15. Maddox
MADDOX
Callen
Fair warning. My wife and your mother are heading your way.
Maddox
Fuck. Thanks for the heads-up.
Callen
Good luck, brother. They’re scary as shit when they’re together.
Maddox
Do they know Lennon is here?
Callen
Like in your house, here?
Maddox
Like upstairs in my bed while I slept on my couch and I’ve got a shit ton to fill you in on, here.
Callen
Dude. You’re screwed. No. I don’t think they know that. But I’m pretty sure my wife is forcing your hand with your mom. Consider it payback.
Maddox
Asshole. Control your wife.
Callen
Listen. I don’t even attempt to control Caitlin. Want me to tell you why?
Maddox
Fuck, no. Stop.
Callen
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Good luck.
Maddox
Yeah. Thanks for nothing.
Callen
I didn’t have to warn you.
My doorbell rings right before the code is punched in, and the door opens.
What the fuck?
Maddox
How long ago did they leave?
I look at the time and groan. It’s barely nine a.m.
Callen
How should I know? Anastasia and I took a nap.
“Maddox,” Caitlin calls out, and I immediately smell coffee and pastries from Mom’s shop, Sweet Temptations. “Oh, Maddox,” she singsongs, and I swear my mother smothers a laugh.
“I thought you said he was expecting us, Caitie,” Mom questions Cait. I drag my hand over my face and sit up as I hear them getting closer. “Maddox? What on earth are you doing on the couch?”
Caitlin’s grin is devious at best when it comes into view, and I know I deserve it for all the crap I gave her last year, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for it.
“Hey, Mom.” I throw the blanket off and grab my jeans from the floor, then pull them up my legs. “What are you doing here?” I drop a kiss on top of her head. She and Caitlin look more like sisters than mother and daughter. Both with dark hair and pale skin. Not to mention tempers you don’t want to cross. Mom’s good with a gun. Cait’s better with a knife. Consider yourself warned.
“We brought you coffee and donuts and that new bagel you like so much.” She holds the bag up in her hand, while Cait pulls one of the coffees from the caddy and offers it to me. “Caitie said you wanted to see us.”
I look between the two women and shake my head.
Might as well go with it.
“I do. I just didn’t realize it was going to be this morning. I thought I’d come see you.” I walk into the kitchen and pull out a stool from the island for her. I probably should make getting furniture a priority.
Caitlin opens a cabinet and pulls out a plate I’m not even sure I knew I owned and starts stacking the pastries.
“Is everything okay, Maddox?” Her eyes dart from me to Caitlin and back. “You’re worrying me. Should I call your father? Did one of your brothers do something?”
Cait snorts, and I swear to God I’m going to get her back for this.
“No, Ma. Everything is fine. I just have some news to share with you guys. I’ll talk to Dad later today.” I don’t bother telling her he probably knows already. At least part of it.
“News?” She perks up. “Good news?”
Meatball trots into the kitchen, followed by Mom and Caitlin both coughing.
Well, shit.
I turn and see Lennon, and fuck me... She’s wearing one of my old, threadbare, green Crucible t-shirts and a short pair of soft shorts. She looks fantastic and awful all at once. Her red hair is damp around her shoulders, and her skin is pale and flushed and bruised to hell.
“Sorry.” She freezes, her nervous eyes darting around the room. “I didn’t realize you had company... I’ll just go?—”
“ Principessa ...” I reach my hand out, and she stares at it like she’s looking at a python ready to strike.
Mom stops breathing like I knew she would with that single word.
One day, Lennon will understand the underlying importance in that one word.
Until then, my family will understand her importance to me.
She takes one slow step toward me, then another until her hand is in mine, and I pull her to me. “I’d like to introduce you to my mother, Amelia Beneventi.”
Caitlin coughs again, and I grin but don’t say anything.
“And I’m his sister, Caitlin.”
Lennon’s hands shake as she moves her hair forward, no doubt trying to hide her battered face, and my blood fucking boils. I’m going to kill him.
“It’s...” Lennon’s chest rises and falls before she seems to pull herself together. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Maddox has been telling me about you both for years.” She looks toward Caitlin and smiles. “Congratulations on the baby.”
My mother stares at me, slack-jawed, before glaring at me. “Well, you have me at a disadvantage. My son likes to be a secretive little shit. But it’s lovely to meet you...” She leaves the sentence hanging, and I realize I haven’t given her Lennon’s name.
