Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Leo
“Mara, you’re so beautiful. I wonder if your kids will get your pretty brown eyes.”
I sigh softly, squeezing Mara’s hand. My parents just met Mara five minutes ago, and my mom’s already dropping hints about our future children.
“You’re so sweet, thank you,” Mara says. “Everyone says I look just like my mom.”
“Finally settling down, Leo?” my Uncle Rob asks, shaking my hand in greeting. “It’s about time. Puck bunnies keep your bed warm, but they don’t have dinner waiting when you get home.”
“Hey, Uncle Rob.”
It’s the first time I’ve brought a woman home, and my family is excited to say the least. Family members who weren’t supposed to come until tomorrow decided to come early since Mara and I won’t be here then.
My parents’ modest ranch is loud and festive, with sixteen extended family members here.
Mara’s meeting my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my cousins’ kids.
“What do you do for a living, Mara?” my dad asks.
While the kids play, the adults are congregated in the living room and kitchen, talking and snacking on food my mom has out. When I told her Mara and I were coming for Christmas Eve, she quickly planned a full celebration. My dad smoked two briskets and Mom made a bunch of sides and appetizers.
“I’m an assistant state’s attorney. I work in the traffic division.”
“An attorney?” My dad gives me an approving look. “So she’s Smart and beautiful.”
“She’s also funny and compassionate,” I say. “I’m still not sure what she sees in me.”
“Well, you’re rich,” my cousin Chelsea says.
That gets some weak laughs. I know Mara must be working overtime to hold back the quips that usually fly out of her mouth after comments like that.
My parents don’t serve alcohol in their house, so she’s meeting my family without the assistance of wine.
I have a bottle of her favorite wine packed in my suitcase for later.
We told my parents we’re staying at her parents’ house tonight and her parents we’re staying at my parents’ house tonight.
But really, we’re staying at a hotel. Overnight would be too much for the first time meeting each other’s families.
“So what’s up with your knee, Leo?” my cousin Tony asks.
“Torn meniscus. I’m rehabbing it.”
“Are you getting surgery?”
“As of now, no. But if rehab doesn’t work, I might have to.”
He furrows his brow. “That’s gotta be rough, missing games.”
“It is?”
“Do you still get paid for games you don’t play in?” Chelsea asks.
“Yeah.”
My mom comes in and sits on the arm of the recliner my dad is sitting in. She does that when she’s busy in the kitchen, but eager to be included in the living room conversation.
“So, Mara, how did you and Leo meet?” Mom asks.
Mara smiles at me. “We’ve known each other for a while. My friend Suki married Leo’s friend Carter, and we all spend a lot of time together.”
“Was it love at first sight?”
I squeeze her hand, rubbing my thumb over her knuckles. “Not exactly.”
“I didn’t fully appreciate Leo at first,” Mara says.
Chelsea laughs hard at that. “Oh, I love it. Did you think he was arrogant? He comes off arrogant.”
I flick a glare at my cousin. The two of us aren’t even close, but she likes to think she’s an expert on me. I’ve gotten her great seats to every Crush game she’s ever asked for tickets to, sometimes paying for them because I couldn’t get them from the team, and she’s still not all that nice to me.
“I just didn’t know him yet,” Mara says, giving me an affectionate look. “To know Leo is to love him.”
My mom puts her palms on her chest, smiling. “I knew Leo would be smart and wait for the right woman. You two make such a beautiful couple.” She presses her lips together before blurting, “Do you want kids, Mara?”
“Mom.” I give her a pointed look. “That question’s not appropriate right now.”
Mara gives my hand a squeeze. “I don’t mind. I do want kids. Suki and Carter have three girls and I love them to pieces. So does Leo.”
“Oh, a little girl,” my mom says wistfully. “I’m a mom of two boys. I can’t imagine. The little dresses and pigtails ...”
“Slow down, Marie,” my mom’s sister Maggie says. “We just met her.”
Mom laughs. “I know. Sorry, Mara.”
