“What if they hate me?” she asked.
I took her hand in mine and laced our fingers together. “Oh, my mom definitely will.”
Her head snapped up. “Porter!”
Laughing, I kept my gaze aimed out the windshield and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “You didn’t let me finish. I meant, she’ll hate you for about ten seconds until she sees him and then she’ll love you.”
Charlotte looked at the kids in the back seat. Hannah was sound asleep in her car seat, as she was so often when we were in the car. Travis was sitting beside her, peering out the window, an epic smile covering his face.
He’d been smiling like that for a week.
And, soon enough, he’d be able to smile like that permanently.
For the last seven days, Charlotte and I had been playing a dangerous game. We were still a week out from a court date when we could hopefully have the order of protection lifted. However, we weren’t letting it stop us.
Since the day Charlotte had first called me to come over, there hadn’t been a night we hadn’t fallen asleep together. Half of those nights, when she had been positive no one would be stopping by, we’d stayed at her apartment. The other half, we’d stayed at my house. But it didn’t matter where we rested our heads. All that mattered was that we were doing it together.
And God, was I happy.
Every day, she laughed. Every day, my kids smiled. And, every day, I fell more and more in love with a life I desperately wanted to keep.
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” she whispered. “Maybe we should wait until after our court date.”
I smirked. “Baby, my family is celebrating. That means you are celebrating.”
“I know, but the police literally just dropped your investigation, like, three hours ago. Maybe we shouldn’t push our luck with the law today.”
I turned down Tanner’s long, oak-covered driveway. “There was no luck involved in this. Quit stressing. We’re safe here. My parents aren’t going to be alerting the authorities.”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “It feels—”
“Good. That’s the word you’re looking for.” I smirked and shot her a wink. “But, if you think it feels good now, wait until you see me in a bathing suit.”
She’d been winding herself up since I’d told her that my family was having an impromptu cookout to celebrate my release from potential jailbird status. I’d yet to tell any of them about Charlotte and me being back together. And, since I hadn’t left her side at all, I’d been avoiding them. In that time, Travis hadn’t stopped asking about my parents or Tanner. Today seemed like a great opportunity to kill two birds with one surprise stone. And, with the temperatures well into the nineties, it was the perfect time to break Tanner’s pond in for the season.
Glaring at me, she asked, “It’s that bad, huh?”
“Bad?” My mouth fell open in mock horror. “Sweetheart, I fill out a pink Speedo better than any man you’ve ever seen.”
She blinked, her beautiful face completely blank. “Please, God, tell me you’re kidding.”
I was. But she knew that.
“Nope.”
“I’m such a lucky girl,” she deadpanned.
I lifted our joined hands to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “And don’t you forget it.”
“Hannie, wake up. We’re here!” Travis exclaimed as I put the car into park.
“Yay,” she croaked before her lids were even open.
I glanced to Charlotte who was staring up at the tall plantation house, nerves crinkling the corners of her eyes.
“It’s going to be fine,” I told her.
“You should have warned them that I was coming,” she whispered as the kids scrambled out of the car.
“And ruin the surprise? No way.”
She licked her lips and turned her panic-filled gaze on me. “I don’t want to be the surprise.”
I barked a laugh and slung my door open. “Good, little miss self-centered, because you’re not. He is. They probably won’t even notice you’re here for the first hour.”
“Right,” she whispered but made no move to get out of the car.
With two fingers, I brushed her long hair off her neck. “Charlotte, my parents are good people. They have two sons. They know what you’ve been through. They aren’t going to judge you for the way things have gone down recently.”
“I know… I just feel like the enemy in their eyes.”
Travis knocked on her window. “Charlotte, let’s go! I’m going to teach you how to fish.” He grinned and lifted his blue-and-white tackle box.
Keeping my voice low so Travis couldn’t hear me, I told her, “You aren’t the enemy in my eyes or in his eyes, and the minute my family sees that, they will become the only eyes that matter.”
She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out with practiced control. “Okay. You’re right.”
“Mmm,” I purred. “Stop trying to seduce me with sexy words like that and let’s meet my parents.”
She laughed, and it curled over my skin like the sweetest touch. I’d never get enough of that from her.
Shoving her door open, she stepped out of the car. Travis immediately took her hand and started dragging her around the side of the house. After scooping Hannah off her feet and planting her on my hip, I caught up with them and threw my arm around her shoulders.
Together, the four of us walked around the house.
We hadn’t made the final curve before the smell of steaks and the sound of Mom and Tanner laughing filled the air in the most amazing combination.
It was home and happiness all wrapped up in one.
Since Tanner had bought that house, we’d had a lot of these cookouts. He always cooked. My mom took care of Hannah. My dad fished with Travis. And I would numbly watch them all while I tried to force the overwhelming hate and anger from my heart.
My life over the last three years had been survived in various degrees of hell.
