Page 66 of Marriage (Red, White &) Blues

“Our room is across the hall,” Blake said. “The refrigerator and cupboards are full. Help yourself to anything. If we don’t have it, let Maisie know while she’s here. If not, tell me or Glory and we’ll make sure you get what you need.”

“Does Maisie live here?” my mother asked.

I shook my head. “No. Maisie has her own home, where she lives with her husband. We also have Dee. She’s our cook and she’s amazing.” I watched my mother’s eyes light up. “I know,” I gushed. “I’m getting used to it.”

Tomorrow we’d talk to them about the Parkers. I wanted them to live the fantasy tonight.

“Okay, well… I’ll leave you to it,” I said.

Blake caught my discomfort and grabbed for my hand, giving it a squeeze. Then, after giving Carl and my mom a one-armed hug, we left them to it.

Stiffly, I walked into our room, dropping onto the edge of the bed, and huffed.

“What’s going on?” he asked, dropping down to his knees in front of me, peeling off my shoes. Then as he stood, he gripped the hem of my Polish peasant blouse pulling it up and over my head.

“What are you doing?” I asked suspiciously.

“This seems like a naked snuggling kind of night.” When I opened my mouth to protest, he shook his head. “It’s two-fold. You find your calm faster when we’re nakedandyou’re more open to my suggestions.”

I rolled my eyes even as I allowed him to unbutton my jeans. He snagged my panties along with my pants while I unclasped my bra, tossing it onto the floor. I scooted up the bed, climbing under the covers waiting on him to get naked, then he slipped between the sheets next to me.

“Now, tell me what’s on your mind,” he said.

“Blake, I just got my mom back and Carl is a really good guy. He’s everything I’d pick for her since my dad’s passing. They’re getting married. I’m afraid it’s all going to change once they meet your parents.”

“We’ll explain the situation.”

“Really? How do we tell them that your father threw down a credible threat against them if they don’t comply?”

“Like ripping off a bandage—we just do it.”

“They didn’t ask for any of this. I married you, not my mom.”

“Thank god,” he muttered. “Otherwise, this would be awkward.”

“I’m serious. What if this is too much for Carl and he leaves her?”

“He loves your mom.”

“Yeah, but he also has a daughter to worry about. What if I’ve ruined my mother’s life?”

He pressed his finger to my lips to stop me from going any further. “If Carl is the man I think he is, he won’t leave her. The situation sucks, but my father will threaten them not to publicly go against Brock or the family, and then they’ll spin your story to say you grew up in Detroit among some of the Detroit elites like the McCain and Von Dutton families. It’s not a lie.”

I shrugged. “But it’s not exactly the truth.”

“Do you think that matters? He likes to throw his weight around, but neglected to consider how that’d work with the world watching.”

“I’m trusting you,” I replied with a sigh. But he pressed his advantage moving on top of me, and pressed a deliciously languorous kiss to my lips. Totally aromance novelkiss. But Blake didn’t take it past the kissing. Uh… you don’tromance novelkiss a woman and then just leave her wanting.

Because of that, I gripped his face with both hands and said, “If you don’t alpha me right now—” He shut me up with another kiss, hiseroticromance novel kiss, and proceeded to alpha my worries away for the time being.

As a lover, my husband outshined every man on the face of the planet. No one could’ve convinced me otherwise. Five-star Yelp review. Ten out of ten, would do again.

The next morning, Robert Parker called to summon us to a dinner on Friday night.

Until then, we’d show our guests a good time. Since neither had ever visited Vermont before, we showed them all the state had to offer. Then we arrived at Friday. I’d taken my mother andCarl shopping so as not to put up with Parker judgment. Carl, understandably, became skeptical and I knew it was time.

“Listen,” Blake started, “we didn’t know how to tell you this, but don’t expect a warm welcome.”

---