Page 132 of The Billionaire Boss and the Barista

He hung back during the mother-daughter reunion. Squeals and warm hugs were exchanged. For a few moments, he let his mind drift. Would his mother have hugged him like that after a long absence?

She would have, right?

Phil’s greetings were warm enough, he supposed. As for his father—nota hugger.

“I’m so glad you made it,” Mariana said, finally breaking away. “I wasn’t sure your boss would give you the days off so I didn’t tell Stella you were coming. She’s going to beso surprised.”

“Oh, well, I have more days than I thought.” Emma twisted to give him a meaningful look, a silent warning not to contradict her. “Garrett, this is my mom. Mom, this is Garrett.”

Stepping forward, he set their overnight bags down on the floor. He stuck out his hand. “Thank you so much for having us.”

Mariana nodded, smiling vaguely as if she didn’t know what to make of him. “You’re welcome. Thanks for bringing my baby home.”

Emma snickered. “I am your grown daughter. Your baby is the birthday girl. Is she still at school?”

“Nope.” Mariana pointed straight up.

Emma beamed and pulled away, twisting and squeezing his arm. “I’m going to say hi to Stella. I’ll be right back.”

She practically ran out of the room. The sound of pounding footsteps rose as if she was running up a flight of stairs. Then he heard her walking directly overhead. A much younger-sounding feminine squeal followed.

Garrett smiled at Emma’s eagerness. When he turned to Mariana, she was watching him, a crease between her brows.

Damn. She looked a lot like her daughter when she did that.

Be harmless. “Thanks so much for letting me tag along with Emma for the weekend.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” she said, scrutinizing him as if he was a puzzle piece that didn’t fit. “Always happy to welcome one of Em’s friends. I hope you’re okay on the cot. I, uh, didn’t expect you to be so tall.”

Well, there went the hope that Emma had prepared her mother since their talk.

Garrett was suddenly seeing a weekend of separate beds in his immediate future. That was not happening. He had to nip this in the bud.

“Thanks. Although, I should add that technically, we’re more than friends. She did mention getting married, didn’t she?”

The smile dropped off Mariana’s face. “Yes. For the health insurance.”

You handle tense negotiations all the time. Be polite but direct.

“It’s, um, it’s not about the insurance anymore. Although we might wait for Emma to come back down before we continue.”

Well, that was smooth.He didn’t want to have this conversation without Emma.

“Oh.” Mariana’s expression softened as she put two and two together. “You’re a real couple. That’s great. Emma hasn’t dated anyone since…”

“Since the accident.”

Mariana looked relieved. “Oh, good. I wasn’t sure you knew.”

He shrugged haplessly, fervently wishing his wife had prepped her mom a little better. “The fact she didn’t remember me was kind of a dead giveaway.”

Mariana crossed her arms, muttering something under her breath. The frown was back. “I thought you looked familiar. Are you from here?”

“I am… you actually worked for my aunt Philomena for a little while.”

Recognition filtered, settling into the grooves of Mariana’s mouth. This was not happiness to see him.

“You’re a Martin,” she said.

---