Chapter Twenty-Five
“Why did I agree to this?” Ellie asked Caroline as she walked alongside her in Hall’s Market. It was the third of July and Ellie was dreading dinner with Mike’s parents. In fact, she was pretty sure that anything that the Coulter brothers or Forrest or whoever was behind these attacks had in store for her was better than sitting through dinner with Mike and his perfect parents.
“Because you like Mike and want to make him happy?” Caroline grabbed several containers of frozen cool whip. “How many do you need?”
“Two.”
“Is this cake you’re making any good?” Caroline asked, her head in the freezer.
“I don’t know,” Ellie said. “I’ve never made an Oreo dessert before.”
“Hey, don’t take your stress out on me. I am trying to be a supportive sister, but I haven’t ever been in your shoes. My husband doesn’t have any parents.”
“I’m sorry, but same goes here! Not about the boyfriend’s parents, but the family barbecue. And what do we talk about? Mike even says that she drives him nuts, so how am I supposed to handle her?”
“With kid gloves?”
“Har har. I just don’t know how I got here.” But really, Ellie knew exactly how she’d ended up shopping the day before the Fourth of July so she wouldn’t show up to Mike’s parents’ house empty-handed and Caroline had hit it right on the nose. She wanted to impress them, in the hopes that they would like her.
Because she cared about Mike.
It had snuck up on her, there was no question, but now all she could think of was his kisses or the way his brown eyes had little flecks of gold and black in them, making them almost glitter. And he was such a clown, acting like a dork just to make her laugh. And the things he could make her body do…
“I know that look,” Caroline said, breaking into her thoughts.
“What?” Ellie looked at the list in her hands, and avoided Caroline’s smirking expression.
“Don’t be scared of the big bad mama.” Picking up a large sack of potatoes, she frowned at something down the aisle. “Ah, hell, Mrs. Andrews is heading this way.”
Ellie turned and saw the older woman pushing her cart toward them. The older woman was something of a terror with most people, but she been kind to Ellie lately, so she was grateful.
“Hey, Mrs. Andrews.”
“Hello, Ellie.” Mrs. Andrew’s stopped her cart alongside theirs. “Caroline. You look wonderful. Pregnancy obviously agrees with you.”
Caroline looked like she was going to pass out. “Thank you, Mrs. Andrews.”
Mrs. Andrews smiled, and the old Ellie would have asked, “What is happening?”
Instead, she smiled back. “I hope you have a wonderful Fourth, ma’am.”
“You as well, dear. Goodbye.”
Caroline seemed flabbergasted as Mrs. Andrews walked away.
“Do you know that is the only kind thing that woman has ever said to me?”
“Maybe if you let more people see your sweet side, they’d warm up.”
“And let them think I’ve gone soft?”
“Silly me, what a ludicrous idea. Why on earth would you want to give people a reason not to hate you?”
“Hey, haters gonna hate,” Caroline said.
“I’m just saying that they might hate a little less if you acted like you cared about this town and the people in it.”
“I do act that way. And this coming from the girl who used to be a feature in Miss Know-It-All’s column.”
“Hey, I’m getting better,” Ellie said.
“Exactly my point. You used to just tell it like it is, and now you’re acting like a scared, ass-kissing rabbit. So what’s up with you?”
“Honestly, I think it’s all the crazy shit. The vandalism and the creepy phone calls.”
“You need to get a gun, or something.”
“Thank you for making me feel so much better.”
“I just mean, you should get some protection.”
“Well, for your information, Mike has been staying with me every night.”
“I didn’t know you two were shacking up,” Caroline said.
“I can’t help it. He’s irresistible,” Ellie said, sheepishly. “And, he’s the first guy who has ever seen me, you know?”
Caroline laughed. “Oh, I know exactly how that is. Believe me, I tried to keep Gabe at a distance, but the damn man was just too much.”
“Exactly. It’s like I wasn’t expecting him, at all, and now I can’t stop wanting him. I’m just worried about what happens after the honeymoon stage is over and he realizes I’m not what he wants.”
“What do you want?” Caroline asked.
“I don’t know. It’s like, on one hand he makes me laugh and I’m happy, but on the other, I can help thinking that what we have is just temporary and eventually he’s going to realize that I’m not what he had planned for his future.”
“I have never heard you doubt your awesomeness before.”
“I don’t doubt myself. I just doubt that Mike really wants me, you know? He’s the guy who gets the perfect life and mine is pure chaos. I just think it’s more about fun and him finding himself,” Ellie said.
