when her father announces a business arrangement that will not only move Brooke and her family to New York City, but also forces Nicholas bac...
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Nicholas was one hundred percent positive that the dinner tonight would not end well. Actually, scratch that. It was going to be a train wreck. Nicholas was usually good at charming families and being the well-respected boy he was raised to be. But something about knowing he had to spend a full night with Brooke Whittaker really set him off.
He hadn't even seen the girl in eight years, but he just knew that the first time he saw here was not going to be pretty. The last time he had seen her, she had nearly broke his nose. To be fair, he had embarrassed her in front of everyone way more than was probably necessary. But that was neither here nor there and it was definitely something he was not willing to admit out loud.
Regardless of how little he wanted to be here, he had promised his mother that he would look and act his best. So there he was, in front of his mirror, fixing the collar on his white button down shirt. Being from his family, navy blue dress pants and a white button down were basically his go to clothes.
The doorbell rang at exactly seven o'clock, signaling Nicholas's doom. Nicholas fixed his hair one last time, just to uphold his promise to his mother, and walked out of his room. His one thought while walking down the hallway was: what a dreadful end to a perfectly good summer.
To his surprise, the face he met at the bottom of the stairs was not Brooke Whittaker's, but his conniving cousin's.
"Benjamin, you look so handsome," Nicholas' mother doted.
"Yeah if looking at a baboon's backside is what you're into," Nicholas snorted while walking down the last few steps.
"Nicholas," his father warned from the doorway. Nicholas sent an apologetic look to his parents before planting himself next to them.
"How about you boys wait here and greet our guests when they arrive?" Nicholas' mother offered.
The two boys nodded their heads silently while Mr. And Mrs. Williams walked out of the foyer.
"Well this should be a fun night," Benjamin said, still looking towards the door.
"What makes you say that?" Nicholas asked, trying to hide his annoyance.
"Well, we're eating dinner with the girl who hates your guts. If I were you, that would sound like the opposite of my idea of a good Sunday night."
Nicholas couldn't agree more. But then something Nate had said earlier that week echoed in his mind.
"Is it true that you're dating her?" Nicholas asked, genuinely curious.
"Have been for almost two years, why?" Ben asked, though Nicholas noticed him tense up a little.
"I just didn't even know you knew each other," Nicholas responded, not looking at Benjamin.