Mara waves a hand. “It’s okay. My mom feels the same way.”
Mom gets up from the arm of the chair. “I’d love to hear all about your parents. Do you mind coming into the kitchen so we can talk while I finish up some food?”
“Of course.” Mara stands. “One of my best friends is a chef at his own restaurant. I don’t know a lot about cooking, but I’m a good assistant.”
While the rest of the family in the living room talks, I keep one ear on the conversation in here and another on the kitchen. I can’t make out what my mom and Mara are saying to each other, but there’s a lot of laughter.
My mom deserves this. She’s proud of me, but I have to travel so much that I don’t make it home a lot. I’m going to invite my parents to come see me more often so Mara can get to know them, and vice versa.
No games. Mara and I are on the same page about that. I finally found someone I’m crazy about, and I’m not wasting any time on games.
The next morning, Mara and I are in bed, her cheeks flushed and her smile satisfied.
“Merry Christmas,” she whispers.
“Merry Christmas,” I whisper back, kissing her.
“I got you something.”
“What?” I lower my brows, brushing a section of hair away from her face. “You’re my gift, babe. You’re all I need.”
Her smile is a mix of shy and amused as she says, “I’m giving it to you now.”
She gets out of bed and I admire her curves as she digs through her suitcase. We road-tripped to my parents’ house, but I’ve chartered us a flight to go see her parents. It’s costing a mint, but it’ll be worth it for the time it’ll save us.
“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I happen to love it.”
“That’s all that matters,” I quip.
“Close your eyes.”
I fold my hands behind my head, propping myself up and closing my eyes.
“Okay, open.”
I squint; the lighting in the room dim. She’s holding an article of clothing out in front of her.
“Is that a hockey sweater?”
“Here.” She walks over to switch on a lamp, then holds it out in front of her again. “Cuyahoga County, which I work for, has a county seal, and that’s what this is.”
It’s embroidered on the front of the jersey, just like my team logo is on mine.
She flips the sweater around. It says “Torres”—her last name—and has the number sixty-nine.
“I got you a jersey with my name on it,” she says. “Just like I have one with yours.”
I laugh heartily and sit up. “Babe. That’s fucking awesome. I love it.”
“You do?”
“I do. I’ll wear the hell out of that.”
“I had to put my favorite number on it.”
“I noticed.” I slide to the side of the bed and get up, walking over to kiss her. “Thank you, babe. I love it.”
I take it from her hands and hold it up in front of my chest. She smiles, looking giddy.
“Dex and Harry said you’d pretend to like it, but Suki said you’d really like it.”
I put it on.
“Oh, I love it!” she says. “I’d take a picture, but your dick’s hanging out, so let’s wait on that.”
I show her the back, and she squeals with excitement. “The world will know you’re all mine when you wear that.”
“They’ll know all the time, because I’ll tell everyone I see.”
I go over to my suitcase and take out a small box and a larger one, passing her the smaller one first. “For you.”
Her smile drops away. “Leo, no. What you did for my parents was all the gift I could ever ask for.”
“Just open it. This is something I picked out for you myself, and it’s okay if you don’t like it, it’s exchangeable.”
My heart hammers nervously as she opens it. I bought it on my recent road trip to New York, and I showed Suki a picture before I finalized the purchase. She said she thought Mara would love it.
“Oh my God.” Mara has the blue Tiffany box unwrapped. “You shouldn’t have done this.”
“Open it.” It’s all I can do not to grab it and open it myself.
She flips open the box and inhales sharply. “Oh, Leo. Oh wow.” Tears shine in her eyes when she looks up at me. “It’s so beautiful. You picked this out?”
I nod. It’s a rose gold necklace with a circular pendant, the pendant covered with little diamonds. Mara doesn’t wear earrings, and Suki said she doesn’t like bracelets, so I went with a necklace.
“I’ve never even seen anything so gorgeous,” she says. “Is this really happening?”
“I’ll help you put it on in a second, but first—” I pass her the larger box.
