Page 29 of Crazy Rich Cajuns

“Hi, Mom,” Bennett greeted, leaning in to kiss his mother’s cheek.

“Hello, Bennett.”His mom gave him a little smile then turned her attention to Kennedy.“Hello.”

“Mom, this is Kennedy Landry.Kennedy, this is my mother, Maria,” Bennett said.

“Kennedy,” Maria Baxter said with a smile as her eyes traveled from the top of Kennedy’s head to the toes of her combat boots.“I’ve heard a lot about you and your family.”

“Hi, Mrs.Baxter!Thank you for inviting me.”Kennedy stepped close and put her arms around the other woman’s shoulders, giving her a quick hug.

When she stepped back, she realized that Maria looked stunned.Okay, not a hugger.Kennedy made note.She wasn’t really, either, but it seemedeveryoneelse was, so she’d decided to make a good impression with Bennett’s mom.

Might have miscalculated that.

“Okay, then.Please come on in.”Maria turned and preceded them into the gigantic house.She wore wide-legged white pants with a baby blue sleeveless tunic, all in a silky material that moved in a flowy way that made Maria seem to glide over the stone porch and through the door.

Kennedy felt Bennett’s hand on her lower back.“Oops,” she said quietly to him.

“Don’t worry about her,” he said.“She’s just surprised to see you.”

Kennedy glanced up at him, then realized what he’d just said.She stopped short and elbowed him in the side.“What?”she hissed.“She didn’t know I was coming?”

“No.”

“Ben—”

“Is everything okay?”Maria asked, turning back in the middle of an enormous foyer.

Kennedy was not pleased with Bennett and shewasgoing to let him know all about it, but she wasn’t going to add any tension to this moment.For some reason, she didn’t want Maria to think there were any problems between them.There was something about how Maria looked at her that made Kennedy feel like she was back up on the pageant stage and something inside her clicked into place.That something that reminded her that at any point she had the option to walk out.She could have walked off that stage and left the whole thing behind her.Whenshedecided to.Which she’d eventually done.

She had been there by choice, andshegot to decide how far she went with everything.

And the same applied here.Maria Baxter didn’t control how long Kennedy was going to be standing next to Bennett.No matter how many times she looked at Kennedy’s tattoos with a mix of curiosity and dismay.

“Everything is fine,” she told Maria with her best pageant smile.Then she looked up at Bennett with that same smile.

He also wasn’t in charge here.He might like to think he was, or that they were partners in deciding how this relationship went or some stupid shit like that, but it wasn’t true.Kennedy got to decide what she did, when she did it, and how she did it.She wasn’t going to become a Leo, hanging onto someone even long after she should let go just because of some crazy idea about romance and love.

“Right, honey?”she added, snuggling closer to Bennett’s side.

Bennett was a smart guy though.Wisely, a flicker of apprehension crossed his face before he nodded.“Right.Totally fine.”

Yeah, he knew that wasn’t true.Which was perfect.

5

Bennett’s handslipped from Kennedy’s back to her ass.

Kennedy gritted her teeth.She supposed that in his mind she should appreciate the obvious signal that they weretogether.If his mother hadn’t already realized what all of this was about.But this all seemed a little on-the-nose.

Maria sighed.“Your grandmother is also staying here.Just so you know that you and Kennedy will not be sharing a room.At least not…obviously.”

“I’m thirty years old,” Bennett said mildly.“I don’t think Grandmother would believe that I was a virgin even if we had Father Brad tell her so.”

“Father Brad would never say that,” Maria said, rubbing the middle of her forehead with one perfectly manicured finger.“He’s been hearing your confessions since you were a little boy.”

Bennett grinned.

Kennedy shook her head slightly.This had hints of Landry craziness to it.They werealmostteasing about sex.She couldn’t quite tell if Maria was actually teasing or was trying to bite back the urge to tell Bennett that he was grounded for the next two weeks.It was as if him being a grown man and immune to her scolding was giving her the beginnings of a migraine.

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