Breathless #2 (The Breathless Romance Series - Book #2) by Claire Adams Page B

I smiled nervously.
    “Well yeah; obviously…” I licked my lips. “But I mean
like, they’re really wealthy. If I had wanted to go to like, Yale or something,
they would have done whatever it took to make that happen. They were really
disappointed that I went to a small in-state college instead of an ivy league.”
    “Are we talking like Bill Gates money here?” I
shrugged.
    “Not quite that bad, but they’re definitely aware of
their status. They tried to set me up with a bunch of guys from the club in
high school. Mostly it just annoys me.”
    “Did you go on any super expensive dates?” Johnny
grinned. “Could’ve been fun to get them to spend all that money on you and then
stonewall them when you got to the end of the night.” I giggled.
    “No, I just didn’t date anyone at all for my last year
in high school. Hence why I was in the top 5% of my class.” I fidgeted with the
skirt of my dress, smoothing it over my knees. “It just gets on my nerves
sometimes, is all. And I wanted you to be ready for the fact that they can kind
of be jerks about it.”
    “Makes sense. I don’t think I’d like you as much as I
do if you were the type to go along with the whole pompous money thing.” I
smiled, relaxing a little bit.
    “Well, it sort of embarrasses me, and I plan on making
my own way after college. Becoming a teacher. I guess it’s the typical ‘poor
little rich girl’ thing to do, but I don’t want to get a job in a big office
because my dad knows someone, you know?” Johnny nodded slowly.
    “I do think you should take advantage of it while you
can. Make ‘em pay for everything. Take a trip to Cancun for Spring Break—or
France!” I laughed.
    “I’ve been to France,” I said. “I could see about
getting them to pay for a trip to Amsterdam. That could be fun.” We joked about
it the rest of the way, and I started to feel better about introducing Johnny to
my parents. At least, I thought, my dad couldn’t have much bad to say about
him; he had been in a frat in college, and I had a vague notion that he liked
sports, though I’d never paid enough attention to know which ones in
particular.
    When we arrived at the country club, I saw the valet
take one look at the truck and his eyes widened as Johnny hopped out, coming
around to forestall the shocked man’s move to open my door for me. He lifted me
out of the cab and carefully put me on my feet, steadying me and leaning in for
a quick kiss before he turned to the valet, who was still looking at the
enormous, tricked-out truck with surprise. “Just park it wherever you have
room,” Johnny said graciously. He handed the valet his keys and a five, and I
beamed to myself. Johnny might or might not have grown up with money like I
had—but he definitely had good enough manners.
    The truck, which had seemed gaudy and too masculine to
me before was now cemented as one of my favorite things about dating Johnny.
Seeing it next to the sleek BMWs, Ferraris, and Maseratis in the parking lot gave me a little thrill. It was as if I had proudly
proclaimed to everyone at the club that I didn’t care what their standards
were—I liked Johnny and that was that.
    We went into the club, and I could see the people
inside glancing at us as we made our way through the lobby to the dining area;
everyone had to notice that Johnny was incredibly hot, and the fact that he was
dressed for the occasion made it even better. I smiled all around, leading Johnny
to where my parents had said they would meet us, at the entryway into the
dining room. Mom was dressed to the nines, while Dad was in a simple sport coat
and slacks, not even wearing a tie. I felt my nervousness boosting up inside of
me again as we came up to them; what would they say?
    “Mom, Dad, this is Johnny,” I said, keeping my voice
barely under control. Mom’s eyes widened and I watched her take in how good
Johnny looked, saw the approving glint in her eye. That’s right, I thought triumphantly.