Tiffany appeared behind me with a plate of cookies and wide eyes. “And this is Tiffany,” Maddox continued.
A little girl, barely a teenager, with long dark hair, ran forward. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Maddox’s sister, Hailey. Is it okay if I play with Tiffany?”
I nodded and smiled my thanks, and it turned out Maddox had been right. That was the last I had to worry about my daughter all day. Hailey fawned over her and made sure she was taken care of, as did Carla.
The next person to approach us was Maddox’s mother. I knew her on sight, but we’d never been formally introduced. “Bethany, this is my mother, Ava. Mom, this is Bethany. She’s...” He stared at me for a split second. “She’s special.”
Ava pulled me into a hug. “It’s wonderful to meet you.” She had an awful lot of emotion in her voice for someone just meeting a girl her son was dating.
“Hey, Maddox, come here!” Jury yelled across the yard. “We need one more for touch football.”
Maddox squeezed my arm. “I’ll leave you ladies to get to know each other.”
I was a bit aggravated at him for abandoning me for a second, but Abby appeared as soon as he ran off. “Hey!” she said brightly. “Anybody you need to be introduced to?”
I looked around at all the people, and Maddox’s mom put her arm around me. “You know my husband, Maverick?”
“I met him once at a police department supper,” I said. “It’s been years.”
“Well, he’s out there playing anyway. I’ll introduce the women. Charlotte,” she called. A gorgeous blonde looked up with a toddler on her hip. “Come meet Maddox’s girlfriend.”
I didn’t know if we were at the boyfriend-girlfriend stage, but I wasn’t about to argue that with Maddox’s mother.
The blonde walked across the back deck. “So nice to meet you.” She shifted the baby to the other hip and held out her hand for me to shake. “I’m a nurse at the hospital, so if you ever need anything, you just let me know, okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you. It’s always nice to have medical friends.”
She giggled and gestured to another woman who had just walked up. Ava smiled. “Bethany, this is—”
“Oh, I know Bethany,” Harley exclaimed. As Abby’s sister, we’d ended up at more than one girls’ night together.
“Good to see you, Harley. I didn’t know you were related to the Kingstons, other than through Abby,” I said.
Harley pointed toward the field. “The dark-haired man with glasses is my fiancé, Stefan.”
“From the body shop?” I asked. He’d changed my spark plugs a few months before.
Harley nodded. “He’s sort of adopted into the Kingston family.”
“That’s nice,” I said warmly. They all seemed so kind. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be a part of such a large family.
“Okay, everyone!” Carla yelled behind me, making me jump. “Come eat!”
The back yard had several tables set up, one of which was covered with food. Everything from hot dogs to steaks. Potato salad and watermelon, and some sort of fried vegetable that looked Southern and wonderful.
Maddox ran up with a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. “Let’s eat.”
He and I circled the table, loading up our plates, but he did it with one hand on my back as if he couldn’t stand to stop touching me.
I didn’t mind it one bit. Everyone kept me talking all through the meal, and I found myself telling them about my business, about Tiffany—leaving out the more tragic aspects of her past—and even about upcoming projects. I learned about Ava’s online business, Harley’s salon—hello invitation for free services! Yes!
The day passed quickly with a lot of laughter and fun. By the time Tiffany began to yawn, I was content with just being around those wonderful people. They fully supported and loved one another. I couldn’t help but think how nice it could be to marry into the Kingston family.
But it was far, far too soon to think about that.
16
Maddox
Our dinner had gone well. My entire family loved Bethany, and unless I was much mistaken, she loved them, too.
We’d just gotten back to her house, and Tiffany had fallen asleep nearly as soon as we hit my grandparents’ driveway. Bethany carried her to bed while I waited in the living room. I hoped she was going to invite me to stay.
When she walked back into the living room, I held my arms out. Her smile warmed me as she wrapped her arms around my waist, and I hugged her close. She lifted her head so I could press a kiss to her lips. “I’m so happy with how this night went,” I whispered. “I knew they’d love you.”
Bethany beamed at me. “I was so nervous, but it was like I’d been a part of their crowd all my life.” She tucked her head into the crook of my neck. “Thank you.”
We stayed there for a few moments, then she blinked up at me with something in her eyes I hoped was desire. “Come on,” she whispered. “Come to bed.”
Hell, yes. I followed her to her bedroom, my eyes trained to her ass as she seemed to sashay—no, float—across the floor. I could barely believe this woman belonged to me. I was truly the luckiest guy in the world.
She closed the door behind us and smiled at me. The shyest, softest smile I’d ever seen. It was like being in a dream.
“Are you shy?” I tucked a length of hair behind her ear and smoothed her cheek. “Afraid?”
“Not afraid.” She shook her head. “Anticipation?”
“You don’t need to be shy, either. It’s just me.” Moonlight fell through the window, lighting her face, and her pupils were huge as she looked at me. Then she turned and walked across the room to lower the blinds, flicking soft lamps on as she passed them.
In just a few moments, she’d set the stage
