20

Rosalinda was racing around her room, trying to find a nice outfit, but not to fancy to wear to meet his parents.

She's never done something like this before. With old guy friends it's different cause she doesn't have to impress the parents so much. But in this situation she was meeting the Hamelton's.

Alistair sat on her bed in dark cream colored slacks and a baby blue button up shirt tucked into the pants. He watched the girl frantically search through her closet, throwing around curse words here and there, as well as words in her native tongue.

He sighed after continuing to watch her, as he stood up and walked up behind her, dogging clothing being thrown around. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her back close to his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Can I help you? You seem a bit...Overwhelmed." He said, taking the brief pause to think of the right words to say, so he wouldn't upset her anymore.

"Yes..." She sighed, pushing her wild hair out of her face and turning her head back a little to look at him. He smiled and kissed her forehead, then moved away from her, looking through her closet.

It took him a few moments, but he pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and a red and white stripped shirt that the fabric overlapped itself over her breast in the front. He handed her the clothing, as she gave him a smile and a small 'thank you' with a kiss to his cheek.

She moved into the bathroom and shut the door behind herself, as Alistair looked at his watch, reading 6:15. He groaned and flopped back onto her bed, as he thought they'd be getting there late.

'Don't all woman take forever in the bathroom?' Alistair thought with a groan, throwing an arm over his eyes. But, around 6:45, Rosalinda stepped out all dressed and her hair pulled back into a neat and high ponytail, with a few of her curls falling into her face. She only had mascara and a soft pink lipgloss on, as she walked into her closet and pulling out nude peep toe wedges.

Alistair couldn't help but stare and watch the woman's every move, as she looked great in the outfit he picked out. She sat down on the bed beside him, leaning down to put on her wedges, as he stared at her ass from behind, as the jeans made it pop out more.

Once she sat up, she looked behind herself to tell Alistair she was ready to go. Her face fell, squinting her eyes at him, as she followed his sight down to her ass. She quickly turned around and began to smack him on the arms and chest, telling him to "grow up" and to "not be a pervert".

Once done, she stood up with a huff, fixing the silver bracelets she had on, and grabbed her smaller hoop earrings. She slipped them into each hole in her lobe, and rested her hands on her hips.

"C'mon, I don't wanna be late, you pig." She teased with a smirk, as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her mid section. He pulled her closer and leaned down to where their lips were only a few inches apart.

"Why can't I keep you to myself? You just look so good, but you always look so good." He mumbled, as Rosalinda blushed and turned her face away from his hungry gaze. He grabbed her chin gently and turned it back to face him, as he captured her lips into a soft and loving kiss.

He pulled away after a moment, as Rosalinda smiled softly and grabbing his hand from her chin. She intertwined their fingers and tugged him along, grabbing her wrist bag phone, and shrugged her coat on.

They headed out of the apartment complex once she finished locking her front door and into his large Cadillac SUV.

He helped her up into her seat, as she was a bit short, and in heels, to be able to get up there without trying to climb into her seat. He shut the door once she was comfortable and moved into the driver's seat, starting the car and driving down the road.

He took Rosalinda's hand gently into his, as she moved both hands to his one hand and held it. She began to play with his fingers and brush her fingertips across the back and palm of it. Alistair would look over from time to time to see she wasn't doing it intentionally, as she stared out her window at the night, as they moved more into the suburb area of their town instead of the city.

Rosalinda began to gawk at the house they were pulling up to, a large white-marbled mansion.

"Wow," She said softly, as Alistair removed his hand from her gentle hold and hopped out of the car. He moved to her side, opening the door before she had a chance to do it herself, and held her waist as he lifted her out of her seat and onto the cobblestone driveway.

Taking her hand into his, he squeezed it tightly and moved to the door that swung open with a wide grin and opened arms.

"Oh my goodness, you're such a pretty sight for sore eyes! No wonder my son was so drawn to you!" Valentina cheered. Rosalinda moved from Alistair's hold and walked up quickly to his mother, hugging her in a tight embrace, as she was about the same height as her for the moment, 5'5. Valentina's smile widened, if that was even possible, as people don't usually greet her with such a loving and inviting hug.

