Page 62 of Takeover

“This one’s already broken in.” She gets on her toes and kisses me with so much longing, you’d think we didn’t wake up in the same bed this morning. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asks me. Tara’s been reluctant about me meeting her mother, and I can’t figure out why that is.

“Yeah, I’m ready to meet your mother. I want to see the woman responsible for creating the woman I love so much. It’s going to be good, baby. Relax.” She smiles against my mouth, but then she pulls away.

“You’ve already met her. Her name is Cheryl Taylor and she’s my mom. Alicia Taylor is Mother.” She rolls her eyes. “And yes, she never changed her name. Even when she remarried, she kept Taylor. Her reasoning was she wanted the same name as her kids, not that her kids matter that much to her, but whatever. That marriage lasted about three years.” She inhales and puts her face in my chest. I hold her closer and try to absorb some of her tension. “What would your parents have thought of me?” she asks.

She pulls away, closes the closet door, and takes off her robe. My body reawakens when I see her in sexy black panties and a matching bra. She gives me a coy look while she puts on her shirt and starts to button it.

“My mom would have loved you.”

“And your dad?” she asks.

I take a deep breath and shrug. “Honestly, I learned a long time ago not to care about what my father thought. He probably would have had plenty to say, and none of them good. His advice to me on his deathbed was to stay married to Lindsay. Not because he was concerned about my family, but because he thought the CEO of Bradford’s needed a family for photo ops. I don’t think he ever got over my mother leaving him. The one time he ever showed any affection to me was when he grabbed my hand and told me that I can have a wife and all the tail I want. ‘Men like us can do whatever we want. We can have whatever we want. Look at me. Being married never stopped me from anything.’ He winked at me like we were old friends. He would take one look at you and tell me to keep this quiet.”

I know the exact moment when Tara gets my full meaning because she visibly recoils at my words. She tries to pull away, but I hold on to her.

“My father was a prolific philanderer. The only things he cared about were gambling and any woman who wasn’t my mother. I’m nothing like him.”

She nods, and I rest my forehead on hers.

“We’ve never discussed that, did we? Other than for a few minutes that time in my apartment. The fact that we are—”

“The fact that we are madly in love? Yeah, we talked about it.” She opens her mouth, but I put my hand over her mouth. “When you have a connection with someone, that doesn’t matter. I love you. You love me, and we both love Vincent. That’s all that matters.”

“Are we being realistic, Ethan?” she asks. She pokes her head out of the closet, lowers her voice, and says, “Remember those comments Lindsay made?” I silence her with a kiss before she can say anymore.

“If you think I give a shit about what Lindsay or anyone else thinks about my personal life, you’re wrong. My life is mine, and I can be with whomever I choose. I choose you.” She melts into my arms and hugs me tight. “For the moment, anyway. Until your awfulness gets out of hand. Then I’ll find someone better. That should take all of three minutes.” She pinches my side, and we both laugh. She gives me another kiss before shooing me away so she can dress.

“But since we’re bringing up things we never talked about, you never answered me about moving in.”

We arrive at a Japanese restaurant located on the Upper West Side. Earl opens the door for us, and I swoop Vincent in my arms. With an arm thrown across Tara, we quickly walk to the front door to escape the bitter wind.

The hostess leads us to a room in the back. There’s only one woman there when we arrive, and I know that she’s Tara’s mother. They’re the same height and coloring. Her mother must be in her late fifties, but she looks younger. The minute she sees us, her brows arch in surprise, but her face breaks into a smile, and she opens her arms to her daughter. Vincent has a sudden bout of shyness and hides his face in my neck.

Tara hugs her, but she pulls away rather quickly. Her mother cups her face and kisses her cheeks.

“I’ve missed you, Tater Tot.” Tara finally smiles and hugs her mom again. “And who do we have here?” She lets go of Tara and comes to stand before me. She has the exact same big, brown eyes as Tara, the only exception being a few crow’s feet. In that moment, I get a glimpse of what Tara will look like in thirty years.

“Mother, this is my boyfriend, Ethan Bradford, and his son, Vincent. Ethan, this is my mother, Alicia Taylor.” Vincent’s face is now attached to my neck. Alicia runs a hand down Vincent’s back, and he giggles, but he doesn’t look her way. She offers me her hand, but she surprises me when she pulls me into a hug.

“Ethan Bradford,” she repeats my name. “Why do I know that name?”

“Everyone knows his name, Mother,” Vickie says as Vickie, Alan, and the rest of the Taylors walk in. Cheryl has her arm through John’s. Right behind them is Bernie, but without her wife. “This istheEthan Bradford. The CEO of BradCo, the world’s biggest discount retailer. The same Ethan Bradford who bought Taylor Toys.”

Alicia’s jaw practically drops to the ground while she processes Vickie’s announcement. She looks from her to me and back to Vickie. Unlike Tara, Vickie dismisses her mother by walking over and hooking her arm through Cheryl’s.

“Is, uh, is this serious?” she asks, grinning wide.

“He’s a demon sent from hell to torture me. So, yes. It’s pretty serious.” When Tara puts her arm around me, I can’t help the laugh that escapes. Her mother laughs as well.

“Your daughter was put on this earth for the sole purpose of making my life miserable. I’ve been in agony since I first laid eyes on her. It’s pretty serious for me too.” I wink at Alicia and she claps both hands together.

“I don’t understand you two,” John says, shaking his head.

“It’s all part of the witty banter, John. The sexual tension,” Bernie says as she rubs her hands together.

“Jesus,” John mutters.

“How wonderful,” Alicia says. She looks around the room and calls out to Alan. When Vincent hears Alan’s name, he finally removes his face from my neck to look around for his friend.

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