“And you want more?”
“Part of me does,” Ellie said, grabbing a bottle of wine off the shelf. “The rest of me wants to run like hell before I get my heart smashed.”
“Okay, you are covered in bullshit frosting. You might not have been planning on each other, but that doesn’t make your feelings any less real.”
Ellie frowned, wishing she could argue with Caroline’s assessment, but the truth was she hadn’t been obsessing about their differences as much as she said. Which was bad, because the farther she lowered her guard, the more she started to think that just maybe this was real.
Mike climbed the steps to Ellie’s place, shifting the bouquet in his hand. He’d thought about shaving off his goatee, knowing his mother hated it, but Ellie’s taunting voice had echoed in his head. So, he’d left it and dressed in a casual T-shirt and blue jeans. Almost every year he’d shown up in a shirt and tie, and been uncomfortable as hell, but Ellie had been a guiding influence to him.
He knocked on the door and waited.
Ellie pulled the door open, wearing a navy wrap dress and tan gladiator sandals, her dark hair pulled back in a loose do, thick curls trailing over her shoulders and down her back.
“What, no compliment?” Ellie asked, her glossy lips pulled into a wide smile.
Mike reached out with his free hand and gripped her waist. The beautiful bouquet was dropped and forgotten as he gathered her to him and couldn’t stop tasting her. She was sweet and warm and as she melted into him, he was tempted to back her into the house and tell his family he was sick. Her lips responded hungrily, and he leaned with her against the door jam, pressing their bodies together.
“You two need to get a room!” Jenny hollered from inside.
“Shut up, Jen!” Mike kissed Ellie again, mumbling against her lips, “What’s her problem?”
“I think she’s jealous. Apparently, she likes having you and your culinary skills all to herself.”
Mike had stayed over the past four nights and Jenny seemed to love one of his fried eggs over her meal. Ellie had accused him of spoiling her, but Mike had just responded that the way to a woman’s heart was through her friends.
It had actually surprised him how easily it had been to settle into Ellie’s life. It had actually started giving him ideas, but it was too soon to even contemplate them out loud.
“Well, she is going to have to deal today because we are already running late,” he said.
“Shit!” Ellie pulled away from him and rushed back inside. “I almost forgot the dessert.”
Mike’s eyebrows shot up. “You made a dessert? What kind?”
“I got the recipe on Facebook. It is supposed to be amazing.” She emerged a few moments later with a casserole dish covered in tinfoil. She lifted the corner to show him. “What do you think?”
It looked delicious. He kissed her temple. “I think Mom’s going to love and hate you for ruining her diet.”
He was praying that his mom would behave. She was very type-A and liked everything her way. One Thanksgiving, Gracie had brought a Dutch apple pie she’d made from scratch, and his mom had baked her lattice apple pie anyway. After putting out both, she’d sent Gracie home with the leftovers because neither her nor Mike’s dad liked the crumble top. Mike had felt so bad, he’d taken the pie, and had called his mom on the way home about her anal retentiveness.
It hadn’t worked, though, and he had a feeling today wouldn’t be any different. The only thing he could do was get to his mother first.
He held the door open for Ellie, and she climbed in. Once he got into the driver seat, he tried to be casual. “So, just a warning, but my mom can be—”
“Aw, are you going to tell me you’re a mommy’s boy and no one is good enough for her little boy?”
“Actually, I was going to tell you that she can sometimes be a controlling, rude pain in the ass, and you should try not to take it personally.”
Mike’s words stuck with Ellie as they walked up the steps of his parents’ house. Set in a quiet, secluded cul-de-sac just outside the city limits, it had a perfectly groomed lawn and trimmed shrubs in the front yard. On the door was a wreath made of red, white, and blue ribbon with a sign that said, Let Freedom Ring.
“I like the wreath,” Ellie said lamely. She wished she could rub her sweaty palms on her clothes, but she was holding the glass pan.
“Yeah, I think she has one for every season and holiday. Her favorite store is Michael’s.”
“Is that where you got your name?” Ellie joked.
“Actually, it was for Michael, the archangel in the Bible.”
Ellie blinked at him. “Are you Catholic?”
“I don’t practice, but yeah, they are.”
Ellie had gone to church her whole life, but Catholicism was hard-core.
Mike reached out and rang the doorbell. “Ellie, stop freaking out.”
“I’m not.” Ellie could hear the tip-tap of no-nonsense heels just as Mike’s hand slid over her lower back and squeezed her hip gently.
