Crave (The Gibson Boys 3)

“I’m not being hurtful. And I wasn’t saying that either.” She goes to the cabinets and takes out a container. “I’m just saying I want you to have someone to look out for you. And I definitely want to see some grandbabies from you.”

My heart drops to my knees. I grab the side of the counter and force a swallow. “Maybe someday.”

She thrusts a container at me. “This is for later.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you ignoring that grandbaby comment?”

“I said maybe someday. What did you put in here?” I ask, shaking the lidded box.

“You didn’t eat enough tonight.”

“Did you give me cake?”

“No, but if you come see me tomorrow, I’ll make a lemon pie just for you.”

“You know,” I say, draping an arm over her shoulder, “if I get a girlfriend one of these days, she probably won’t want me coming over this much.”

“I’ll still cook for you and drop it off at your house. And if she doesn’t like that, then she’s not the right one for you.”

“I’ll add that to the checklist.” I wink. “Good luck with Lance.”

She frowns. “A part of me hopes Mariah is pregnant. The other part of me just hopes it’s not bad news.”

“There’s some optimism for you,” I joke. “Why don’t you just hope for something good?”

“That’s what I said.”

“No. You said you hope it’s not bad. That’s not saying you hope it’s good.”

She shoos me toward the door. “Get out of here. You’re giving me a headache.”

“Night, Nana.”

“Love you, sweet boy. And get a haircut before Sunday, will you?”

“I’ll think about it.”

I trudge down the back steps. The sun is almost completely over the horizon, the night sky a deep blue with stormy looking skies. Silver stars begin to sparkle despite the clouds, and I wonder if Hadley is looking at them.

I imagine holding her in my arms as we sit on the swing on my back porch and having her point out all the little shapes she can find in the sky. Stopping in my tracks, I look up at the bright flecks and smile.

“Hey!” Lance calls out as he and Mariah turn the corner of the house. “What are you doing here?”

“Eating your dinner,” I tease. “Hey, Mariah.”

“Hey, Machlan.” A bouquet is in her hand. “How are you tonight?”

“You warming Nana up for something?” I ask, nodding at the bouquet.

“Yeah. No. Maybe?” She looks at Lance. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”

He whirls his girlfriend around and plants a loud, wet kiss on her lips. “It’s not,” he tells her. “Go work your magic with her, and I’ll be inside in a second.”

Mariah grins as she gives me a little wave and heads up the steps to the back door. Lance, though, stops beside me.

“You got Nana all fucked up,” I tell him. “She tried to get me to rat you out.”

“You don’t even know why I’m here.”

I shrug. “True, but I almost made something up just to look like the hero.”

“Well, I should’ve told you so you could get a feel for her reaction before I go in.” He rubs his forehead. “She’s not gonna like this.”

“What’s happening?”

“Mariah and I want to elope.” He cringes as I burst out laughing. “Stop it, asshole.”

“She’s never gonna go for that. As a matter of fact,” I say, cutting off Lance’s attempt at interjection, “she was just trying to get me to settle down.”

He jabs a finger my way. “Now that’s funny.”

“Right?”

He sticks his tongue in the side of his cheek, his eyes sparkling with some dickhead comment that I try to brace myself for.

“How are things with Hadley, anyway?” he asks.

I roll my eyes, my heart clamoring at the sound of her name, and head to my truck.

“Oh, come on,” Lance calls from behind me. “I was just kidding.”

“It’s really not funny.”

“No, it’s not.”

I stop walking and turn to face him. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.”

I sigh. “What made you stop fucking everyone you met and want to just be with Mariah? And elope now, apparent-fucking-ly?”

“Why do you care?”

“Don’t you wonder if you’re rushing this?” I ask. “I mean, why do you need to get married right now? It seems like only yesterday we were looking at some sex app and now you’re getting fucking married?”

Lance just laughs and heads up the porch. “First of all, it was a dating app.”

I lift a brow. “I believe you used it for sex, not dinner parties.”

He looks at the house guiltily before turning back to me. “Will you please lower your voice?”

“Fine. Dating app. But how do we go from that to this?”

“Because if I don’t marry her, someone else will.” He stops and flashes me a smug smirk. “Better think about that, Machie boy.”

I watch him disappear inside the house, his laughter at my expense trailing behind him. As I climb in my truck and buckle in, I pause. Looking up into the night sky once again, I wonder if he might be onto something.