I guess it’s got to happen. “Mom, this is Princess Lennon Windsor. My fiancée.”
Caitlin laughs. The little brat literally laughs. “Oh my God. This just keeps getting better...”
Mom looks between the three of us, less than amused. “I’d like to say congratulations, but in typical Beneventi family fashion, there is obviously more to the story than this. Care to fill me in?” She levels me with a glare that would frighten most men. Luckily, I’m not most men. “Now.”
“Maybe I should leave you—” Lennon starts to say.
“Oh, I think you better get comfortable right there, dear. It sounds like you’re about to become part of my family, so you better get used to this—because my children like to act like they were raised by wild animals.” Her focus comes back to me. “Now explain.”
“I asked Lennon to marry me, and she said yes.” I pull out another stool and tug Lennon over to it. But does this woman sit? No. She stands next to me, gripping my hand but not backing down. She’s stronger than she’ll ever realize, but I’ll make sure, one day, she knows it.
“There’s more to it than that,” Lennon offers, and Caitlin snickers.
“You.” Mom’s head spins like she’s possessed in The Exorcist .
Scariest fucking movie I’ve ever seen.
Seriously. Grow up Catholic, going to mass every Sunday, then watch that shit and tell me it doesn’t scare you. I fucking dare you.
“Are you part of this?” she asks my sister, apparently tired of her snark.
“No, ma’am,” Caitlin answers, and it’s my turn to chuckle.
Fuck. Based on the looks Mom and Lennon just threw my way, I’m going to say that wasn’t the right move either.
“How much more?” Mom asks once she calms down.
“She’s pregnant,” I tell her.
“And kind of engaged,” Lennon adds, and Mom squints like she’s trying to see something that isn’t there.
“To my son?” she questions.
“Yes,” I answer as Lennon says, “Not exactly.”
Mom tilts her head and arches a brow. “Well, which is it?”
“I was promised to a bad man. One I don’t love and who doesn’t love me,” Lennon says softly, and Caitlin inches forward as Mom lays her hand over Lennon’s.
“Is he who hurt you?” she asks her.
Lennon closes her eyes and nods while I fight for control.
My mother looks at me, and I have no doubt this won’t be the last of this conversation. “The baby is yours?” she asks me.
“He is,” I tell her, and a smile softens her face. “And we need to get married fast.”
“Courthouse fast?” Caitlin asks.
“No. Flashy fast. It needs to be big. Like the biggest Kingston wedding we’ve seen,” I tell them, and Lennon’s body sways backward into mine, and I wrap an arm around her, hoping she takes the reassurance. “The world needs to know Lennon is married and the baby is mine.”
“Have you spoken to your aunts?” Mom asks. “I’ll call them now. How fast is fast?” She’s looking at Lennon, not me. “I’m sure we can have big and beautiful and splashed all over the news within weeks. Are we thinking eight weeks?”
“Closer to four, Ma,” I tell her and grab a bagel from the plate Caitlin arranged earlier and offer it to Lennon. She follows my hand, sees the plate, and opts for a chocolate croissant instead.
“Okay. Let’s see what we can do,” Mom agrees and pulls her phone from her purse and walks out of the room, leaving me not at all surprised. Amelia Beneventi raised us to never back down from any thing or any one . She’s never met a problem she couldn’t handle or a situation she couldn’t see her children through.
“So... That was my mom.” I press a kiss to the top of Lennon’s head, and she pulls away, glaring.
“So help me God. One day, I’m going to walk into your kitchen and not be blindsided by your family.” She rips the croissant in half and points it at me. “I would’ve liked to have met your mother looking a little nicer than this, preferably in clothes she hasn’t seen her son wear and possibly with a fucking bra on.”
“Ohhhh... I like her,” Caitlin laughs with an evil smile, and Lennon side-eyes her. “Don’t worry. Everyone fears the men in our family. But really, we’re the ones they should be scared of. Welcome to the family.”
I should be scared of this possible friendship. My sister is a little psycho. But there’s no one in the world more loyal. I forgot that once. I’ll never make that mistake again. Lennon would be lucky to have her as a friend, even if Caitlin’s a gigantic pain in my ass most days.
“Thanks, I think.” Lennon pops the croissant in her mouth and moans. “That’s delicious.” Then she’s glaring at me again. “Please tell me you have tea.”
