Who Do You Love - Dean Ambrose

Family Ties

On realizing that I had been invited to lunch by a millionaire, I had started to imagine what the restaurant might be like. As a result I had come up with all sorts of things, from white gloves and foreign menus to wine lists and stuffy guests. If I was honest, it had made me feel pretty nervous. No way was I an haute cuisine expert. I was a burger and curly-fries kind of girl, someone who enjoyed a jukebox in the background and a whisky on the rocks or two. If there were more than three courses, I was instantly done for and the same went for laying out more than two forks.

To my relief however, when we arrived at the venue, it looked like – well – a normal restaurant. Which, as it turned out, was exactly what it was.

Thank god for that.

It was already looking up.

Our table was located up a little wooden staircase and by a window with a clear view of the neighbouring park. We were a stones throw away from the bustle of the city but we could have been anywhere and I liked that. The food looked good too and although it was foreign, it was Italian which I could certainly bare.

Mmm, cheese and pasta – oooh and doughballs.

Yeah, I was going to be just fine.

As I glanced around and drank in the décor – a combination of watercolour vineyards and headshots of Sinatra – I noticed Hunter watching me closely and as I looked back, he offered me a grin,

"So, what do you think?"

"It's nice," I nodded, "Kind of homey."

"This place is mine and Steph's favourite Italian. We come whenever the show hits town."

For a second I wasn't sure what to think about that one, caught between being pleased that he'd taken me somewhere special and slightly creeped out that it was his special date spot – his special date spot with his super crazy wife. What if Stephanie found out I had sullied her eatery? Would she blacklist it or blacklist me? I had little doubt that it would probably be the latter and so as the waiter put down a plate of warm breadsticks, I dived for them eagerly and tried to keep talk light.

Holy crap I was chatting with my father.

"So – um – how long have the two of you been together?"

"Coming up to fourteen years now."

I blinked,

"Oh, I didn't realise it was – that's a long time. Did you meet at work?"

"I guess you could say that," Hunter offered slowly, before seeing my confusion and hurrying to clear things up, "It started out as a business arrangement. Just something to try and upset her father – you've heard of Vince McMahon right? He owns the company. Anyway, he and I were not the best of friends back then and well – basically – I was a punk. Fortunately we get on a lot better now."

Before that point it hadn't occurred to me that I might end up meeting Stephanie's family. She had always made them seem off limits. But now that I was Hunter's daughter we were all just ingredients in a weird familial soup and so technically they were also my relatives.

In a really, really weird sort of a way.

"Uh so, when did the two of you become something more?"