Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“Change of plans,” he replied. “You have to come to dinner with me, Jude, and the rest of the bumbling idiots that make up my family.”
His request sent Taliana reeling. Go to dinner with him and his family? Yeah, that wasn’t something she had been expecting.
“Are you kidding me?” she spluttered. “We’ve been pretending to date for a week and you want me to meet your family already? Isn’t this rushing things?”
“There’s no such thing as rushing things in my family,” he sighed. “My grandparents think if you haven’t gotten engaged after a month of dating, you’re insane. I got the family ring from my mother three days after they found out I was dating Blair, and even though we broke up they’re? still pushing me to get back together with her.”
“That’s disturbing.”
“You have no idea.”
“What time do we have to meet them for dinner?” Taliana asked. “And where exactly are we meeting them?”
“Seven o’clock at The Sultan’s Palace. You’ve heard of that place, right?”
Taliana had certainly heard of it. Not only was it the most expensive restaurant in Georgetown, it was one of the most elegant and extravagant places in the city. She had been there twice in the past, and she was always amazed by the lavish d?cor and eclectic entrees. The place was always packed, and it was easier to breach the CIA than get reservations there.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve heard of it.”
“Good, I’ll be at your house at six forty-five. I’m not coming in, so you better be waiting when I pull up.”
Taliana rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re so lazy that you won’t even get out of your car. Aren’t you supposed to be my chivalrous boyfriend or something?”
“Chivalry is dead,” he pointed out. “Plus, if I came to the door to get you, your parents would probably interrogate me. They still think we hate each other, you know.”
“Don’t we still hate each other?”
He paused, likely mulling it over. “I wouldn’t exactly call it hate anymore. Maybe just…intense dislike?”
“Otherwise known as a synonym for hate.”
“Call it whatever you’d like, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I’m in no mood to convince your parents that we’ve gotten over our? intense dislike for each other, let alone tell them we’re dating. It’s going to be hard enough trying to convince my own family. We can save yours for another day.”
“You don’t hear me complaining,” Taliana snorted. “I’ll see you in two hours.”
She ended the call as she made her way up the pathway to the house, and just as Taliana pushed open the front door, Katherine appeared in the foyer with a bright smile on her face.
“Good, you’re back!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “We were just about to decide on what to have for dinner tonight. Your father wants to order pizza and maybe put on a movie. How does that sound?”
While sticking around for family night definitely sounded appealing, Taliana was going to have to break it to Katherine that she would be hanging out with a different family tonight.
“Uh, about that,” Taliana began, inching toward the stairs. “I kind of got invited out to dinner.”
“Oh, yeah?” she prompted, looking pleasantly surprised. “That sounds like fun. Who with?”
Ah, crap. Had this been Taliana’s own mother, Andrea would have simply said? that’s great, honey and moved right along without any follow-up questions. But Taliana’s stepmother was a little more involved, the kind of parent who wanted to know where her kids were at all times.
Taliana really didn’t want to have to lie to her, plus the truth was going to come out eventually, so she drew in a breath and said, “Sebastian Phillips and his family.”
Katherine squinted in confusion, her mouth half open. “Excuse me?”
“Sebastian invited me out to dinner with his family,” Taliana repeated, awkwardly shifting her weight from foot to foot.
“You were invited to dinner with the Phillips,” she echoed, blinking slowly.
Taliana nodded, not really wanting to say it again. She could understand why this was so hard for Katherine to digest, seeing as just over a week ago she had received a call informing her that Sebastian and Taliana had been sentenced to in-school suspension. Even Taliana was having a hard time with this, and she knew more than Katherine did.
“Um, wow,” Katherine breathed out, brushing a few imaginary wrinkles from her pink blouse. “I sure wasn’t expecting that.” She bit her bottom lip gently, but the shock was slowly fading from her face. “Where exactly did they invite you?”
“The Sultan’s Palace,” Taliana admitted, expecting the gasp that came from Katherine after hearing the answer.
“The Sultan’s Palace? Are you joking?”
Taliana chuckled, backing toward the stairs. “I’m gonna…go get ready.”
Katherine looked distracted as she shooed her off, and Taliana wasted no time hightailing it up the stairs. Seconds later, she barged into Vanessa’s room, where she and Marissa were sitting on her bed working on what appeared to be math homework.
“I need your help,” Taliana announced as she shut the door behind her, shuffling over to where they were sprawled across the blue duvet. “Sebastian is making me pretend to be his girlfriend so we can make our exes jealous and eventually make them leave us alone, and I have to go out to dinner with him and his family, and we have to convince them we’re really in love, and I’m kind of scared shitless, and I don’t know what to wear.”
The twins stared at Taliana as if she had suddenly grown horns as she finished her explanation, trying hard to control the steadily rising panic. Now that she had finally said it out loud, the idea of meeting Sebastian’s family was petrifying. Especially if they were anything like him.
“I’m not sure what that stuff in the beginning was, but I definitely heard the I don’t know what to wear part,” Marissa said as she took in Taliana’s frazzled appearance. “Don’t worry, we’re here to help.”
An hour and a half later, Taliana was dressed to kill in another dress Jude had bought for her and a pair of four-inch heels that she was bound to kill? herself in.
“Tell us again why you’re going out to dinner with Sebastian and his family?” Vanessa insisted as she slid onto the bed. “Because, no offense, when I heard you two were dating, I didn’t quite believe it. Honestly, I’m still not sure I do.”
“I’ve been dying to ask you about it,” Marissa said before shooting her twin a glare. “But someone told me I had to mind my own business and let you tell us in your own time.”
Taliana let out a heavy sigh and flopped back on the bed, missing Marissa by mere inches. “Thanks for that, Vanessa. And you were right to doubt it. We’re only pretending to date to make our exes jealous.”
“And his ex-girlfriend is Blair Bakhtiar, right?” Marissa questioned as she grabbed Taliana’s right wrist, hooking a bracelet around it. “I have no idea who yours is though.”
“Zak Huntington,” Taliana told her, though she felt no need to elaborate. “And, yes, Blair is Sebastian’s ex.”
“Why does he want to make her jealous?” Vanessa asked, clearly confused. “Last I heard, they parted on good terms and were still in love with each other. She only left because her father wanted her to go to boarding school.”