Chapter 29
M y dad was turning sixty tomorrow and all he’d asked for was a family day.
My brothers were in between playoff rounds, and Theo and Troy had taken personal days. Which meant, by some miracle, we were all going to be together.
Dad was under the impression we were just coming up for the afternoon, but we’d all worked out that we’d stay in our hometown tonight and travel back to the city tomorrow.
Mom had asked Casey or Coralie if they wanted to do something for him at one of their houses instead, but my brothers and their closest teammates had jumped at the opportunity of twenty-four hours away from the craziness that was the run for the Stanley Cup.
Kate was sleeping off a late night in the back of the truck while Jenna sat next to me. The urban concrete flitted by and gave way to thick greenery and open skies as I drove the familiar route toward home.
As usual, Jenna insisted on leaving the radio playing instead of letting me hook up my phone, claiming we shouldn’t force road trip music, the songs would choose us instead.
The sound system automatically moved through the stations the farther north we went. At the moment, we were listening to some mainstream country.
I couldn’t help the smile that formed of its own accord. I’d never need much more than this to make me happy; my girl in the passenger seat, heading home for some family time.
“What’s got you smiling so wide?”
“Just how pumped my dad’s gonna be,” I said, glancing her way.
She smiled, too, but then it fell from her pretty face.
I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing . . . okay, something. What are we gonna tell everyone?”
“About what?”
Her eye roll was so exaggerated I saw it in my peripheral vision. “About us.”
“It’s no one else’s business,” I grumbled, because it wasn’t, but they’d all have something to say anyway.
She scoffed. “You know you’re a Madden, right?”
“Yes.” I clenched my jaw. Fucking meddlers, all of them.
“I feel nervous,” she said, tugging on her lower lip.
I took my eyes off the road for a second.
“Why would you be nervous?”
“Well, it’s one thing going in there as your best friend, but it’s quite another as your girlfriend.”
“I love that you’re my girlfriend. And I love you.”
“It’s not gonna be weird?”
Wow, she’d really worked herself up.
“There’s nothing weird about this, Jenna,” I said soothingly and rested both our hands on my thigh.
“I know, but, like, what if your parents don’t approve?”
I couldn’t help the laugh that fell from my lips. “Cupcake. They love you. And they’ll only love you even more now. Mama’s been praying for this for years.”
Her brow furrowed “ What ?”
“I’ve been getting shit from my entire family since about the eighth grade. And . . .”
I pulled on the back of my neck. “Knox and Troy are gonna fuckin’ ruin it.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, they’re idiots.”
“I might have gone to Wren for advice.” I grimaced.
“Aww, you needed help. That’s cute.”
“No that’s how desperate I was. I went to Wren and Knox was home, and he definitely knows. Thank fuck for playoffs. We haven’t had a chance to speak much so maybe he’s forgotten.”
We both looked at each other and she burst out laughing.
Yeah, not likely.
“Have you, uh, told your folks?” I said, bringing the conversation full circle.
She sucked in her cheeks, trying to stop the grin that was pulling at the corners of her rosy lips.
“I haven’t told my folks yet. They only got back from their cruise last night.”
My gaze flicked away from the road, and I cleared my throat, sitting up straighter.
Jenna’s parents were amazing, but her mom could be brutal. I’d seen her chew out more Little League umpires than I cared to admit.
She was always assessing and all-knowing. That woman had eyes in the back of her head. Mason McCall was steely and astute, but he was less . . . savage.
“Who are you most worried about? My mom or my dad.”
“Your mom.” I gulped
She chuckled. “I’ll bet.”
We pulled up to my family home and Kate scrambled out of the truck before I’d even turned off the engine.
“I can’t wait another second to see Jack and Biscuit,” she shrieked as she ran to the open front door.
I shook my head. She’d gone from the timid girl sitting by Casey’s pool last summer to a version of herself she could hardly contain. She was so vivacious and full of life it looked like she would burst at any second.
I turned to see Jenna watching after her, too.
“College life suits her,” Jenna mused, smiling after her friend.
It really did.
“So how do you wanna go about this. We just walking in there holding hands? Or are we playing this more low-key.”
“Would you be offended if we just went in there like normal until I get my bearings?”
I smiled. “I can do that.”
I leaned over the console to kiss her before I had to reign it in, but her eyes went wide, and she threw the door open.
“Your mama is standing on the porch steps,” she whispered, panicked.
“Of course she is,” I grumbled.
I rounded the hood just as Jenna was stepping down from the cab. Her hands shook slightly as she brushed the creases out of her yellow sundress.
We made our way up to my mama’s beaming face and she pulled us in for a double hug.
“You’re all here. Thank you.”
