I’m not nervous.
But I might be a little scared as we pull into my mom’s driveway. I mean, I’ve got this. I know I love Avery, I know I want this, but my mom might freak out and I don’t know how I feel about that. I hold what my family thinks so highly in my heart, so if she doesn’t approve, I’ll be crushed.
But she will.
Yeah. She will approve.
Parking my car behind hers, I turn it off and let out a long breath.
“Jace, I’m scared shitless your mom will shoot me.”
I look over at Avery. Her face is panicky and I laugh. “Please, the only way she’ll kill you is smothering you with kisses.”
I hope.
Giving me a deadpan look, she shakes her head. “Why are she and Lucy home?”
“They somehow worked their schedules to take the same day off. They’re weird,” I laugh, pushing open my door and getting out as she does the same.
“So what you’re saying is you’re taking me into a house with two women who love you very much and you’re gonna tell them we just got married and we’re pregnant? Yeah, this is no big deal.”
I laugh, wrapping my arms around her. “Lucy knows, and come on, we have nothing to worry about.”
“You’re insane. I’m shaking in my boots over here.”
Grinning, I squeeze her into my side. “We are good.”
I think.
Walking up toward the door, I try to settle my beating heart as we hit the porch, but then the door opens and my mom is filling it, eyeing us.
“Hey, guys. I didn’t know you were coming by,” she says, her gaze dropping to me. I smile extra big, the kind of smile I shot her when I was the one who broke the window but didn’t want to get into trouble, even though Jude and Jayden threw me under the bus. But it always works. “Oh Jesus, what did you do?”
Or it did.
“Huh?” I go in for a hug, but she presses her hand to my chest.
“Oh no, don’t play dumb. What did you do?”
“What? Why did I have to do something?” I ask, buying time, but she glares.
“Jace Ryan Sinclair, you tell me right now what you did,” she demands, her gaze cutting to Avery before turning back to me. “You don’t smile at me like that unless you think I’m gonna get mad. Now out with it.”
I see Lucy standing in the living room, watching with her hands on her hips. This is going to be fun. Not. Clearing my throat, I bring Avery into my side. “Why don’t we go inside?”
“Why don’t you tell me what is going on?”
“Mom, let them in. Geez, you’re acting like a crazy,” Lucy calls, coming to my rescue and pulling me into the house. Her eyes search mine, and I smile. In return, she smiles back.
“Why am I letting you live here?” I hear my mom ask as she shuts the door.
“’Cause I clean and don’t tell your sons that you’re shacking up with their coach… Oops, sorry, am I homeless now?” Lucy teases as she wraps an arm around Avery.
Meanwhile, I’m gagging.
“Lucy, really?”
“Hey, you woke me up early,” she says as my mom glares at her.