Melinda woke with a start. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and looked out the car window. A large building with pillars greeted her. It was surrounded by palm trees and a man in a valet uniform stood out front.
"Good morning," Daniel said. "Or afternoon, I guess."
Melinda stretched her legs as far as she could, but Daniel's car was a bit cramped. "How long was I asleep?"
"The last hour." He glanced around. "Is there any self-parking available at this joint, or do we have to hand over the car?"
Melinda opened the passenger door. "I'm not sure, but I can ask." As soon as she stepped out, she heard someone calling her name. Her gaze snapped up and she saw her mother speed-walking toward her. Melinda was tempted to jump back in the car and tell Daniel to gun it, but her mother was too quick. She wrapped Melinda in a hug.
"Look at you, arriving on time. I'm impressed," her mother said, pulling away.
Melinda bit back the sarcasm that wanted to leak out and instead said, "This is an important occasion, and I wanted to make sure I was here for all of it."
Her mother's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so?"
Melinda sucked in a long breath. "Yes, of course."
"And who is this?" her mother asked.
Melinda turned, surprised to find Daniel at her side. "This is Daniel Armstrong," she said. "Daniel, this is my mother, Kathrine Garrett."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Daniel said, offering his hand.
Melinda's mother took it, though tentatively. "And you are…Melinda's date?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Her mother finally smiled. "And you have manners. Well, I think this is going to be a splendid weekend. Don't you, Melinda?"
Melinda nodded. "Yes. It's going to be marvelous. It seems like ages since I've seen Bree, or you and Dad for that matter."
Her mother's smile faded. "You could have visited."
"You could have too."
Daniel shot Melinda a warning glance. "Melinda and I were just talking about where to park the car, Mrs. Garrett," he said, steering the conversation away from what would turn into yet another argument.
"My goodness, you don't park your own car at a place like this," her mother said, sounding shocked at the very thought of it. "Just give the keys and your name to the boy over there, and they'll take care of it. He’ll also make sure your luggage makes it up to your rooms."
"You have a room for Daniel?" Melinda asked, surprised. Her mother was paying for their lodging, and she’d figured she would take Melinda at face value when she said she wasn't coming with a date.
"You weren't planning on staying in the same room with him, I hope," her mother said with a frown.
"No, of course not," Melinda said, feeling heat rise into her cheeks. "It's just that I told you I wasn't bringing anyone."
"I knew you would come around, dear," her mother said with a smile, though it came across as I told you so.
Melinda squeezed her hands together, willing herself not to snap and say something snide. This was usually where she did the exact opposite of whatever her mother wanted, but seeing as she couldn't very well send Daniel home and he was her way to convince her parents that it was time to sell the diner, Melinda managed to keep her mouth shut.
"I'm looking forward to meeting your daughter Bree," Daniel said, easing himself into the conversation.
Melinda's mother’s attention shifted to him, and she seemed to be taking him in for the first time, studying him.
Daniel shifted under her intense gaze, but he didn't look away.
"You'll have the opportunity at dinner tonight. We're all going to eat at the poolside restaurant, if you're okay with that." From her mother's tone, it didn't sound like it was optional.
"Yes, ma'am, that will be fine," Daniel said.
"Check in at the desk and get settled. We'll see you at six o'clock sharp." Melinda's mother then turned abruptly and walked back toward the resort.
Melinda's breath whooshed out as soon as her mother disappeared, and she heard Daniel's do the same.
"She's—" Daniel seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Crazy? Intense? Terrifying? Any of those adjectives fit my mother perfectly," Melinda said. She turned to Daniel and offered him a small smile. "But I'm glad you're here. I think the weekend just might be bearable with you by my side."
Daniel returned her smile. "It will definitely be an adventure." He walked over to the valet and handed him his keys and gave his name, then turned back to Melinda and offered his arm. "Shall we?"
She took Daniel's arm. "We shall."
Melinda stood in the doorway to her room and whistled. "I knew my dad was doing well with his new job, but I didn't realize he was doing this well." It was more of a high-class apartment than a hotel room. Two white couches sat in the middle, facing each other. A four-poster king-size bed with a red canopy sat on the left side of the room, and a small kitchen and dining room table sat on the right. Straight ahead were two glass doors overlooking glistening white sand dunes. She wondered if Daniel had received the high-class treatment as well—surely her parents couldn't afford to treat all their guests to a room as nice as this.
