Lucy gives her son a knowing look and glances back at me. “How did you react, Natalie?”

“I was angry. I thought I was being mugged for my camera.”

“You thought Luke Williams was trying to mug you?” Samantha’s voice is incredulous.

“I didn’t know who he was.” I shrug and take a sip of wine.

“Right.” She snorts.

“Samantha…” Luke’s warning is unheeded by his now tipsy sister.

“Anyway,” I continue, “We ended up running into each other later that same day when he was out buying a gift for your birthday.”

“Which I’m now reconsidering based on your behavior,” Luke adds.

“So you mean to tell me that you don’t know what my brother does for a living?” Her face is openly hostile now.

“Samantha, what in the world is wrong with you?” Lucy’s face is flushed and she’s clearly embarrassed of her daughter’s performance.

“Of course now I know what Luke does for a living, Samantha,” I respond before Samantha can. “But I didn’t recognize him at first, no.”

“So you’re not just fucking my brother because he’s a rich movie star?”

Holy fuck.

Chapter Fourteen

“Samantha!”

“What the hell!”

“Oh my God!”

The Williams family all start yelling at Luke’s sister in unison, but she remains firm, her eyes blazing at me.

Amazingly, I take a deep breath and find a zen-like calm that is very un-me.

I grip Luke’s thigh when he starts to come out of his chair in fury.

“Samantha, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“Luke, stop.”

“No, Nat, I will not have you spoken to like that, least of all from my own family!”

“Hey,” I grip his thigh again and I feel all eyes on me as I look up him.

I turn my gaze back to his sister and I know my eyes betray my outer calm. I’m just so pissed.

“First of all, and I mean no disrespect to your family, Luke, how dare you say such a thing about your brother.”

Samantha gasps and I continue.

“Not only are you intimating that I’m a whore, but you’re also insinuating that your brother has the intelligence of a mud fence to be with a woman who would take advantage of him because of his celebrity or his money, and be perfectly okay with that.

I don’t need or want Luke’s money.

Not that it’s any of your business, but I do just fine, thank you. I’ve never seen his movies, but I don’t doubt that he’s very talented. What I do know is that he’s amazingly smart, he is honestly the kindest man I’ve ever met, and he is beautiful, inside and out. I will not tolerate anyone speaking about him like that, Ms. Williams.”

I scoot my chair away from the table and stand.

“Natalie,” Luke grabs for my hand, and I squeeze it reassuringly.

“Is there a restroom nearby where I can regroup?” I ask Lucy.

“Of course, dear, down the hall to the left.”

I look down at Luke and then throw caution to the wind and lean down to kiss his lips. “I’ll be back.”

As I walk, more calmly than I feel, down the hall I hear the table erupt in anger at Luke’s sister.

Good. She deserves everything she’s about to get.

I find the bathroom and lock myself inside. Leaning my hands on the vanity, I hang my head, trying to keep the shaking at bay. I know it’s from the adrenaline, but I can’t make it stop.

Maybe I should have kept my big mouth shut, but she just made me so mad! I don’t know what her problem is with me, but she’s been openly hostile all night. And the last comment just pushed me over the edge.

I’m sure his parents now hate me for verbally castigating their daughter at the dinner table. Although, they seemed to be more shocked than anything when it was happening, and Mark had a wide grin on his face as I walked away from the table.

Oh, how am I going to go back out there and face them?

I take five deep breaths. The shaking starts to subside, and I don’t know how long I’ve been locked in the bathroom. I open the door and start the journey back to the table.

Before I can turn the corner I hear Lucy’s soft voice. “Honey, she obviously loves you.”

I stop in my tracks and listen.

“Mom…” Luke starts to speak but Lucy interrupts him.

“I know, it’s none of our business, but it’s pretty clear how she feels about you, honey. Why else would she defend you like that?”

“She’s a keeper,” this is Mark’s voice, I think.

I decide to stop eavesdropping and walk into the room, noticing that Samantha is no longer at the table.

Luke stands and quickly walks to me, wrapping me in his strong arms. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I pull back and smile up at him, then turn to his family. “I’m so sorry for the way I spoke to your daughter…”

Neil holds up a hand to stop my speech. “No, Natalie, we are sorry for her behavior. Please, come finish your meal. Samantha won’t be rejoining us.”

I look up into Luke’s eyes, and he looks nervous and unsure, his eyes searching mine.

“Okay.”

“You’re sure you’re okay,” he murmurs.

“Yes, let’s finish dinner.” We sit back in our places and continue eating.