"Hi, I'm Rosalinda, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm guessing you're Mrs. Hamelton?" She asked softly and kindly, as Alistair's mother waved her hand around a bit in front of her face.

"Please, call me Valentina! Now, come inside! It's so cold!" She wrapped an arm around Rosalinda's shoulders and her other hand grasped the shoulder closes to her chest, as she led her inside, as Alistair followed with a roll of his eyes.

They moved into the family room, as a man with about the same looks as Alistair rose up from his seat on the couch next to a woman with bright blue eyes and red waist length hair. The only difference was he had sharp green eyes, not the hazel one's her significant other had.

"Mom, please, let the poor girl breath! You're smothering her." He joked, as Valentina gave a small huff and moved away from Rosalinda, gently taking her jacket, as she thanked her. She gave a small laugh as well and looked at the male in front of her.

"Hi, you must be Rosalinda, I'm Eli, Alistair's much better looking half." He joked, as Rosalinda held a hand out for him to shake, but was pulled into a warm hug. She laughed and hugged back, pulling way after a moment when the younger sister began to push her brother away.

"Now you're smothering her! I want one of her hugs too!" She hugged Rosalinda, as the young Mediterranean continued to laugh and hug her back.

"God! Finally! A real woman! Not some stuck-up princess!" She held her hands on Rosalinda's shoulders, as she stood at 5'6, even if she was wearing sneakers.

"I'm Berkleigh by the way! The best child of the Hamelton family." She smiled, as Rosalinda smiled back and nodded.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Berkleigh and Eli." She smiled, as Eli's wife, Nova, moved into her view and gave her a small hug, as she pulled away and looked down at her.

"Sorry, I don't wanna smother you, cause you're gonna be smothered all night by this family. I'm Nova, Eli's wife." She smiled, as Rosalinda nodded and smiled back, but the smile couldn't be removed from her lips from how the family interacted with one another.

Nova told her to just relax and joke along with the family, as it would make it much easier for them to get more comfortable.

Rosalinda noted the advice, since Nova did go through the same thing she's going through at this very moment.

The last person for her to meet was Alistair's father, as he made his way out of the dinning room at Valentina's request to meet the smaller woman. As he walked up to her, he eyed her up and down with his dark mahogany eyes. Rosalinda gave him a small smile when their eyes finally met.

She held out a hand when the man finally walked up to her, as she made sure his free hand could shake her's, since he was holding a cup of liquor.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, I'm Rosalinda." She said softly, as the man took her hand and pulled her into a gentle embrace and patted her shoulder once he pulled away.

"Adrian Hamelton, but you can call me by my first name. You seem like a decent woman, after watching all the hugs you gave." He chuckled, as Rosalinda's cheeks turned a soft pink. She smiled and nodded, as she turned and watched Alistair greet his family with hugs and kisses, as Adrian leaned closer to her ear.

"So, what is it about my son that intrigues you? The money?" He asked in a serious, but soft tone, as Rosalinda turned to the man with a raised brow, but gave him a small smirk. She looked back out at Alistair and Eli punching each other and laughing, as she stuck her fingers into her jean pockets.

"Well, I'm most definitely not interested in his money. If he was still as cocky and mean as the first couple times we interacted, than I definitely wouldn't be standing in your living room beside you. I'm more interested in the way he pushed himself into my life and was interested in what I was doing for a living as well as what kind of person I am." She told him softly back, looking up at his bright eyes and the small smile he had on.

"Well, Ms. Scott, I apologize for assuming at first you were some gold digger. Most of the people my children meet are, and only want a part in their money, not their love." He said to her, as she smiled and shook her head.

"No need to apologize. You're simply looking out for the well-being of your children. There's nothing wrong with that." She said, as the man's smile grew a bit wider and he placed a hand onto her shoulder, as Alistair looked over at his father and girlfriend talking softly to one another.

"You're a much brighter and wise girl than your young looks give you. Instill that into my son." He said, as Rosalinda laughed softly and nodded.