"Holy cow," Daniel said, bursting out of his room. "This place is bigger than the apartment I grew up in."
That answered Melinda's question. "Well, my mom said to settle in, so we should take her up on it." She walked into her room and opened the fridge. It was already stocked, as were the cupboards. She pulled out a bag of peanut M&Ms.
"We're going to be eating in a bit, and I'm sure the food is amazing," Daniel said. "Are you sure you want to fill up on that?"
"Since when did you become so responsible?" Melinda asked, wrinkling her nose. She really didn't like people telling her what to do, especially when they sounded just like her mother.
"Since I arrived at the fanciest resort I will ever visit, and I want to make sure I don't miss out on anything," Daniel said. He walked to the glass doors. "Seriously, have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"
Melinda put the bag of M&Ms back in the cupboard, promising herself she'd be back to finish the job, and joined him. "You've never been to White Sands?”
Daniel shook his head. "Growing up in Colorado, we didn't have a lot of money. Vacations were a thing I heard about, but never experienced. We didn't even go on road trips to visit family because my parents couldn't afford the gas."
Melinda felt a pang of sadness, and guilt. She'd never lacked anything growing up, and Daniel hadn’t even been able to go visit family. Even before her parents had moved for the new job, they had done well for themselves, especially by Amor standards. Because the cost of living was so much lower there, they had lived in one of the biggest homes on the edge of town. It was just another reason for the kids at school to dislike her. Sometimes she'd wondered what it would have been like to not have as much money. She'd always thought she would have been happier.
"But you had parents who loved you, right?" Melinda said. As soon as the question left her lips, she heard how lame it sounded—like what a rich person tells someone to try to make them feel better. Or maybe it was because she had always questioned her own parents' love for her.
Daniel turned to her with a small smile. "Yes, they loved me. Very much. But that didn't seem to matter at the time. I was embarrassed by our house, my clothes—pretty much everything, including them." His smile faded for a brief moment, then returned. "Anyway, enough about me. What kind of job does your dad have to be able to afford a place like this?"
Melinda waved his question off, mostly because she didn't really know. "He's the vice president of some tech company. Not sure what he does, but apparently they pay him well to do it."
A knock on the door surprised her and she spun to face the door. A man wearing a bellhop uniform stood in the doorway with a trolley holding all her bags.
"Oh, come in," Melinda said. "You can just leave the bags by the bed."
"Thank you, ma'am," the man said. He rolled the trolley in and then heaved the luggage off, each landing with a thud on the floor. By the time he was finished, the bellhop looked like he'd had his workout for the week. He nodded to her and seemed to be waiting for something.
Crap. He wanted a tip. Melinda looked through her purse, but all she had was three dollars. She hoped the bellhop wouldn’t be offended as she handed him her crumpled bills.
The bellhop didn’t show any emotion as he thanked her and then quickly left.
Melinda felt embarrassed by the whole thing, but Daniel didn’t seem to have noticed. Instead, he was studying her luggage.
"Okay, I know that a man shouldn't ask about a woman's personal belongings," he said, poking one of her bags, "but what on earth is in those things?"
"Just the essentials," Melinda said, feeling defensive. "We're here for four and a half days, which means four outfits, four pairs of shoes, blow dryer, curling iron, makeup, shampoo, conditioner, a few books for when we have downtime, not to mention—"
Daniel groaned and covered his ears with his hands. "All right, all right, I get it. Only the essentials. Right."
Melinda glanced at her phone. "Oh, we better get down to the restaurant."
"But your mom said six o'clock, and it's only five," Daniel said, looking at his watch.
"She expects me to be late, which means we're going to be early," Melinda said. "I'm not going to give her a reason to say no to selling the diner."
Daniel smiled. "I like how you think."
