Seduced By The British Billionaire(33)

Charles was cutting his prawns with extreme eagerness. He must have been starving by the looks of it. But as the atmosphere grew awkward, he began to slow down.

Leaning his arms against the table he attempted to steer things in the right direction. “So Mom,” he said between chews. “Amber’s an amazing artist. Tell her, babe, what you do,” he suggested, hoping that perhaps voicing her qualities would make his mother soften a bit.

His mother turned from her son back to Amber with obvious curiosity. She inclined forward, waiting to hear about the subject at hand.

Amber hated being put on the spot. Talking about herself wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to do at the moment, but it seemed she had no choice. Charles was trying to make her shine, but his parent’s obvious prejudice were killing her buzz. She didn’t like the way his mom kept staring at her, as if she wasn’t quite happy with what she saw.

Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she plowed forward. “Well, I paint,” she shuddered from the uneasy silence.

“She paints Greek mythological creatures,” Charles cut her off, completely taking control of the situation. It was something he was used to doing. “You should see them, Mom,” he beamed, pride glowing in his eyes. “The way she can use colors to paint a landscape. She’s unbelievable,” he nudged her.

Normally Amber would’ve been completely upset at him for not letting her speak, but at the moment, having the attention drawn away from her was comforting.

His mother seemed to mull things over in her mind before saying, “She seems like she’d be the kind of girl good with color.” Then she turned and smiled at her future daughter-in-law. The corners of her mouth upturned sharply to match her bleach blonde eye brows. Amber’s jaw almost dropped, but she kept firm. She was a female and understood that smile all too well. Was that a direct attack to her race or was it just innocent prattle? Either way, his mom wasn’t inclined to open up to her at all or cast any signs of affection towards her. It almost seemed in the last few minutes of their dinner conversation, that she was completely turned off by the choice her son was making. It was a horrible feeling, but perhaps it was reality.

Mr. Livingston didn’t say a word during the entire conversation. He sat at the head of the long table, picking at his plate and turning back and forth as each person in turn spoke up. He didn’t seem a man of many words. He preferred to let everyone else do the talking.

“So,” the mother’s gaze turned to Charles. “How did you two meet, if you don’t mind me asking?” She stabbed at a stray green bean with violent force.

“That’s a story for another time, Mother,” he shot her a warning glance. “I’ve already told you this.”

She tilted her head and bit into the crisp green bean roughly, chewing slowly and intentionally. Noticing that Amber hadn’t touched hers, she pointed towards her with her own silver fork. “Don’t care for vegetables my dear?” her voice came out sticky like molasses. “You know what they say about not eating vegetables when you’re pregnant,” she lowered her eyes.

Then she continued on the subject as Charles loudly objected and Amber protested. “I’m not preg…” But her voice was drowned out as Mrs. Livingston continued.

“I don’t understand you young girls today, spreading your legs for any handsome rich young man that comes in your path. There is protection for a reason, son,” she accused, laying eyes on Charles. “Why else would you two just rush into getting married?”

Mr. Livingston finally had it. “That’s enough, dear,” he gruffly reprimanded his wife. “Let the poor girl breathe. We aren’t interrogating her. She’s marrying your son for crying out loud, so let her be.”

She gasped, utterly appalled by his forceful intrusion. But she said no more. Biting her tongue she quit her yapping and concentrated on her plate.

Charles took the advantage to speak. “Mother,” his tone was seriously demanding. “Amber is not pregnant. We are getting married because we love each other. No more, no less. If you can’t accept that fact because you have some secrets lying beneath that thick skin of yours, then please keep it to yourself.” He shook his head disappointingly at her, then shot Amber a look of sincere apology. “I was hoping that things would have gone down differently. I was wrong to think so.”

“I’m sorry dear,” his mother quickly apologized. “I’m just going based on your previous track record,” she wormed her way out slyly. “You divorced poor sweet Liv so suddenly. I don’t quite know how to handle it. And then you tell me you’re marrying some girl we hadn’t even heard about? What else do you want me to think?” Her eyes poured deep from her soul those confused motherly concerns harboring deep in her heart.