But not that day. Not with Charlotte at my side. My kids. Her son.
No. There was nothing hellish about that day.
It was pretty damn perfect.
As we made our way toward the stone patio, Tanner saw us first.
“Holy. Shit,” he said behind a giant stainless-steel commercial grill that had cost him a small fortune.
“What?” Mom chirped from the picnic table as she stirred what I prayed was her bacon ranch pasta salad. Her head slowly lifted to my brother, but her eyes found mine on the way up. She started to smile, but her gaze slipped to Charlotte and then down to Travis.
“Oh, thank you, God,” she cried, slapping her hands over her mouth, tears instantly hitting her eyes.
Charlotte’s arm tensed around me, but I held her tight and whispered, “Relax. She always reacts like this when she sees me.”
Charlotte suddenly came to an abrupt stop. “I don’t know about this, Porter.”
“It’s fine. I swear.”
My mom screamed for my dad as she and Tanner abandoned the food and raced toward us.
She went straight for Travis, bending low to pull him in for a hug. “Wow, I’ve been missing you.”
Tanner extended a hand my way. I clasped it, and he pulled me in for a quick back pat and whispered, “Do I even want to know how you pulled this off?”
I chuckled. “Probably not.”
As he stepped away, he took Hannah from my arms and tickled her stomach. “What’s up with you, sweet girl?”
“Nothing,” she said casually, as though it hadn’t been the most chaotic two weeks of her life. “Where are my floaties? I’m ready to swim.”
“Awesome. Good chat.” Tanner laughed and put her on her feet. “Nana bought you a brand-new set for this year. Go look on the kitchen table. And tell Grandpa to turn the TV off and come outside.”
I smiled, watching her trot away in a pink-and-purple-striped bathing suit complete with a white tutu.
When I glanced back at my brother, he was staring at Charlotte, his smile smug.
I pulled her deeper into my side. “You remember Charlotte, right?”
He nodded. “I sure do.”
“Sloth,” she greeted.
His eyebrows shot up. “We’re still on that?”
“The truth doesn’t expire,” she retorted.
He chuckled and looked at his feet while shaking his head. “Well, your obviously impaired vision aside, I’m glad you’re here.”
She swallowed hard and then looked up at me. Her brown eyes were filled with concern, but she whispered, “I’m glad I’m here too.”
“Come on, Nana. Stop.” Travis laughed, wiggling in her embrace.
She reluctantly released him. “Excuse me. I haven’t seen you in two weeks. I do believe I’m due for more than one hug.”
“You got, like, a million, so…” he grumbled.
“A million and one never hurt anyone,” she argued, smiling.
“Mom?” I called.
Her head snapped up, but her focus didn’t come to me. It went to the woman in my arms.
“Hi there,” my mom whispered.
“Hi,” Charlotte replied, equally as quiet.
“Charlotte, this is my mom, Lynn Reese. Mom, this is my girlfriend, Charlotte Mills.”
“Dad!” Travis scolded. “You know she hates it when you call her your girlfriend.”
I lifted a finger in the air and corrected, “No. She hates it when I refer to myself as her boyfriend. She adores it when I call her my girlfriend.”
“Actually,” Charlotte started.
“Nope! I reject your complaints today. This is a celebration in my honor.”
She rolled her eyes and then looked to my mother. “I’m sorry. I’m relatively new to this parenting thing, but if you happen to have any advice on how we can prevent Travis from turning out as goofy as Porter, I’d be open to hearing more about that.”
My mother was an amazing woman. The kind who passed Popsicles out to the neighborhood kids on hot summer days. She volunteered with elderly patients at various nursing homes across the city. And, every year, she prepared hundreds of hygiene kits for the local homeless shelter. When Catherine died, she’d stepped up in a huge way to help me. She’d put her whole life on hold for my kids. She took Travis to doctors’ appointments when I had to work and taught Hannah how to spell her name by the time she was two. She was warm and thoughtful. Generous and kind.
All of which explains why I was so taken aback by the icy chill in her tone when she snipped at Charlotte.
“We? How we can prevent Travis from being as goofy as my son?”
“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.” I released Charlotte and stepped forward. “Let’s bring the attitude down a notch. Yeah?”
Her gaze never came to mine. Instead, it narrowed on Charlotte. “Answer me.”
Charlotte’s face paled. “I…uh… It was a joke. I didn’t mean to imply that Porter isn’t a great man. Sometimes my humor…is a little…”
My mom opened her mouth, but I got there first.
“Hey, Travis? Why don’t you go help Uncle Tanner cook.”
“Yeah… Let’s, uh…do that,” Tanner replied, staring at my mom like she had grown a third head.
Travis glanced back and forth between his grandmother and his mother. “Um…okay.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, I fisted a hand on my hip and glared at my mother. “Don’t do that again. I don’t care what kind of issue you have. You don’t lay them out in front of him. He’s been through enough without adding your stress on top of it.”
