Thank god I decided to get a little fancy in choosing my outfit this morning, because right now, as I stood behind the counter of Sass, I watched Dee cross the street with a woman who looked near identical to her but about twenty years older. Without a doubt, I was looking at Ben’s mother.

“Sweetheart, talk to me.” Ben’s voice echoed in my ear, and to be honest, I had totally forgotten I’d called him.

“Where are you?” I stammered, with my eyes still locked on my impending visitors.

“What’s going on?” he asked, sounding on alert and clearly picking up on my rising anxiety levels.

“I think I’m about to meet your Mom,” I whispered in disbelief. “Dee is about to walk in here with a lady that looks like her, so I’m assuming it’s your Mom. Or do you have another sister you failed to tell me about.”

“Fuck,” he hissed, and it did not help this situation one bit. “Dee wants to invite you to her place to watch football, and she made it clear that she wanted to be the one to invite you. I thought she’d call.”

“What?” I shrieked, and sucked in a breath as Dee and his mother stepped up to the door. “I’m about to meet your mom and you aren’t here. I need—oh god, I’ve got to go.”

I ended the call without saying goodbye and plastered what I hoped was a friendly smile on my face. I could do this. So what if I was about to meet the mother of the man who was giving me the hottest sex of my life. What could go wrong? Dee’s smile was huge, while Ben’s mother’s face remained soft as they headed toward me. Dee looked at me like we were old friends; however, the only time I’d met her was when I thought she was Ben’s woman.

“Hey, Sasha,” Dee said sweetly when they reached the counter. “Mom and I were doing some shopping and thought we’d pop in.”

“Hey Dee.” I smiled before turning my attention to her Mom. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Sasha, welcome to my store.”

Her eyes shimmered with emotion, and as she opened her mouth to speak, the bell above the front door chimed. Instinctively, I looked to welcome my new customer. My heart jumped into my throat at the sight of Ben stalking through the door. He was here. Oh my god, he’d come to my rescue. His gaze drifted from Dee and his mom, before locking onto mine. After giving me the once over, which I was quickly realizing was his unique way of making sure I was okay, he looked back to Dee and shook his head slightly while raising a brow in her direction.

He marched straight to me, slipped behind the counter, and stood so the heat of his body hit my back. With a soft touch, he moved my hair from my shoulder and touched the side of my neck with a light kiss, before whispering in my ear, “You okay?”

How could two words send a wave of both calm and confusion through me at the same time?

I looked over my shoulder at him and nodded in response. He gifted me a smile that sent a shiver spiraling down my spine.

“Dee, seriously?” Ben scoffed, and the amused tone he used made his Mom smile. Her eyes came back to me, before dropping to where Ben had wrapped his arm around my waist.

Damn it.

“What?” Dee asked innocently, but her face screamed that she knew there was nothing innocent about this visit. “Mom wanted to check out Sasha’s store. Dad got a bonus at work, so Mom has some money to spend.”

“Your money isn’t worth anything in here,” I said quickly, and three similar sets of eyes shot to me.

Ben’s body tensed against me.

“Oh,” his mom said softly with a look of disappointment flashing across her face. “I thought I might be able to afford a candle or something.”

She diverted her attention toward Ben, and as she looked at him, it hit me how what I said could have been taken. I tried pulling away from Ben’s embrace, but he had me locked in. Talk about making a shitty first impression on your . . . well, whatever Ben’s was mother.

“Oh my god, no no, Mrs. Hunt. I meant I don’t want your money at all. Like, I don’t want you to come here and spend money.”

“Sasha,” Ben warned close to my ear, and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. His face was hard and his gaze strong.

I was an idiot.

I took a deep breath and tried for the third time. “What I mean is that I don’t want to charge you for anything. I want you to look around and find whatever you want and take it home. You too, Dee,” I said softly. “But only if you want or if you find something you want. My store isn’t everyone’s style. Some people say it’s too girly.”

“I couldn’t do that,” she said quietly, and her eyes again went soft. “And your store is gorgeous, Honey. I always look in when I’m walking down Main Street, and I’ve been meaning to come in for a while now.”

My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest.

“And seeing that neither of my children have introduced us, I’ll do it myself,” she continued with a playful dig. “I’m Dianne, Ben and Dee’s mom.”

“I’m Sasha,” I said, introducing myself to her for the second time today.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Sasha.”

My heart now slammed in my chest begging for freedom. Ben had told his family about me? What could he have told them? I looked at him over my shoulder and gave him wide eyes, and he gave me a smile in return.

“Come on, Mom, let’s go choose something.” Dee laughed, and I stopped eye balling her brother and looked back at her. “If you’re free on Sunday, come to my house with Ben. We cook way too much food and sit on the couch and watch football. I have no clue what I’m watching, so it would be good to have another girl there to gossip with. Unless you want to watch the football.”

“We’ll be there,” Ben answered for me and gently squeezed my waist.

“Awesome. The kids are excited to meet Sasha.”

Kids?

Dee and Dianne left the counter and walked straight to the candle display, and I took a deep breath. Ben twisted me around quickly so we were chest to chest. My arms circled his waist and his hands rested on my lower back.

“You did good,” he murmured. “Expect to see Mom a lot now that she’s met you. But, Sasha, you are going to have to let her pay for things. She’ll want to do that. Dad wants to meet you too, and he’ll have an issue with you not letting Mom pay for the shit she brings home.”

“But I don’t want their money.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to buy their acceptance.”

Buy their acceptance? What the hell? I sucked in a breath as I felt my body tense and heat. His words were a massive slap in the face, and I needed distance. I stepped out of his arms and took two steps back.

“I’m not trying to buy anyone’s acceptance, Ben. They are important to you, so I thought I’d do something nice for them. I’ve never had the chance to use the term ‘family discount’ before, so I thought I’d give that to your family.”

He sighed and regret flashed in his eyes. “Sweetheart.”

“You should go. I have work to do.”

I didn’t wait for him to speak, I just transformed into Sasha Hamilton, Sass Owner. Putting my shoulders back, I put a grin on my face and crossed the store to where his mom and sister were both looking at me with varying degrees of confusion.

It was only when I was handing his mom a blackberry-scented candle that I heard the bell over the door chime, and I knew he’d left.