“Mama, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“Come on, your daddy’s grilling. Pleased as punch, he is. Food will be ready in no time.”
The house was a cacophony of noise and laughter. I greeted each of my siblings and their teammates, who had become more like family than anything else.
I pulled up short when I reached Knox and Wren though. They were giddy. It was the only way to describe it.
They were gonna give this shit away before Jenna was ready. I just knew it.
“You keep your fucking mouth shut, Ace,” I threatened Knox.
It just added fuel to the fire.
Jenna made a beeline for her parents, but short of a quick hello, I went in search of beers and caught up with my dad while he turned the meat on the grill.
After about half an hour of barely being able to take my eyes off Jenna across the lawn, we were finally seated next to each other at an enormous outside dining table I’d never seen before.
In fact, it looked almost . . .
“Did you make this, Dad?”
“He sure did. Spent days and days on it,” Mama gushed, brushing her hand over the smooth finished wood and looking dreamily at my dad.
He stroked her cheek and then brought her hand to his lips. “My lady likes a nest full, and our brood is growing all the time.”
All the women at the table sighed, but I didn’t care for the twinkle in his eye.
It was never okay for your parents to look at each other the way my parents were right now.
“Hey, Mama,” Knox yelled, breaking up the love fest.
“Yes, sunshine?”
“It’s so nice being able to catch up like this, isn’t it?”
“Well yes, of course. It’s made mine and your daddy’s and Aunt May’s month!”
“Uh-huh. It’s great. Soo, the playoffs are savage, but we’re ready to go into this series, aren’t we, Nerd? Right Case?” My brothers nodded; brows furrowed as they swallowed their food. Casey went to speak but Knox cut him off.
“Next! Scotty dog, what’s new with you? Tell Mama all the things.”
Jenna choked on the sip of wine she’d taken, and I sent my little brother a death glare.
“Nothing new, Mama,” I said, staring directly at Knox across the table. “Everything’s going well.”
I looked for Kate, but she was too busy placing chicken on the end of Biscuit’s nose to blow our cover.
Knox’s eyes and nostrils flared in annoyance. “Jenna. What’s new with you?”
“Erm . . . nothing, everything is great.” She turned to Lexie. “Lexie, how are the wedding plans coming on? Anything you need help with?”
Knox sat back, shaking his head while chatter continued around us.
You’re dead I mouthed.
Knox just smirked.
By the time dessert was being served, he’d tried to drop me and Jenna in it four more times.
I stood up to reach across for a slice of pie Aunt May had brought out and placed it in front of Jenna.
“Here you go, cupcake,” I said as I lowered back into my seat with my own plate. Jenna smiled at me and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
We opened our eyes at the same time, the sound of cutlery clanking onto plates as conversation completely ceased around us.
“Did she just . . . Did you? Oh . . . oh my lord. It’s finally happenin’.”
I looked around to see every face turned in our direction.
I cleared my throat and stared at Jenna. She smiled and nodded. Giving me the green light.
I squeezed her hand tight and rested our interlocked fingers on the table.
“We’re together.”
I looked for my dad, who gave a slow nod, and then to Aunt May, who smiled knowingly.
“The billionaire gave you a kick up the ass,” Knox chirped.
“You owe me 200 bucks each.” Jason smiled smugly at Knox but held his hands out toward Coralie and Casey also.
“Which billionaire?” Jenna’s mom and dad asked at the same time.
“When did this happen? How long has it been going on?” Coralie shrieked.
“How is this different. Hasn’t she been your girlfriend all this time?” That was Jack, and Kate fell about in a fit of giggles.
The whole table broke out into about five different conversations, but I turned to Jenna, tuning everything but her out.
“You okay?” she asked with a small smile.
“Never better,” I said, bringing her now very clammy hand up to my mouth and kissing her knuckles.
“I’ll love you, forever,” I promised.
She nodded and kissed me again. Still chaste, still very much PG, yet it set my soul alight all the same.
The sentence, “So you think you can just smooch on our daughter, and we wouldn’t have anything to say about it?” Along with the sound of our dad’s chuckles pulled me from our embrace and I looked up to see Jenna’s mom arching a brow at me.
“I assure you my intentions are honorable,” I said, sitting up a little straighter.
She eyeballed me for what seemed like an eternity until she rolled hers and turned to her husband.
“Alaska it is,” Mason McCall said, pleased as punch.
“Alaska?” Jenna echoed in question.
“Every month for about the past fifteen years we’ve made a wager on whether this one”—Jenna’s mom stabbed her dessert fork in my direction—“was gonna crack. This month was where our next trip was going to be. So yeah, Alaska it is,” she said with a scowl in my direction, and the table erupted into good-natured laughter.