* * *
Lennon
I f I thought my family having an army of people getting things done was impressive, I was wrong. Maddox’s family is the army of people who gets things done. And by the end of Sunday, I’ve met most of them. There are the aunts who own the event planning company. The senator uncle who was nominated to host the wedding in his stunning backyard. His mother’s bakery will make the cakes and desserts. One of the restaurants his father owns will cater the event. And I’ll be meeting with Grace’s sister for my dress, just as soon as I call my best friend first. I refuse to have Grace find out what’s happening before I tell her. I owe her that much.
I’ll fix that today.
According to my mother-in-law-to-be, who is a force of nature, all we need to do is settle on a date. Easy-peasy. Not a term I was familiar with before today.
Not that any of this feels easy.
But what’s the alternative?
All I have to do is look in the mirror or watch the way each member of the family has looked at me today to be reminded of what the alternative is capable of. And that isn’t an option. Not for me or my baby.
“Hey... Are you okay?” Caitlin asks as she kicks off her ballet flats and sits on the edge of the pool next to me, lowering her feet into the water.
“I’m not sure,” I tell her before thinking my words through. “It’s just a lot.”
“My family?” she asks with a beaming smile. “I mean, they can definitely be a whole lot to handle, especially all at once, but can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“You’ll never meet a more loyal group of people. You’ll never feel more safe or more loved than you will be when you’re with the Kingstons and the Beneventis.” She kicks the water with her toes, causing a current to move around our feet. “We’re pretty amazing. We’re all up in each other’s business all the time, but sometimes, it’s actually fun.”
I’m not sure whether I should be relieved that this is normal or disturbed that this is what I should expect. Either way, it’s so completely different from the way I was raised, I’m not sure what to do with it.
“You looked like you were having fun today,” I laugh softly. “I think you’ll like my brother Atticus. He’s a bit of a pot stirrer too.”
“Holy shit,” she gasps and looks at me funny. “I know you’re a princess, but it just dawned on me that Rhys and Atticus Windsor are your brothers.”
I nod slowly. “They are. Not sure if they’ll be able to come to the wedding. I’m not sure...” I trail off, not quite ready to admit all my dirty little secrets just yet. She doesn’t need to know that by doing this, I’m going against my family, and by doing so, I’ll be cut off. My brothers will have to go along with it or they’ll be cut off as well. And as much as Rhys would have liked to have had a chance at a normal life, he’ll be the most amazing king Mornea has ever had one day.
“Your brothers are so fucking hot,” she laughs.
I’ve unfortunately heard that my whole life.
Women love my brothers. They’d die if they saw the slobs they really are.
“Yeah well, yours aren’t so bad either,” I admit. But really, it’s just one. The one who refused to keep his hands off me all day. From the gentle brush of his hand, every time he was near, to the way his hand would rest on the small of my back each time he’d introduce me to another new family member... it was like he was looking for ways to get under my skin. And he did a great job if that was his goal. I’m going to have to remind him our marriage will be in name only. That’s all it can ever be. But that’s a problem for another day. I can only handle so much in one afternoon, and I’ve just about hit my limit.
I lean back on my elbows and let the late afternoon sun soak into my skin.
“Have you called Gracie yet?” Caitlin asks a few minutes later.
“No. I need to,” I admit.
“You should do that soon. My husband is her uncle, and their family is as close as ours. Word travels fast in Kroydon Hills,” she warns as I attempt to piece together the puzzle.
“You guys need one of those string boards to show how everyone in this town is connected. It’s so confusing.” I slowly push up to my feet, careful not to irritate my bruised ribs, and pull my phone from my pocket. “But thank you... for everything today.”
She smiles a beautiful smile and looks so much like her brother in that moment, it takes my breath away. “Listen, I’ve been surrounded by brothers my entire life. I’ve always wanted a sister. And you’re way better than what I was expecting.”
“Thanks, I think.” I hold my phone up and muster what little courage I’ve got left. “I’m going to call Grace.”
Caitlin nods. “I’m going to go say my goodbyes to everyone. I think it’s time for me to go home and thank Callen for putting up with my family.”
“Bye,” I whisper as she walks away. The weight of the phone is heavy in my hand because I hate the idea Grace could be mad at me... but I wouldn’t blame her if she was. I pull up her name and stare at the picture of the two of us I set as her contact photo years ago. It was taken after opening night of our first ballet together. We were babies back then, with no idea what the world had in store for us or how many ways it would kick our asses. My thumb hovers before I finally press call.
“Lennon... Oh my God, I was just thinking of you,” Grace answers after the very first ring, and I almost burst into tears.
“Hey, Gracie...”