Are you mine?

Chapter 34

"Mom," I call from behind her as she attempts to perfectly align the silverware with the plates. She snaps her head up to look at me, automatically plastering a smile on her face as she notices the dashing young man standing beside me, "this is Noah-"

"The boyfriend," he finishes my sentence, introducing himself. "Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Sterling" he says extending his arm to politely shake her hand.

"Oh please, no need for such formalities. Call me Meredith." She says in the special sweet tone she reserves for first impressions and phone calls.

"Well then, Meredith, these are for you," Her face lights up as Noah hands her the second bouquet of roses he brought, differing from mine in the fact that hers are white "And this," he says handing her whatever's hiding in the glossy box, "is for after dinner."

"So thoughtful," my mom gushes and peeks inside the box "And raspberry cheesecake, my favourite!" she gasps "I like you already" she adds, stepping toward the kitchen, probably to put the dessert in the fridge. I take a look at Noah raising one eyebrow at him.

"What?" He questions innocently.

"You're good." I say.

"I told you they love me" he flashes me a quick wink as my mom comes back and approaches the stairs.

"Sterling, will you come down? Our guest is here!" She calls after my dad.

"I'm coming honey! Geez, no need to yell." My dad says appearing at the bottom of the staircase, buttoning up the cuffs of his shirt. As soon as Noah spots him he hurriedly let's go of my hand and steps towards my dad.

"You must be Noah," my dad smiles giving his hand a firm shake.

"Yes I am Sir, very nice to meet you."

"Likewise, and please, call me Marcus." My dad steps closer to my mom and Noah lowers down to whisper in my ear "See? No need to be nervous, I'm already making progress."

His little comment makes me smile. I love the fact that Noah contrasts with me in that way. I'm an introverted overthinker, but he exudes confidence in a way that makes people drawn to him. He's charming, has such a way with words, and even his body language expresses that he's not one to shy away from conversation. We complement each other in a sense.

"Shall we?" My mom speaks up, catching our attention and gesturing towards the table. She heads into the kitchen and the rest of us take our seats, Noah and I sitting beside one another and across from my dad so that he can take the seat next to my mom's.

She comes back with oven mitts on and carrying a silver platter that her roast is sitting on, which fills the air with a mouthwatering smell. She sets the platter on the table and proceeds to collect our plates, serving a piece of the meat and a side of roasted potatoes and carrots to each one of us before taking her seat. "Enjoy!" She says with a housewife-from-the-fifties smile and we all dig in.

"Noah?" My dad points a bottle of wine at him, offering him a glass.

"Oh, no thank you. I don't drink." He says with a dismissive hand gesture. That's a lie bigger than the Buckingham Palace, but he's quick and obviously noticed that it was a test. Well played.

"Meredith, I must say, this tastes incredible. You should become a chef." Noah says before picking up his glass for a sip of water.

"I'm glad you think that, because I actually am one." My mom says lifting her gaze from her plate.

"Really? Then I must say you definitely chose the right career path. You've got a real gift." She blushes and I mentally roll my eyes. He's such a sweet talker and my mom is eating it up.