My mom’s eyes finally flicked to mine, and she nodded sheepishly. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
I blew out a ragged breath, and my shoulders sagged. “Christ. Can we please drop the drama for one damn day?”
“Fine. But I need to know if she was serious about the we part?”
Charlotte shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’m asking if you’re going to let us be a part of his life. Or if this is just a visit. I deserve to know. I have no idea what is going on right now…” Her voice broke as her anger slipped. “But I need to know how to prepare myself for when today ends.”
Fuck. Okay. Perhaps Charlotte had been right and I should have told them she was coming and given them an update on the last week and our whole together thing.
“Okay. And I will give you that information, but lay off Char—”
“It’s okay, Porter,” Charlotte said, catching my arm. Stepping around me, she straightened her back and squared her shoulders. “Mrs. Reese, I can understand your hesitance about me. Quite honestly, I was hesitant about coming here today too. I feared I’d be seen exactly the way you are looking at me now. As some sort of person who snatched your grandson away from you. Porter’s an amazing man, but I think his love for me has blinded him to how truly unique our situation is for everyone involved. All of us have had our lives rocked due to the decisions that were made for us without our knowledge or our consent. I didn’t want to lose Lucas ten years ago any more than you wanted to lose Travis two weeks ago. But both things happened and neither of us are at fault for that.”
She sucked in a breath, the color slowly creeping back into her cheeks. “I’m sure you remember that first day at Porter’s house when I realized Travis was my son. It wasn’t pretty. But it was definitely real. I love him. As I know you do too. Tanner told me the other day that Travis was the answer to all of our questions. So yeah, we’re here today because Travis wanted to come. And, regardless what happens with Porter and me, I can tell you with absolute honesty that, as long as Travis wants you and your family in his life, that is where you will be.”
By the time she finished, my heart was in my throat and pride flowed through my veins.
Hooking an arm around her shoulders, I pulled her into my side and kissed the top of her head.
“Well,” my mom breathed, lifting a shaking hand up to smooth her short, blond hair down. “I may have underestimated my son’s taste in women.”
“Gee, thanks,” I mumbled.
“And I’m sorry.” She looked away as the tears started to spill from her eyes. “Sorry for my snap judgment. Sorry I made you uncomfortable. Sorry you’ve had your life flipped upside down by all of this too. And, most of all, I’m sorry you lost your son.” She stared Charlotte directly in the eye, tears glistening on her cheeks. “But…it has been the absolute joy of my life, helping raise that little boy over the last few years, so thank you for allowing me to continue to do that.”
“Jesus,” I breathed, hooking my other arm out and dragging my mom into my other side.
Yeah…I definitely should have warned them she was coming.
“Wow. You sure know how to bring the party, Porter,” Tanner said, strolling back over. “You’ve got Mom crying. Your girlfriend’s crying. And Dad just burst into tears when he saw Travis. I swear—you keep this shit up and I’m not inviting you next time.”
Mom sniffled and stepped out of my arms. “You’re right. This is a celebration. Especially now that Travis is back.” She gave Charlotte’s shoulder a squeeze and then moved to my brother, linking her arm through his. “All right. Let’s get back to cooking. We need two more steaks and at least one more side. But it has to be quick because Hannah is not going to wait long before hitting the pond.”
Tanner winked as they meandered away, discussions of Tabbouleh salad ringing in the air.
Alone, I shifted Charlotte in my arms so her front was pressed to mine and whispered, “That was amazing.”
Craning her head back, she said, “You are officially fired as the communications manager for our relationship.”
“What? Why? I think that went great.”
Her mouth fell open, and she lifted her fingers in the shape of a telephone to her mouth and ear. And then, in a deep, ridiculous voice that sounded nothing like mine, she mocked, “Hey, Mom, I’m bringing Charlotte with me to the cookout. She and I are in a relationship and have committed to doing what’s best for Travis. Uh huh. Yes. Of course he’ll be there too. Okay, sounds great. See you then.” She hung up her pretend phone and glared at me.
I twisted my lips. “Okay. Fine. I’ll admit that might have been the best course of action. But, sweetheart, I assure you your fancy-ass speech was way better. I’m pretty sure my mom fell in love with you by the end of it.”
She shook her head before hissing, “Fired!”
“Okay. I’m sorry. You were right. And that’s not me trying to seduce you. Though…there is a really good chance of you getting some tonight.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just a heads-up. Whenever we do come out of the closet with this to my family, I’m totally throwing you to the wolves.” She quirked an eyebrow before finishing with, “And Tom carries a gun.”
I barked a laugh then touched my lips to hers. “You ready to meet my dad? He’s gonna love you.”
She glowered.
But it was beautiful.
If for no other reason than it was aimed at me.