Abby grunted and swallowed her sip of tea. “Yeah, Jury mentioned it to me,” she exclaimed. “You should come!”
A family gathering seemed like an enormous step, but with both Maddox and Abby grinning at me like a couple of fools, plus Kara nodding her head enthusiastically, how could I have said no? Besides, we’d slept together. Surely meeting his family wasn’t all that big of a step, was it?
As I nodded my head, I was surprised to find I actually wanted to go. I was curious about what his mother was like. I’d seen her around but never officially met her.
“Okay,” I said softly and tucked my hair behind my ear. “That sounds nice.”
“Bring Tiffany,” Maddox said. My heart swelled. “My family loves kids. It’ll be like having a babysitter for her, I promise.”
He wanted Tiffany to come, too. It wasn’t just me meeting his family, it was his family meeting us. The significance was not lost on me. Not at all.
With a final kiss, Maddox said goodbye to the three of us and worked his way out of the diner, saying goodbye to all the people he’d greeted when he arrived.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Kara let out a tiny squeal. “I’m so excited for you!”
My chest fluttered with anticipation. “Oh, my gosh,” I whispered. “What am I going to wear?”
The next day, true to their word, Kara and Abby showed up early to go through my closet. By the time Maddox arrived, I’d tried on about forty outfits and we landed on artfully ripped jeans, a flowy blouse covered in small pink roses, and ballet flats that matched the color of the roses. Abby helped me craft my makeup so it looked natural while Kara put a few extra curls in my hair—up in a ponytail that to most would look casual and quickly done.
Kara checked her watch. “He’ll be here any minute,” she squealed. “Let’s go!”
Tiffany had helped us every step of the way. She’d been the one to pick out the shirt. After my outfit was ready, she’d insisted we all go to her room and help her pick one. She made the choices, of course, landing on her favorite play outfit with princesses on the front of the tee, as I’d known she would.
It didn’t matter what she wore. They’d love her; everyone did. I did put my foot down and make her sit still so Kara could fix her hair and put in a floppy bow. I did love her with a bow in her hair, though it’d be lost before she met everyone.
Oh, well. The first impression would be good, at least.
Kara and Abby left seconds before Maddox turned onto my road. I slammed the door shut so he wouldn’t realize I’d been waiting by the door with bated breath.
Darting into Tiffany’s room, I flitted around and waited for the doorbell to ring. “Mommy?” Tiffany cocked her head at me. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Nothing, sweetie. Just waiting for a second.”
The doorbell saved me from having to answer. Tiffany ran out and to the door, so I had to scramble to catch up to her. “Ask who it is,” I hissed before she could yank the door open.
“Who is it?” she called.
“It’s Maddox!”
Tiffany jerked the door open with a squeal. “Maddoth!”
He held out his arms and she launched into them. “I’m happy to see you, too, pipsqueak.” His grin melted my heart, even more when he turned his big hazel eyes to me. “You ready?”
His gaze burned into me intently, then raked up and down my body. “You look great.”
The weight of his gaze made my spine tingle. “Thanks,” I whispered. “I’m ready.”
I grabbed my purse and keys. “We can drive my car since Tiffany’s car seat is already in there,” I suggested.
He nodded and swung her around on the front walk while I locked the door. “Sounds good!”
Every mile closer to his family’s home made my stomach clench tighter and tighter. He showed me where to turn and within fifteen minutes, we were there.
Maddox took my hand and squeezed while Tiffany unbuckled her belt. “Ready?” His grin could’ve lit up a room. “They’re going to love you.” He must’ve sensed my nerves. “Don’t be scared.” He looked a little sad for a moment. “My family is pretty cool.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have the family I do,” he said. He jumped out of the car and opened the back door for Tiff, then waited at the front of the car to take my hand before leading us up the stairs and into the enormous manor house.
Without giving me time to marvel at the big foyer or all the dark wood, Maddox pulled me into an empty living room. “Where is everyone?” I wondered in a hushed voice. The living room looked more like a library or study, except huge. It also had multiple couches and chairs and a big television on one wall. More like a den-library-living room. We carried on, out another door into a big kitchen with a very long table and huge island.
A woman turned from the stove. “Maddox,” she said. “There you are.”
She smiled warmly at me. “Bethany,” Maddox said. “This is my grandmother, Carla. Nana, this is Bethany.”
Tiffany clung to my leg. She was always a little bit shy for the first thirty seconds of meeting someone. “And who is this?” Carla bent over and smiled. “You must be the famous Tiffany.”
Tiff nodded.
“Would you like to help me take food out?” Carla asked. “I have a lot of cookies to carry.”
That was all it took for Tiffany to overcome her shyness. She darted forward eagerly. “I love cookies.”
Carla laughed. “I thought you might.”
Maddox pulled gently so I followed him out the back door. And there were all the