“Everything will be fine.”
The door swung open and Barbara gave them a wide smile. “Michael, why are you ringing the doorbell?”
“Just in case you and Dad were getting busy,” Mike said. His mother’s smile melted as she swung a disapproving look his way.
Finally, she stepped back and allowed them inside. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Ellie. You may call me Barbara.”
“Thank you for having me,” Ellie said as she stepped inside. “I made an Oreo Delight Cake. Should I put it in the kitchen?”
Ellie could have sworn Mike’s mom grimaced. “How thoughtful. Why don’t I take it from you, and you two can go on in and say hi to Michael’s father? He is manning the grill.”
Ellie let her have the pan and when she disappeared, whispered to Mike, “Okay, what the hell did I do?”
“I told you she was a major PITA.” Taking her hand, he squeezed it. “I’ll take you in and introduce you to my dad and then go talk to her.”
Ellie didn’t like that Mike had to smooth whatever feathers she’d ruffled, but she was trying so hard to be good that she bit her tongue.
They walked around the corner and into the living room where a glass door led to the patio. Ellie saw a man with thinning salt-and-pepper hair and glasses turning meet on a barbecue, and she thought that Mike looked more like his mom than his dad.
Mike slid the glass door open. “Hey, Pop.”
Kent Stevens turned around and Ellie grinned at his Grill Masters Are Sexy apron. “Sorry, son, I didn’t hear you come out. Who’s the pretty thing you got with you?”
Ellie held her hand out, and cringed inwardly at being described as a pretty thing. “Hi, I’m Ellie Willis.”
Kent took her hand, and squeezed it. “It’s good to meet you, Ellie. You’re Edward Willis’s girl, right?”
“Yes, that’s my dad.”
“Used to play golf with your dad once upon a time. A hell of a player.”
“Dad thinks anyone who beats him is a hell of a player because he thinks he’s the best,” Mike joked.
Kent laughed. “Well, not to toot my own horn.”
Then Ellie saw Mike in his dad, and relaxed.
“Please, have a seat and tell me all about yourself.” Kent waved his hand toward the patio furniture and Ellie went to sit down. She noticed that Mike didn’t join her and gave him a look that said, “Don’t leave me alone.”
“I’m just going to check in on Mom, okay? I’ll be right back.”
Ellie couldn’t argue in front of his dad so she sat, vowing revenge.
“You like football?” Kent asked.
“I’ve actually had very little exposure to sports. Except for snowboarding.”
“Ah, well, I love football. Mike could take it or leave it. It used to drive me crazy trying to get him away from his computer to throw a ball around or watch a game, but what are you going to do?” Kent took a long draw from his beer bottle and stood up. “You want a beer?”
“Sure, thanks. Where is your bathroom?”
“Head inside and it is your first door on the left.”
Ellie went inside, and on her way to the bathroom, paused to check out the wall of family pictures. She was smiling at a picture of Mike when he was probably six or seven and missing his front teeth when she heard his tense voice coming from the other side of the kitchen door.
“So what, we can’t have two desserts?”
“I just don’t like not knowing what is in it, that’s all. It looks very rich.”
“Why don’t you ask her then, Mom?”
A flash of anger raced through Ellie as she realized they were talking about her and her cake.
“You’re just being dramatic because you like things your way,” Mike said.
“No, your father doesn’t like a lot of sweets and neither do your aunts, uncles, and your cousins who will all be here within the hour.”
“Well, with all those people, sounds like Ellie did you a favor. You’ll need another dessert to handle that crowd.”
Ellie swallowed hard. Mike hadn’t mentioned his entire extended family would be there. Just the thought of being paraded in front of all of them, and having to perform made her palms sweat again.
“He was a cute little bugger, huh?” Kent asked, making her jump.
Laughing nervously, she nodded. “Yeah, he was.”
There was a knock at the front door and Kent said, “Show time.”
As Ellie tried to calm the tremors in her hands, she wondered why the hell she was so nervous. She had been paraded around by her father her whole life. She could handle one family.
Squaring her shoulders, she breathed easier when Mike walked out of the kitchen and reached for her hand. As warmth traveled from her palm and all the way up her arm to settle around her heart, she responded to the voice in her head.
Because he’s standing beside me.
How had Mike become her rock, her calming influence after a few short weeks? It was as though all her doubts and the scars of the past melted away the minute he walked into the room.
God, she was turning into a romantic, sappy bastard.