“Dad, your yacht is fifty feet long. How could you possibly want something bigger? The one you have is perfectly adequate.”
My mother waved her hands in front of me. “There’s no use trying to tell him, Tyler. I’ve had exactly the same conversation with him and he won’t listen.”
“It won’t be long before your big birthday, Tyler,” my dad said, conveniently changing the subject.
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for reminding me, Dad.”
“Oh, honey,” my mum said, placing her hand on my knee. “That’s when all the fun begins. You’ll have boys in their teens just drooling over you. And you just wait until you hit your forties. It’s even worse,” she giggled.
I shook my head with a chuckle. “I have no intention of becoming a cougar, Mum, but thanks.”
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do with the money?” my father asked.
I sighed, noticing the waitress coming over with my drink. I stayed silent until she went away, but I wasn’t happy. I was to inherit a trust fund of God knows how much from my parents once I turned thirty. It was always in the cards. My sister got hers three years back when she got married. Now it was time for mine, and I wasn’t happy. I was independent and always had been. I didn’t want or need their money.
“No, Dad. I haven’t.”
My mother suddenly piped up, getting all excited. “Oh, you could buy one of those new apartments they’re building down on Markham Street. I’ve heard they’re going to be spectacular. Lotus Apartments, I think they’re called.”
Snapping my head up to meet her gaze, my mouth gaped open in shock. “What did you just call them?”
My mother stared at me blankly. “Lotus Apartments. They even have the flower as their logo. It’s run by some big hotshot developer who no one knows. It’s a pity as, apparently, he’s quite young and very hot. You two could have been introduced.”
My heart started thumping. It couldn’t possibly be true, could it? Was my stranger, my Lotus, this mystery man in charge of the development of these apartments? Surely it must be a coincidence.
“If nobody knows who he is, how can people know he’s young and very hot?”
My dad laughed. “I keep telling your mother to stop listening to idle chitchat. The man’s probably in his sixties with a beer belly and lots of facial hair. I really don’t know where she gets it from.”
My mother tut-tutted in my dad’s direction and waved her hand in a slapping gesture. “Derren, come on. You really don’t think a man of his stature could stay hidden for very long, do you? Pretty soon, someone will reveal him, unless he reveals himself.”
The prospect of this had my head swimming. It wasn’t possible that my mum knew what was going on with me and Lotus, but it was quite close to the mark. Surely this man isn’t my stranger.
As I contemplated this, our food arrived and we began eating. “Have you seen much of Ian lately?” my father asked with a raised eyebrow.
You think my eyes would be tired with all the rolling, but I knew exactly where this was heading. “We see each other every day at work, and every Friday for Bolognaise night.”
My father laughed. “Bolognaise night?”
Taking a bite, I nodded my head. “Yes, but he thinks I made this recipe myself when, in fact, I got it from a cookbook.” I laughed a little at my own joke as my parents gave each other a smile.
“It turns out,” my mother said towards my father, “that they’re not FWB’s after all.”
Looking at my mother, I frowned. “FWB? What the hell is FWB?”
She leaned forward, whispering, “Friends with benefits, of course.”
“Mum!” I shouted a little too loudly. I looked around and saw a couple of people staring but, luckily, I wasn’t loud enough to gain the attention of the whole restaurant. “Can we not discuss this here, especially in front of Dad?”
My dad laughed. “I’m not a silly old fool, Tyler. You’re almost thirty. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing behind closed doors.”
My eyes widened, getting paranoid for a second. Surely, he didn’t know. I doubted we’d be having this light-hearted conversation if he did. Inwardly shaking my head at the preposterous thought, I sighed. “Please floor, swallow me up.”
My mother gently tapped my father’s hand. “Derren, let’s not wind the poor girl up any further.”
I nodded towards my mother, thinking this was the end of the conversation. “Are you seeing anyone?”
Closing my eyes, I sighed a little. Why were my mother and father always so interested in my love life? “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not seeing anyone. I have too many other things happening in my life at the moment.”