“It’s going to be okay, son,” he reassures me, slapping my shoulder.
“I married your mother without anyone there,” he shares. “When they found us, your grandmother wept the whole time, and I thought Matthew was going to throw me off the balcony.” He laughs. “It can’t get worse than that,” he says, walking into the kitchen.
“I really fucking hope not,” I say to his retreating back, going into my bedroom and reading the pregnancy books. “I really fucking hope not.”
Chapter 24
Jillian
“What time will you be here?” my mother asks, and I can tell she is a bit nervous about having Michael and his family over. I mean, it’s a big deal, and I know she wants to make sure everything is perfect.
“He just texted me that he’s going to be here in ten minutes.” I slip on the gray short-sleeved t-shirt dress that hugs my body. It goes to my knees, and I slip on my white running shoes. I don’t even look in the mirror because I know I’m going to hate the outfit, and I don’t have any time to change. Nor do I have any clothes to change into. “I’ll text you from the car,” I say, and she hangs up at the same time as there is a knock on the door.
I grab the jean jacket that I put on my bed and walk out of my room to the front door. He stands there in dark blue jeans, and a white button-down collar sticks out from under his navy blue sweater. His eyes sparkle when he smiles at me. “Hi,” he greets softly, bending to kiss me. I wait for his lips to hit mine, but instead, he kisses the corner of my mouth.
“Hi.” The word comes out in almost a whisper.
“You look amazing,” he says, looking me up and down.
“You look pretty good yourself,” I reply, grabbing my purse and locking up. He slips his hand into mine, and I don’t pull away from him. When we walk out the front door, I see Max is standing in the middle of the pathway with his phone in his hand.
Alex is in the back seat of the SUV with Allison next to her. They look over at me as we wave to each other.
“Hey,” Max says when he looks up from his phone toward us. He is wearing the same thing as Michael is wearing. “How safe is this neighborhood?” he asks, and I shrug.
“Dad,” Michael scolds as he walks with me to the SUV and opens the passenger door, and I just shake my head.
“I’ll sit in the back, so your father has room,” I offer, walking to the back door and opening it. “Do you want me to sit in the middle?” I ask Alex, who just slides over. When I get in the SUV, the first thing that hits my nose is the smell of flowers. “Hi,” I say, looking around as I take a couple of inhales.
“If you think you smell a flower store,” Alex says, looking at me. “It’s because the trunk is filled with every single flower known to mankind,” she says, looking over at Allison.
“It’s not every flower,” Allison rebuts as Michael and Max get into the car.
“Did you do your Sherlock Holmes investigation, Dad?” Alex says from beside me.
“It’s just not safe that you can just walk in,” Max says, looking over his shoulder at us in the back seat. “There have been seven break-ins this year?” he questions, and I just stare at him.
“How do you know that?” I ask as Michael looks at me and shakes his head.
“It’s a crime-mapping service,” he explains, holding up his phone, and my mouth hangs open.
“Can I get the address so we aren’t late?” Michael tries to change the conversation, and I give him the address.
“If you think this is bad,” Alex says from beside me, “he got a list of sex offenders in the area when I went away to college.” She shakes her head as she looks at her father. “The person who took care of the dorm room actually did a dance when I decided to switch to an apartment the second semester.”
“I don’t know why,” Max says, turning to look ahead.
“You called her weekly for updates,” Alex hisses. “And wanted to know confidential information on other dorm members.”
I roll my lips as I think about how over the top he is, and then I look over at Michael, wondering if he’s going to be the same as his father. We pull up to the house, and I lean forward to open the back door when Michael talks. “Best behavior,” he says in a warning, and I laugh.
I get out, and Alex gets out after me, shaking her head. She is in black jeans with a black and cream button-down long-sleeved silk shirt. Her feet are in sky-high heels. “I can’t wait to touch your bump,” she says to me as she smiles and looks down at it.