"I'm trying. He's just so stubborn." They laughed a bit together, as Alistair walked over and wrapped his arms around her hips and brought her back to his chest. She stiffened at first from the unexpected touch, than relaxed into the other's hold. He rested his chin on the top of her head and raised a brow at his father.

"Why don't you go talk to Berkleigh more, I wanna word with my mother and father for a moment." He hummed, as she looked up at him and smiled.

"Sure," she agreed, as Alistair leaned down and pecked her lips, letting her slip from his hold and to his siblings.

He glanced over to his mother, as she was staring at her son and husband from across the room from the couch.

She excused herself from the room of people and head over to the two men, as they walked out of the room and outside onto their large and well-furnished indoor patio. Alistair took a seat into a comfy arm chair and his parents sat across from him on the two seated couch.

"I just wanna say this here and now; do not try and get into her head. Just let her be. If she was after my money, she probably would've been all over me the first time we met." Alistair stated to his family, as his father gave a small chuckle with a smirk. He sipped from his glass and set it down on the coffee table, separating the child from the parents.

"Now, see, you're kinda too late on telling me not to, but, I'm impressed. You actually found a woman who is more interested in the type of person you are and not just for what name you carry." His father said, earning a smile from one of his eldest sons.

"I like her a lot! And if you mess this up, I'll make sure to bang into your skull about how much of a screw up you are if you lose her." His mother scolded, as Adrian nodded in agreement.

"Besides, I've never seen a woman look and watch you so deeply. It's usually just side glances and smiles when the word "money" pops up." His father continued, wrapping an arm around Valentina's shoulders and holding her to his chest.

"Well, I actually found a woman I like. And she's not shy or a cry baby. She'll fight back on anything she cares about." Alistair smiled, as Adrian laughed and nodded.

"I noticed when I asked her about if she was being a gold digger, she smirked at me and looked back out at you, telling me that she was more intrigued by you for why you were interested in someone like her. But I like her much better than the cheap looking woman you have on your arm. She looks much more healthy and seems hard working." He said to Alistair, as he stood up and helped Valentina up from her spot.

"C'mon, let's go eat." He hummed, grabbing his scotch from the table and leading his wife inside with his hand holding her's tightly.

Alistair smiled at the thought of him and Rosalinda being together like that and deeply in love at some point, as he moved inside and shut the sliding door behind him. He moved into the dining room to see it being filled with his family, taking a seat beside Rosalinda, as to her other side was Berkleigh.

Rosalinda turned to him and smiled once he sat down, moving a bit closer and leaning against his arm. Their kitchen staff then began to bring out dinner, as it was a whole chicken and some side dishes with it as well. The family began to dig in, passing around bowls of mashed potatoes and spinach, as Rosalinda stopped eating for a moment when her name was said softly. She turned to Valentina, who was two seats away from her on the other side of the table.

"Can I ask what you do for a living?" Valentina asked softly, as Rosalinda smiled.

"I own a diner downtown called the "Coffee Corner"." She told Valentina, as Adrian stopped eating for a moment and raised a brow.

"The one that my son bought from you?" He asked, as the table fell silent, Rosalinda raising a brow.

"No, he didn't buy it, but he did merge it with his company. But, I don't wanna get into the whole fiasco of how it happened. It's not a very kind story." She simply stated, as Adrian sat up a bit more in his seat and took a bite from his fork full of chicken.

"No, please do. We have time." He frowned, thinking to himself that Rosalinda was perhaps after his money to help run the business.

Rosalinda sighed and glanced at Alistair, then back at the people.

She began from the beginning, even telling them how he tried to trick her into signing the contract and then how he met her mother after kindly paying some of the bills, which she never asked for, and how they ended up where they are today.

Rosalinda glanced over at Alistair, who stared down at his plate, pushing his food around, as she looked back up at the family, who's eyes were wide and astonished by what they were hearing.

"Wow. And-"

"Yes, it's true, mom." Alistair sighed, looking up at his family, as Adrian's cheeks were a bit red from hearing what his son did to this woman.

