Free Fighting to Survive (Guarded Hearts Book 3) by Alexis Noelle Page A

they are nice and willing to at least get to know him. Shawn grabs my hand and I look over at him.
    “You okay? You seem like you’re in another world.”
    “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.”
    We get out of the car and walk into my house. “Mom? Dad?” My mother comes into the room, dressed to perfection as always. She walks up to me and gives me a hug, making sure not to wrinkle her clothes or let a hair fall out of place in the process. My dad walks in behind her and wraps me in a big hug.
    “Welcome home, Cece.” I can tell just by my mother’s tone she is unhappy with me.
    I pull away and stand next to Shawn. “Mom, Dad, this is Shawn Matthews.”
    My dad steps forward and offers Shawn his hand. “Hello, Son.” My mother doesn’t make much of a move, she just smiles and offers him a polite hello.
    “Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, your house is beautiful.”
    “Thank you, dear.” My mother then turns to me. “Cece, we are going to the club tonight around six.”
    She turns and walks out of the room and my father follows her. I guess that’s the best I can expect from them. Hopefully, after they get to know Shawn, they’ll be more accepting of him. “Sorry about the less than warm welcome. Unfortunately, my parents aren’t the warm and fuzzy type.”
    Shawn pulls me close to him and puts his hands on my hips. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure I can charm them at dinner.”
    He wiggles his eyebrows at me, making me laugh. The only thing I can think though, is that I hope they give him a chance to charm them. Shawn isn’t rich—strike one. His father isn’t someone influential—strike two. And he doesn’t go to an Ivy League school—strike three. To me, none of that crap matters, but to them, it’s everything. They’ve never understood me, or the fact that I don’t find happiness in all of those trivial things. It’s one of the biggest reasons I wanted to go away for school and live on campus. I’ve only been back home less than an hour and I already feel like I’m suffocating.
    “Hey.” I look up at Shawn, smiling when I realize I had just zoned out. “You back on earth now?” I laugh and nod my head. “Okay then, Cece, do you want to show me where to put the bags?”
    I punch him in the arm and give him a dirty look. I lead Shawn up the steps and into my room. My mother told me on the phone there is no way we would be staying in the same room, so I walk him down the hall to show him the guest room. “I need to grab a shower before we go to dinner.”
    “Okay, babe.” He leans down and gives me a kiss before going to lie down on the bed.
    The entire time I shower, all I can think of is everything that could possibly go wrong tonight. Even though my parents and I aren’t close, it still matters to me if they like the person I’m dating. I feel like if they just give him a chance then they would love him like I do. Wait. Did I just say I love him? Do I? I’ve never been this serious about anyone before and I really care about him, but is it love?
    I hurry to finish scrubbing my body and washing my hair.  My mother will most likely flip out if I’m not ready on time.  Stepping out of the shower, I wrap a towel around myself and head into my bedroom.
    I hear a knock on my door and it makes me jump. “Who is it?”
    “It’s your mother.” I can almost hear her trying to listen and figure out if Shawn is in here, too. I bet she even has her ear pressed against the door. “Come in, Mom.”
    She opens the door slowly, and once she sees I’m alone, she steps in and closes the door. She sits down on my bed. This can’t be good. “Cece, how serious are you about this boy?”
    My jaw drops. She has barely said two words to him and I can hear the disdain in her voice. “I care about him, Mom. He really is a great guy, and if you would actually give him a chance, you would see it, too.”
    “Cece, let’s be serious here and drop the rebellious act. You know he