On the Record (Record #2)(29)
Author: K.A. Linde

There. It was her first direct lie. How had she managed it so flawlessly?

“Well, you do look pretty gorgeous today.”

“Thank you,” she said, nuzzling into his chest to hide her face.

She felt like a total shit. She didn’t deserve him.

Liz ended the conversation as quickly as she could and hurried back to her house. She had no idea what to wear to dinner tonight. It felt weird obsessing over clothing options just to hang out with Savannah, but she had a pretty kickass style and it made Liz want to dress nice. She decided on a high-waist navy-and-white striped skirt with a navy tank top tucked into it. She paired it with a pair of brown sling-back platforms that made her calves look killer.

For a second she thought about pulling out Brady’s necklace and wearing it, but it felt too strange. She had put it away for a reason. One afternoon in his presence wasn’t going to change that reason.

Savannah showed up just after eight o’clock in her shiny BMW. Liz was out the door before her friend even got out of her car. Victoria was on a date with Duke Fan and she wouldn’t be home until later, so Liz locked the house up tight. She teetered to the car in her heels and then sat down in the passenger seat.

Liz felt better about her choices after assessing Savannah’s outfit. She was in a knee-length black dress with several strands of pearls and oversize Ray-Bans. Her long dark hair was pulled off of her face into a loose bun at the base of her neck.

“Are you sure you’re not going into politics?” Liz joked in greeting.

“Don’t even get me started,” Savannah said, pulling away from the house and off onto Rosemary Street.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“Have you ever been to Bin 54?”

Liz shook her head. “No.”

“It’s a steakhouse just off of Raleigh Road before Meadowmont.” Meadowmont was a community where groceries, shopping, and fine dining were walkable from the apartments. It was too far away from campus for Liz’s taste, but it was still a nice concept.

“All right,” Liz said. She wondered what the pricing was going to be on a place like that.

They drove the ten minutes to the restaurant and Savannah pulled into the parking lot. She took a spot and cut the engine.

“Okay. So, before we go inside I thought I’d just fill you in on why I’m being so weird and secretive.” Liz arched an eyebrow. “You know I don’t really talk about my family.”

“Yeah . . .”

“Well, I love them. They’re pretty awesome. But I don’t get to share them with many people because they’re in the spotlight. Since you and I kind of . . . I don’t know . . . bonded over that fact, I feel like I can trust you.”

Oh, no.

“So, don’t take this weird, because my fam is cool, but we’re having dinner with them,” Savannah said quickly.

Dinner with the Maxwells? Liz was pretty sure that was the worst idea she had ever heard. If it had been awkward to have those few minutes with Brady . . . what would a whole dinner be like? And with his parents!

“You can’t report about it or anything, obviously,” Savannah went on, oblivious. “I just thought it might be cool to have someone else get to know the real me. I kind of feel like you’re the only one who is even close.”

Liz didn’t know what to say. On one hand she was happy that Savannah trusted her enough to do something like this. On the other hand . . . she was freaking the f**k out.

Did that mean Brady was here? Would she have to sit through dinner with him? Could she pretend not to know him?

Shit! What if Clay was there? That might be even worse. Not to mention the fact that he knew her as Liz Carmichael. How exactly would she begin to explain that?

Not good.

“Liz,” Savannah said, twisting at her ring as she did when she was concerned. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I can take you back if you want. I just thought . . .”

“It’s okay. Sorry, just had to wrap my mind around meeting someone’s parents,” she said with a laugh that sounded more like a cough. She didn’t want Savannah not to trust her. But she wasn’t sure how to keep that acceptance and still get through the evening.

“They’re totally chill. I promise,” Savannah said, popping open the driver’s-side door as if that were all settled.

Well . . . great.

Not seeing another alternative, Liz got out of the car. She smoothed out her skirt and adjusted the shirt she had tucked into the waistband. At least she knew that she looked pretty hot. There was that. She would have probably died if she had shown up wearing jeans to meet Brady’s parents . . . to see Brady.

At least she knew that there was no way in hell that she was going to break Savannah’s confidence, because she most certainly was not going to tell Hayden about this. Especially not after he had sounded kind of jealous about the way Brady had looked at her at the colloquium. She hoped it wasn’t as obvious to everyone else tonight.

They walked in through the front entrance of Bin 54. The entire restaurant was gorgeous, with elegant circular tables, low lighting with candles, and mood-setting red walls. Savannah gave her name to the hostess and she directed them down to a private dining room in the wine cellar. The walls were lined with bottles and bottles of expensive wine, and in the heart of the room was a long rustic wooden table set for ten with large black chairs. Candles littered the cellar, casting a soft glow around the room.

Everyone else was already seated when Liz and Savannah entered. Liz braced herself for the look that Brady was about to send her way, but he didn’t glance at her when she walked into the room. He was deeply engrossed in conversation with the person sitting next to him, and Liz was glad that he didn’t see her when she got a glimpse of the people in attendance.

Despite the fact that she knew that it wasn’t just some big publicity stunt and Heather had all but confirmed that Brady was in fact dating the girl he kept popping up in pictures with, she hadn’t truly believed it until the moment that she saw Brady sitting next to her, chatting with her, laughing with his parents.

Liz felt her already fragile heart drop out of her chest and watched as Brady stomped on it. She knew it was ridiculous to feel like that, but she couldn’t help it. She had walked out. She was the one who had let him go. But she truthfully hadn’t believed their relationship would go anywhere past that summer. She hadn’t wanted him to have to choose between her and the campaign. He couldn’t give up his career for her, and she couldn’t let him be the one to choose his career instead.