Provoke Read Online Free PDF Page B

convince myself of that. Whose stupid idea was this, anyway?

    We walked over where my parents were seated. I held Mace’s hand tightly, anticipating the bloodbath I knew was coming. I’d been vague with my parents when telling them about Mace and his family, and I just knew it was all going to come out tonight. I would not be surprised if the first question that came out of Dad’s mouth was asking for his family tree.
    No, I wasn’t joking.
    “Mom, Dad, this is Mace.” I smiled and held Mom’s gaze, my eyes begging her to control my father for at least the one night. “Mace, my parents, Derrick and Matilda.”
    “Lovely to meet you, Mace.” Mom beamed at him. Was she blushing? I leaned in closer. She was! God, Mom found my boyfriend sexy. Kill me now.
    “Pleasure to meet you, Mrs Drake,” Mace said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. She giggled, her voice a few notes too high as her face went redder. I rolled my eyes and sat down. At least he’d won her over. I doubted Dad was going to fall for the sexy smile and soft kiss, though.
    I snorted, the visual image too much.
    “Colonel,” Dad said sternly, sticking out his hand. Oh, here we go . Mace shook it, but not before shooting me a look.
    Yes, my father was a decorated army officer who had spent years defending the country. At sixty-one, he had only retired the previous year, which had given him even more time to try and interfere with my life.
    Once we were all seated, the awkward silence I’d been awaiting drifted over us. Perfect time to bring up my win.
    “So, I won my first case,” I offered, trying to lighten the mood. Going into law had been completely my decision, but I knew how proud it made both Mom and Dad. They loved the path I’d chosen, and were always happy to hear about work.
    My diversion tactic worked. “Honey, that’s wonderful,” Dad gushed.
    Hugs all around. I sighed, exhaling slowly. Maybe this wasn’t going to go so badly after all. But deep down, I knew this distraction was going to be short lived. Sooner or later, the focus would shift back to all the ways my father thought Mace wasn’t good enough for me.
    “How’s retirement?” I asked Dad, desperately trying to delay the inevitable.
    “Good. I’ve become quite the gardener,” he announced proudly. “I’ve mastered herbs, and I’m moving on to vegetables.”
    “That’s great,” I said with way too much enthusiasm. Mace snorted, then attempted to cover it up with a cough. Dad narrowed his eyes, the smile disappearing from his face.
    Here we go.
    “So, Mace . . . Short for Mason, I presume?” Dad cocked an eyebrow and stabbed at his entrée of calamari. He shot Mace a look that I recognized well. I’d seen it used before on numerous boyfriends to scare the hell out of them. Usually it worked, too. But Mace didn’t seem fazed . . . yet.
    “Nope. Just Mace.”
    “Right. Mace . So what do you do?” Dad asked. I swallowed hard and reached for the water, wishing like hell it was something stronger.
    “I fix bikes.”
    “You fix bikes?” Dad repeated, dumbfounded. Like the idea that someone might actually be paid to fix bikes had never occurred to him. Well, this was Dad—it probably hadn’t.
    “Yep.”
    Oh God, you gotta give him more than that .
    These one-word answers were killing me, and I could tell they were pissing the hell out of Dad. I squeezed Mace’s leg under the table, hoping it conveyed my message clearly.
    “I, uh, run my own business,” he finally added. Wow. He even managed a smile and some eye contact.
    “Oh? That must be interesting.” Dad couldn’t have sounded more patronizing if he’d tried. Mace’s jaw clenched. I prayed to the gods to put a stop to the disaster I could see coming. “And your family? What line of work are they in?” He reached for a bread roll and began slicing it open. Oh, God. Anything but family . . .
    “Mom died when I was two, and Dad’s in jail.”
    My father actually dropped his knife, smearing butter