This was the make or break moment.
Beau let out a slow breath, seeing his family waiting for them as they walked through the crowded Florida airport. His mother, father, a couple of his uncles and aunts, his brothers...he knew they would be curious about Mia, and with Victoria's loud mouth and hand in things, they would be skeptical now. Mia had to be convincing, and so did he.
I hope she doesn't get cold feet.
Beau plastered on a sheepish grin, waving to them once he knew they were in line of sight. His mother instantly beamed, running over to meet them with the rest of his family close on their heels. Showtime. Beau made sure he was holding Mia's hand, sparing her a brief glance to check her expression—she was smiling, though a little nervously. In a believable "girlfriend meeting the parents for the first time" way.
"Beau!" His mother flung herself on them both and hugged them, catching them both off-guard. "You made it for the trip!" She stepped back so she could get a good look at him and Mia, while his family said their own greetings and hugged the two. "You never told us about your girlfriend, I can't believe we had to find out about her through Victoria, of all people."
I bet you did, Beau thought sarcastically, though he kept his same smile, "I wanted Mia to be a pleasant surprise, but you know Vicky...she had to have her way." He let out a short laugh.
Mia smiled as his parents both came over to her, looking her over, "Beau has told me a lot about you two...he thought it would be nice to have a grand reveal."
She sounded convincing. That was a good thing.
His mother smiled happily, patting Mia's cheek, "Well, regardless, we're very happy to meet you. Victoria didn't offer us many details about what you looked like, though I doubted she could have done you justice. You're quite beautiful."
While Mia blushed and thanked his mother for the compliment, Beau's father slapped him on the back, "You got a good-looking girl there, Beau. Though, I wish you could've told us sooner."
"My apologies, father." Beau scratched the back of his head, a wry smile on his lips.
Beau's brother, Caleb, interjected lightly, "Let's move on from that. We have to be at the ship in an hour so we should head out. "
Relief pouring through him, Beau took Mia's hand again. She felt tense, still nervous it seemed.
His mother instantly started walking toward the door, leading them along without hesitating, "Oh! I was so absorbed by the arrive of our newest addition—We should be heading out." She agreed, looking at the time on her phone, "It's just over a half hour to the dock. We don't have room in our car, but Caleb rented a SUV, and there's plenty of room for you two and your luggage."
Thank god, they wouldn't be riding with his parents—he knew his brothers wouldn't bother them most of the car ride. Caleb was a focused driver, and his brother Louis was a quiet man at all times, reflecting on situations without speaking. Which means they wouldn't have to fumble around questions and struggle with this charade. Already he could tell Mia was having a hard time. At least she was a convincing enough actor to keep up with his mother's eccentric personality.
So he kept her hand firmly in his, kissing her cheek for good measure in full view of his parents. Luckily, she didn't jump when he did so, or flinch away. He felt the warmth in her cheeks though, and that made him grin. They would be a convincing enough couple, though he knew Victoria would doubt, his parents and family were pretty gullible.
Caleb kept shooting subtle glances at him as they loaded on their luggage, their parents talking loudly the entire time, about him and Mia of course. Louis had already slipped into the passenger seat, leaving the back to him and Mia while Caleb was driving. It didn't take long before they were on their way to their destination, Beau finally able to relax now that he and Mia were in the car, away from his parents.
Still he kept his hand intertwined with Mia's not sure how Caleb would go along with all of this, or Louis.
So he decided to keep talking to a minimum, making brief small talk as the scenery flew by his window, making sure to keep checking Mia to make sure she was feeling alright. She was going along with this smoothly enough, though the biggest test would be later, when she met the rest of his family.