Unconditional

“That’s probably your brother,” Grant says and I immediately prepare for the worst. Grant is the manager at the largest bank in the city, has no kids of his own, has never been married, and has showered my mother with the love and attention that she didn’t get from her first marriage. They’d been living together since I left home, and I’m glad that my mom has someone to share her life with. Henry isn’t as accepting as I am, and the two have butted heads on more than one occasion.

“Can you two keep your shit together today?” I grit out as I take a sip of beer, indulging in alcohol since I have no plans to leave the house today. I work Christmas and New Year’s, so Thanksgiving is the day I took off unless there is an emergency.

Grant rubs a hand over his forehead. “I don’t have it in me for your brother’s dramatics today.”

“Careful,” I warn.

“Why can’t he be as cool as you, huh?” He pushes a hand through his full head of gray hair and lets out a groan.

Henry walks into the living room and immediately sits in the adjacent recliner without even a look in Grant’s direction. “Lions were winning when we left, they still have it?”

“Yeah, but Philly is on the three-yard line.”

“Fuckers,” Henry grunts.

“Hey, Henry.” Grant nods towards him and Henry looks at me before giving him a crooked smile.

“Grant.” He nods.

I roll my eyes at his petulance. “Where’s Aria?” I haven’t heard her high-pitched giggle once, so it’s safe to assume she isn’t here yet.

“Oh, she’ll be here later, she wanted to go to the gym first.” He’s waves me off as he continues to stare at the screen, his eyes not looking at me once while he talks, allowing mine to divert to the kitchen in hopes of catching a passing glimpse of Maddie.

When Maddie and I are in the same place, I’ve always been hyper-aware of where she is at all times. In the beginning, it was because I was so paranoid that something would happen to her. Child Protective Services was around quite a bit in the beginning. Not because they thought I was a poor choice, but they wanted to make sure that I was the best choice for Maddie. With me being a police officer, as well as Aria’s constant presence, not to mention the fact that it was obvious that Maddie had formed a connection with me, eventually

they backed off, but I was still scared shitless over raising a kid.

As she got older, that paranoia morphed into a sense of protectiveness. And now I feel that protectiveness morphing again into something else.

Possessiveness.

I want her near me. I want to feel her skin under my fingertips. I want her sitting in my lap, tucked under my chin as I rub her back. I want to feel her lips tracing my neck and her hands playing with my hair.

I look at Henry and Grant who are staring at the screen, and suddenly my need to have eyes on Maddie overwhelms me and I’m off the couch. “Want anything while I’m up?”

Grant shoots me a look that says you’re leaving me alone with him? Henry shoots me a similar look but more along the lines of: I’m going to fuck with him while you’re gone. I sigh and shake my head before heading into the kitchen.

Luckily, my mom has her back to me as she prepares the pie she’s making, so my eyes are free to roam over Maddie. I trail my eyes up the back of her legs and her perfect round ass that make my hands flex on their own accord as I remember gripping it last night. I wish I could see her sweet face, her lips, that tiny dimple that pokes out, her button nose, and those blue eyes, but her back is to me as well. She must feel my gaze because she turns around and meets my eyes instantly.

“Nothing is ready yet.” She cocks her head to the side and puts her hands on her hips. I can see the smile in her eyes and the one pulling at her lips, but luckily, her voice breaks me of my trance of openly staring at her just as my mom spins around.

“We’ll be ready to flip the turkey in a few though, so hang on.” She tells me as she holds up a finger.

I’ve managed to keep it together for the most part until Maddie goes upstairs to change, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to follow her. I don’t move from the spot and actually breathe a sigh of relief when she comes bouncing back down the stairs in jeans that look like they’re painted on her and a black turtleneck. A smirk finds my face as I realize why she has to cover up her neck, and I swear she shoots me a wicked look when our eyes briefly meet.

The sound of my front door opening reminds me that Aria isn’t here, and I smile knowing that Maddie will be thrilled to see her. And I need another reason to not get reckless. Aria would sniff that out in a second. Maybe I could pull the wool over everyone else’s eyes, but Aria is perceptive and she can read Maddie like a book like only a mother could.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” I hear squealed from the kitchen.

I hear my mother meet her with equal enthusiasm, reminding me to start counting how many drinks she’s putting away, but my ears immediately perk up when I hear her ask “Who’s this?”

Aria brought someone? My eyes immediately go to Henry, but he must not have heard because his eyes are glued to the television like he didn’t just hear his wife’s voice.

“This is Penelope…” I’m off the couch in an instant.

No fucking way. I’ll kill her.

I immediately enter the kitchen to see Aria and the girl I went on the date with last week. My eyes pass over them both and immediately find Maddie who’s staring at Penelope like she just might drive a carving knife through her.