Star-Crossed Lovers Ch. 06

Of course, her mom knew when her appointment was and knew that Sam was coming. She somehow talked Candace into all of them having dinner together. At the time, it seemed like a good opportunity to show them how sweet Sam was and how involved they really were. Now that the time had come, though, Candace was having second thoughts.

"Are you going to behave yourself tonight?" she texted her mom.

"I'll try" is all she wrote back.

Candace took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Candace was ready for an argument as soon as she walked through the door of her parents' house. She was on edge. She knew Sam sensed it as well from how many times he squeezed her hand before their visit. Sam, not that he wasn't normally a gentleman, was on his best behavior.

"I'm a big boy. I can handle myself," he smiled and reassured her before they got out of the car.

Both of her parents answered the door. Sam shook their hands politely, referring to them as Mr. and Mrs.Maynard, and said it was nice to finally meet them, regretting not getting a chance to do so sooner.

"You must be pretty busy out in Hollywood," her mother commented as they sat down in the living room. Candace shot her a look. She wondered where she was going with the thought and if she really would behave herself.

"Yeh, I like to stay busy, but I value my time off too. I actually just visited my parents in Australia for a couple of weeks. I would have spent more time with Candace, but I hadn't seen them for a while. Your daughter's very sweet. She didn't want me to come today, insisting I go visit them," he smiled at her, trying to lay on the charm with her parents with his words.

"But I make time for everyone I love, so here I am," he smiled specifically at Lucy. "I think spending time with the ones you love is one of the most important things in life, don't you, Mrs.Maynard?"

"Absolutely," she agreed. "What else takes precedence in your life, Sam?" Lucy shot back.

"Taking care of the people in my life, of course," he replied without missing a beat.

"Alright," Lucy chuckled a little. "I see what you're doing here. Clearly, Candace has been telling you about some of our...conversations. You have to look at it from my perspective, though, why I'm just concerned about her, for her. For that, I won't apologize. However, how about we all agree to just be ourselves for the rest of the evening? I promise I'll behave myself. If my daughter loves you so much, it must be for a good reason. Now, for the love of God, let's go eat!"

Candace looked between her mother and Sam dumbfounded. After all of the crap her mother had given her, Sam had managed to charm her as quickly as he had her.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Candace sat back, mostly quiet, for much of the evening. She felt a deep sense of contentment watching Sam entertain her parents. Her mother even insisted he have dinner with them again whenever he visited in the future. Candace could tell her mother felt better about the whole situation, both her dating a movie star and having his baby. Sam was, after all, still a person just like everyone else. Lucy didn't have to say anything. It was written all over her face. Other than time constraints, Candace left wondering why she hadn't introduced them sooner.