“Then your mother and I did our jobs. Whatever we instilled in you back then, what you rejected because you didn’t understand, you now accept. With age comes wisdom. Only by living life can you figure out what’s truly important.”
“Do you see why I fell in love with this man?”
His mother’s voice took Grey by surprise. He’d been so focused on listening to Ricardo’s wise words he hadn’t heard the women join them. He glanced at Avery and his mom, wondering how much they’d heard. From the dampness in his mother’s eyes, too much. And maybe enough.
“You chose well, Mom,” Grey said to her for the first time.
“I know.” She smiled and kissed her husband’s cheek. “There’s something to be said about marrying for love,” Susie said. “And learning from past mistakes. Can we move on and just enjoy our day together?” she asked.
Grey nodded, knowing he’d learned so much from these two people in front of him and hoping he could use it to make his life as happy as theirs obviously was.
He rose and walked over to Avery, slipping his hand into her smaller, softer one. “Everything good?”
She nodded. “Your mom’s amazing. And that kitchen? Grey! It’s so great. State-of-the-art.”
“It’s the one thing she let me gut and do from scratch in the house. She loves to cook.”
“Well, you should see what she has ready to put on the grill. You’d think she had a week’s notice that we were coming. And the desserts? To die for.”
He grinned. “That’s my mom.”
The rest of the evening passed quickly. They reminisced about Avery and Grey in high school, bringing him back to the reason he’d returned home. The woman who was currently helping his mother bring dishes into the kitchen from the patio, where they’d eaten dinner. In the short time he’d been back, he’d realized Avery still understood him in ways no one else did. She saw the fragile boy beneath the rock star persona and supported him. That was what Avery meant to him, did for him.
The chemistry was a bonus and had only grown stronger over the years. Watching her in that sexy dress, her hips swaying as she walked, her cleavage covered due to the higher halter but hints of her full breasts teasing him beneath the material, Grey decided family time was over.
“We need to get going,” Grey said, rising to his feet.
“Grey! I haven’t finished helping your mom yet.” Avery shot him a chiding gaze that only served to make him hotter.
“You two go. We’re finished here,” his mother said.
Glancing at the mostly cleaned table, Avery nodded. “If you’re sure.”
“You two have better things to do than hang out with the old folks. I’m just so happy you came by.”
“And I’ll come again, Mom. I promise.” He rose and hugged his mother tight. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too.”
Grey said good-bye to his stepfather, and Avery made her rounds too. Finally, they were in the car, driving home.
“Things went well, yes?” Avery asked.
“Very.” Although he and his mother hadn’t had an in-depth conversation, she’d heard what he’d said to Ricardo, and in his heart, Grey knew she understood how he felt.
“Someone was in a hurry to leave though.” Avery turned her head, and he caught her gaze for a moment before returning his focus to the road.
“And you wonder why?” He placed a hand on her knee and inched his fingers up her silken skin, reaching slowly higher until he encountered lace.
He wondered what color it was, and he accelerated, wanting to find out faster.
“Grey,” she said, her attempt at reprimanding him turning into a moan as his fingers slid over her sex, and he discovered her panties were already damp.
“Problem, sugar?” he asked, stroking the lace covering her slick, hot flesh, and his cock jumped inside his shorts.
“You need to drive,” she said, her voice hoarse with desire.
He swallowed a moan of his own. “Good thing for you I can do two things at once. And do them both well.”