When they walked through the doors that led to the outdoor pool, Daniel let out a gasp, and Melinda nearly did the same. Palm trees stretched above them and the long swimming pool glistened in the sun. Waterfalls and fountains adorned the area, and on the far side was the restaurant. The sun was beginning to set, casting pinks and reds across the sky.
"I wasn’t sure this weekend would go well, but I'm starting to think this could be fun," Melinda said.
"Uh, y-e-a-h. Best week ever," Daniel said, his eyes dancing.
Melinda laughed, and then she spotted her mother. She was already seated at the restaurant with Melinda’s father, along with Bree, and the man who must be her fiancé. Melinda groaned. "We are early, and yet we're still late."
Daniel held his arm out to her. "Your mother can't hold it against you. I mean, it's not even six o'clock yet."
Melinda took his arm as they walked toward their table. "Everyone else is here before us—we're late. It doesn't matter what time she told us." Why had she thought they'd be able to pull this off and show her mother that she had become a responsible adult?
"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," Melinda said as they approached the table.
"Darling, it's so good to see you," her father said, standing to give Melinda a hug.
"You too." And it really was. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him. Growing up, she had always gotten along better with her dad than her mom. Maybe it was his easygoing nature (outside the office, at least. Inside the office—well, she was glad she didn't work for him). Melinda had always felt she could relax around her father and be herself. But not in this setting. Her mother changed the entire dynamic.
As Melinda and Daniel sat down in the two empty chairs, Melinda noticed her mom looking at her watch with a disappointed frown.
"We are early, Mom. No need to try to make us feel guilty."
"Of course you are, dear."
Her father turned to Daniel. "I don't believe we've met. You must be the unlucky fellow who had the misfortune of being dragged away for something as dull as a wedding."
"We're lucky she brought someone at all," her mother added.
Melinda heaved a long sigh. "I just didn't see the point of bringing a date."
"And yet, you have one," her mother said, still studying Daniel.
A waiter walked up with several trays of food. It looked like they wouldn't be choosing their own meals, though Melinda didn't feel she was allowed to complain, considering her mother was paying for all of it. Just another thing she had to have control over.
Daniel cleared his throat and held his hand out to Melinda's father. "I'm Daniel Armstrong. And I don’t consider myself unlucky, Mr. Garrett. I'm excited to be here."
Melinda's mother leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "Why?"
Daniel glanced at Melinda as the plates were handed around to each person and the food was dished out. The chicken parmesan that sat steaming in front of her smelled heavenly. She gave Daniel what she hoped was an encouraging smile, but inside, she was dying. When would they be able to just eat in uncomfortable silence, ignoring each other like a normal family?
"Why are you excited to be here?" her mother asked again.
Daniel shrugged. "Honestly? It has less to do with the wedding, and more to do with Melinda. I'm excited to spend some time away with her."
Melinda's stomach flipflopped. Was that actually the truth? She had never considered the prospect of liking Daniel more than as a friend, but now that she thought about it, it wasn't farfetched. She silently laughed at herself. What was she thinking? Of course it was. And anyway, he was just telling her mother what she wanted to hear.
Except, her mother frowned, like she was disappointed with his answer. "I see."
"Not that I'm not looking forward to the wedding," he said quickly, looking to Bree and her fiancé. His gaze shifted back to her mother. "I just really like your other daughter, that's all."
"Yes, well, many men do," her mother muttered.
Anger boiled up from Melinda's gut, and she knew she was going to explode. Forget about getting out of Amor, she wouldn't be able to last one night without getting in a fight with her mother. But before Melinda had the chance to give her a piece of her mind, Bree did it for her.
"That's enough. We should be making Daniel feel welcome, not chasing him away." Bree looked to Daniel apologetically. "I'm Bree, Melinda's younger sister. And this is Mark, my fiancé."
Melinda's attention swept across her younger sister. She had the same dark hair and eyes as Melinda, but had cut her hair just below the ears. She looked older, more mature now, but still just as beautiful. And if Melinda was being honest, her sister also looked a bit sad, not at all like the playful girl she had been when they were younger.
Mark nodded to Daniel, then turned to Melinda. "It's nice to finally meet you," he said, his hand outstretched. "I've heard so many good things about you."