She shakes her head. “Leo, seriously. I know you have a lot of money, but I don’t want you to spend so much on me. This is just us, it’s not about money.”
“I got you these gifts because I wanted to. I’m so damned happy with you, Mara, and that’s a big deal for me. You’re a big deal. And I could barely stand knowing this was in my suitcase, because I wanted to give it to you early so much. Now open it.”
She gives me a quick kiss. “I’m happy, too. You’re amazing.”
This gift is a sure thing, because Suki chose it. When I asked her what I could get Mara that would knock her socks off, she sent me a link to this.
“No!” Mara cries when she sees the logo on the cardboard box. “No, you didn’t!”
She flips off the lid and pushes the tissue aside.
“My dream black Louboutin booties,” she says softly. “This is ... I’m ...” She takes out one of the booties and sniffs it. “This is what heaven smells like.”
“Suki said you’ve been wanting those.”
She shakes her head. “I never actually thought I’d own a pair of Louboutins. I can’t even afford the used ones.”
Setting the box on the bed, she hugs me. “I’m overwhelmed. Thank you so much.”
“We’re just getting started, babe. There are many more good times ahead for us.”
“We couldn’t have asked for anything more in a daughter,” Mara’s dad says to me later that morning. “She’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Nick Torres isn’t what I expected. He’s paralyzed from the waist down, but I forgot about that within the first ten minutes of talking to him. He’s wearing a Wounded Warrior Project baseball hat, a flannel and jeans. His eyes are warm and he’s easy to talk to.
“You and your wife have done an incredible job,” I say.
After we finished eating and exchanging gifts, Nick asked to talk to me privately. He wheeled his chair into a sunroom off the kitchen, closing the double glass doors so we could talk alone.
“Why do you love my daughter?” he asks me.
“She challenges me and supports me. I don’t know how she manages to do both those things at once, but she does. She makes me laugh, and she stands up for people who can’t stand up for themselves. She’s strong, but she lets herself be vulnerable enough to need me. Just like I need her.”
He nods, an emotion I can’t place in his eyes.
“Life doesn’t always go like you think it’s going to.” He gestures at his legs. “I never saw this coming. But my wife—she never doubted me. She thinks I’m strong, so I am.”
I feel like he has more to say, so I wait quietly.
“If someone had told me twenty years ago that I’d be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of my life at age thirty-seven, and that I’d be happy with my life, I wouldn’t have believed it. I would’ve thought my life was over. But my wife and daughter—they’re my reasons.”
“I know I don’t have your years of wisdom and experience, but Mara is becoming my reason. I love her. I’m devoted to her.”
He smiles softly. “She deserves that. And as long as you’re good to her, you’re family to us.”
“Thank you, sir. That means a lot.”
“Thank you for the money. I thought I’d be too proud to accept it, but when I saw the weight it took from my wife’s shoulders, I knew I had to swallow my pride.”
“I don’t expect that to buy me goodwill. It was a gift, with no expectations.”
Mara is standing in front of the glass doors, cringing. I smile at her and Nick turns, smiling and waving for her to come in.
“Did you scare him off, Dad?” she cracks.
“I let him know I can kick his ass if he hurts my daughter, legs or no legs.”
I put my palms up. “Won’t be necessary, I promise.”
Mara’s mom walks into the room carrying a pie. “I thought we’d have dessert in here. But first, can I ask Aunt Rhonda to take a picture of all of us for Facebook?”
Mara and I exchange a look. We haven’t gone social media official, but I can’t think of a better way to do it than this, with her parents, while I’m wearing the jersey she gave me for Christmas and she’s wearing the necklace and booties I got her.
“You bet,” I say, standing up.
Mara takes my hand and leads me from the room, going to stand in front of the Christmas tree in the living room. While we wait for her parents to come into the room, she stands beside me, grinning.
“Can you believe this?” she says.
I don’t have to ask to know what she means. Us. This. The drastic difference between our feelings for each other this Christmas and last Christmas.
“I think it was inevitable, we just took our time getting here,” I say, kissing her.