"God, I'm just simply shocked this woman even agreed to allow you to see her mother! Especially from the way it sounds on how highly she talks about her. God, the way her father probably thinks about you." He growled, then turned to Rosalinda, reaching across the table, as Berkleigh was seated between the two of them.

He took one of her hands and squeezed it tightly, taking a deep breath.

"On behalf of my son, I'd like to apologize for the way he is." He said seriously, but Rosalinda let out a small laugh, bringing her other hand up to squeeze Adrian's between her's.

"No need! I mean, I haven't completely forgiven him for what happened, but I've come to understand that people do things for reasons that you may not agree too, but I don't like to hold grudges. Life is too short." She said, as Adrian smiled widely and looked over at his son, glaring daggers.

"I swear to you, if you ever hurt this girl in anyway again and I hear about it, you better hope that I don't find your ass." He growled, as Rosalinda snickered and turned to Alistair.

"Maybe I should just tell on you to your parents if you're being a dick." She snickered, but quickly stopped when she realized she cursed. She quickly removed her hands from Adrian's and blushed a bit.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say-"

"Relax, everyone here curses. Nothing new." Eli chuckled as Rosalinda looked over at him and gave him a small smile.

Adrian continued to stare at his son throughout the dinner, as his son ignored his hard look and looked at softer emerald eyes beside him, as they teased one another and held hands under the table, like a couple of teenagers.

Once dinner was over, Alistair was summoned into his father's office with his mother, as yelling and cursing could be heard from the family room downstairs, as the office was up the grand staircase. Rosalinda ignored it, feeling a bit bad that she had told them a bit of everything but left out certain parts of the kissing and such.

She was sitting beside Eli, as he was speaking to his wife, as her shoulder was touched gently, pulling her away from her thoughts and looked over at Berkleigh.

"Look, he's the dumbass here at the moment, not you. You were simply answering a question. My father probably just felt as though you were using my brother to keep your business alive, but I've tried to go into your diner. But it's always so full that I can never find a seat." Berkleigh snickered as Rosalinda smiled back.

"Well, once we open up again soon, I'll make sure to leave a spot open for you on the first day in the morning so you can come in." Berkleigh smiled widely and nodded quickly, wiggling in her seat.

"Yes! God, I've been dying to have another one of your crumb cake muffins! They were so good and warm the first time I had it!" Rosalinda also smiled widely and nodded, continuing to talk to Berkleigh, until three people began to head back into the room. Adrian and Valentina had small smiles on their faces, as Rosalinda could tell Alistair was sporting a fake one.

"Another drink for everyone?" Valentina offered, as Rosalinda stood up from her seat and shook her head.

"No, thank you. It's getting a bit late and I have a few things I wanna do tomorrow." She said, as Valentina tried to convince her to stay, as the 24 year old began to put on her jacket alongside Alistair. She said her goodbyes, taking his hand tightly and heading out of the house. Once they were both seated in the car, they quickly turned to one another.

"I'm sorry!" They blurted out at the same time, as Alistair looked at her, completely puzzled.

"Why the hell are you apologizing? I should be the one apologizing. I've been knocked up against the head three times by both my mother and father, as my mother did it twice. Which made me realized I really hurt you and should be worshipping the ground you step on for even allowing me to take you out again." Alistair said, as Rosalinda blushed at his last words, but shook her head a bit, taking both his hands.

"No, no, I'm sorry I just blurted all that out to your family. It wasn't necessary." Rosalinda said, as Alistair moved his hands from her's, grabbed her face, and kissed her deeply.

"Honestly, I should be thanking you. One: for realizing that I wanted to go after coming back downstairs, and two: for saying something aloud and making me understand that I really hurt you." He said after he pulled away from her lips.

Rosalinda listened and smiled, running her hands up his arms until they wrapped around his hands.

"It's alright. It'll take time before I completely forgive you, but it's just a comforting thought to know you're not gonna be doing all of that again." She hummed.

"Now, can we go back to someone's house? I kinda want more of your kisses all over me." She said softly, as her cheeks turned more of a brighter red from her words. Alistair smirked devilishly, kissing her lips again quickly and roughly, and roaring the car's engine to life.

"Anything for you, beautiful."