She hesitated a moment, not sure what to think of Mark's formality, but she shook the outstretched hand. "If that's true, you haven't been speaking with my mom much lately." Melinda clenched her lips shut. Stupid. Why couldn't she go an hour without having to say something like that? "At any rate, it's nice to put a face with your name. I'm very happy for you both." The words stuck together, like they hadn't wanted to come out, but there they were, and hopefully it would appease her mom.
Mark retracted his hand, a smile plastered on his much-too-handsome face. He looked like a mashup of Disney princes. He had Aladdin's bronze complexion and slight frame, Flynn Rider's chiseled jaw, and Prince Eric's sweeping hair. Where had her sister dug up this guy? Neither looked very happy to be sitting there at the moment, but with her mother at the same table, Melinda couldn't blame them.
Melinda's father sat back in his chair, watching the family like one would watch a spectator sport. When he finally spoke, it startled everyone else into silence. "Daniel, how did you meet my daughter?"
Daniel seemed more nervous than when Melinda's mother had been grilling him. "We met at the diner. I don't think I would have met her otherwise, considering that's where she spends all her time." He was putting in a plug for how hard she worked. This was good.
"You don't go out with your friends?" her father asked, turning to Melinda, his eyebrows wrinkled in concern. Oh, great. There was no winning with either of them.
Melinda shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "I don't have time. I can't afford to hire more than one part-time server, so I pick up the slack." She'd assumed her mother would have shared this information, but it looked like they didn't discuss their elder daughter much.
"She's amazing at what she does," Daniel interjected. "She almost runs the place single-handed, outside of Devon and Claire. The customers appreciate the consistency, knowing they can always count on Melinda being there." He shot Melinda a grin. She smiled back, not wanting her parents to realize that her always being there was probably a strike against the diner. Truth be told, she had no idea why people had continued to eat there over the years.
"It looks like you have at least one satisfied customer," her father said with a laugh. "I'm glad that you are enjoying it there, Melinda. It sounds like the diner has been good for you, and not only that, but the diner needs you."
Oh no, did they think she wanted to stay there? She swallowed hard. "Yes, it has been good for me. I've learned a lot while running the business. But—" She hesitated. "I think it could be time to move on to something else." She chanced a glance at her mother.
Melinda's mother stared, her fork midway to her mouth. "We told you we would let you know when you are ready."
"I-I know, but I feel like I've learned everything I need to. I'm running my own business, for crying out loud. And I've turned a profit every year."
"At the expense of your happiness," her father said.
Melinda groaned. "And whose fault is that? I've been busting my butt at the diner for almost a decade. I'm an adult and am old enough to make my own decisions. Why can't you see that?" She sighed. "Besides, Devon and Claire love the diner. They should be running it."
"I agree with Melinda," Bree said. "She needs more life experience than what Amor can offer her."
Melinda and her parents looked at Bree like they had forgotten that she and Mark were sitting there. And Melinda had, for a moment. But now she was grateful for her sister's presence. Melinda needed all the support she could get.
"You're not ready," her mother said, her tone resolute. Melinda's father didn't look so certain.
“Maybe this is something we can talk about after the wedding,” he said, looking between the two women. “If Melinda feels like she’s ready to move onto other things, I think we should hear her out.”
“You know there are other factors that we don’t have control over,” her mother muttered, annoyance lacing her words.
What other factors? They owned the diner, so why wouldn’t it be in their control? It didn’t matter. It was clear now that Melinda was trapped. And there was no way out. It didn't matter what she did—for whatever reason, her mother would never sell the diner to Devon and Claire.
Unless.
"I know you have my best interests in mind, but I was hoping there could be some flexibility, considering the circumstances. Of course, I'm happy to stay at the diner as long as you think is best," Melinda said. She focused on her breathing to hold back a shudder.
"What circumstances?" her mother asked, her eyes instantly focusing on the table where Melinda's stomach was hidden. Her mother thought Melinda was pregnant. Of course.
"We weren't going to say anything because we didn't want to detract from Bree and Mark's wedding. But…" Melinda took Daniel's hand. "Daniel isn't just my date. He's my fiancé." She looked her mother in the eyes and smiled. "We're getting married."