Waking up in Jack’s arms again after such a long hiatus filled me with more joy than a kid on Christmas morning. But when he woke up and told me he had to get right back to the restaurant, my heart fell.

“Why? It’s Sunday,” I whined like a petulant child stomping her feet. “I thought we could spend the day together. Or at least the morning?” I hoped, staring into his handsome face.

He looked at me and ran the back of his hand down the side of my face. “Stuff to do. Things that didn’t get done on Friday and Saturday still have to get done, honey. A few hours should do it, but I have to buckle down and catch up or my staff will have my balls on a platter.”

“That sounds unpleasant.” I frowned. “Should I go to your house and clean up a bit while you’re gone?” I asked, cringing at the mess we left there yesterday.

Shaking his head, he said, “Nah, I’ve got people on it. But thanks for thinking of it.” The sides of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. His face looked tired. I didn’t know what time he got in last night, but it was quite late.

“Come with me if you want?” he asked, looking deeply into my eyes. It seemed like he genuinely wanted me to go, but what would I do there?

“Okay, can I help with something while I’m there?” Maybe that way he’d get his work done faster, and then we’d still have a good portion of the day left.

His smile confirmed that he was more than all right with that idea. “Yeah, you can give me a hand. There’s no shortage of shit to do in a restaurant, trust me.” He picked up my hand and kissed it. God, I loved it when he did that. My heart just about burst.

After that, I showered and got ready for the day. Jack had my coffee ready in a to-go mug—made just how I liked it. We left for the restaurant, and not to be a chauvinist or anything, but I loved it when he drove. The way he took control of the car was sexy as hell. The man loved his vehicles, you could tell by the way he became one with whatever wheel he was behind. Every so often, he would look over at me and grin, checking in with me.

Walking into Jack’s restaurant again after all this time felt odd. To be back at the place where I found out he had an ex-wife and a daughter, a completely hidden life that he hadn’t shared with me, gave me the chills. But I had forgiven him, and I meant it. His apology couldn’t have been more heartfelt. And besides all that, Ava was so sweet. The way she acted around me, I was pretty sure she liked me, too.

God, when she was wailing about me curling her hair, my poor cold heart broke right in half. I knew she was just three years old, and Audrey told me that three was worse than two, so I wasn’t totally oblivious. Kids had temper tantrums. I got it. But when that adorable little angel was screaming for me, well, it was just different.

Jack had made good on his word and found me multiple jobs to do while he muttered and slammed things around in his office. From his comments, I gathered that his staff had been less than receptive to him hanging out with us instead of being at work. Although I felt bad for them, I felt freaking great for me. For us.

About two hours into our time there, Jack’s phone rang. Yeah, I was curious, but no, I wasn’t about to go snooping. And I didn’t have to, because roughly ten seconds after he answered it, he tromped through the kitchen, saying, “I’m here, yeah. Give me a second.”

He seemed agitated, so I followed him out to see if there was anything I could do. An older woman stood at the front doors, smiling and waving to him. Jack opened the door with a, “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” The woman waltzed right in and hugged him.

“Is that any way to talk to your mother?” she scolded, and my heart beat faster. Shit. It was probably too late for me to slink back and hide in the kitchen. They’d see me for sure, and I’d look like an even bigger idiot than I already did. So, I stood there like a third wheel.

Finally, Jack turned around and said, “Ma, this is my girlfriend, Harper. She came in to help me out.” His arm swept out to me, and he cocked his head. Hmm, he was summoning me. Like a good little girlfriend, I walked up and offered my hand.

“Nice to meet you.” I’d love to have said, “Jack has told me all about you” or “Jack has said so many nice things about you,” but that would’ve been a lie. He’d told me diddly-squat about her. Anytime I asked him about his family, he gave me the shortest answer known to mankind or avoided it altogether.

Obviously, the man had issues with these people. He’d met my family, willingly, and had only kind things to say. He was clearly insane. My people were crazy and annoying and in your face, but they weren’t mean. And from the way Jack acted, it gave me the feeling there was bad blood there for a reason. That made me sad for him.

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Elaine,” she said, studying me like a hawk. For a moment, I wanted to say, “Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” but I restrained. “She’s beautiful, Jacky,” she added and peered up at him with all the pride a mother could muster.

“I would have made something if I’d known you were stopping by,” he said, being a bit short with her. The way he said it, I guessed he wasn’t exactly pleased she was here.

“No, no, I didn’t want to bother you. I just saw your car in the parking lot, and since I needed to talk to you anyway, I pulled in,” she said, her eyes locking on mine. The look on her face seemed a bit conspiratorial, but what did I know?

Jack breathed out heavily from his nose and put his free hand on his hip. “What’s up?”

She cleared her throat and straightened up. “It’s my birthday next weekend, and I wanted to invite you and Harper to come,” she said. Her hands were playing with her purse, like she was nervous. “It’s my sixtieth, and I’d like my whole family together for it. Please, Jacky? It’s been so long, and this is a special birthday.” The look of hope in her eyes was heart-wrenching, and I guessed that her whole family didn’t normally show up for her birthdays. Hmm.

“Ma, we talked about this already,” Jack said, holding me even closer now, like he was trying to protect me from some invisible threat.

“Harper, talk some sense into my boy here. Tell him how important this birthday is for me. Sixty is nothing to sneeze at. You would come, too, right? Jacky can show you off to his siblings.” She smirked. Now how in the world was I supposed to answer that?

“Um, I would love to come, Mrs. McCallister,” I said, giving the only possible reply. What was I supposed to say? That I didn’t want to attend my boyfriend’s mother’s birthday party?

“Great. It’s decided. See you Saturday afternoon. I’ll text you the details.”

“Ma, I just don’t think—” he said in low voice, looking defensive.

“One birthday, Jacky. Just one. For your mother.” Oh, she was good. Jack made a noise deep in his throat. I knew that sound, and he was not impressed.