Chapter 26
TRAVIS
Preparing for the hotel’s grand opening took all our efforts.
The party was in three weeks, and I needed everything to be perfect.
I wanted to make my parents and grandmother proud.
It had taken an enormous effort to get them to come, especially because the press would be there.
It was inevitable, and I preferred to have a few select reporters invited rather than everyone crawling around the building.
Everything needed to go off without a hitch. I was working exclusively from the hotel these days—I wanted to supervise the last details. Marjorie had relocated here, too, even though she insisted she preferred the other place better. It was livelier with my brothers there.
Right now, I had to go down and check if the electrical wiring had been repaired. The technical team discovered it was faulty in the reception area.
As I got up from my desk, Marjorie came in.
"There's a woman downstairs, asking about you. She says she's Bonnie's mom."
I furrowed my brow. "How did she even get this address?"
"Honestly, probably from any magazine. The hotel has been in the news quite a bit."
What the fuck could she want? This can't be good.
"Ask her to come up."
Bonnie had specifically told me her mom hadn't shown an interest in seeing her. Why would she come here to the hotel?
I sat at the edge of the desk, attention fixed on the door.
A few minutes later, a woman came in. She only vaguely looked like Bonnie. They had the same bone structure, but her hair was darker, and so were her eyes.
"Travis Maxwell?" she asked.
"Yes."
"I'm Bonnie's mom."
"Yes, my assistant told me."
I headed over to her, shaking her hand. I had no clue why the fuck she was here, but I was determined to stay courteous for as long as possible.
She looked around with a sneer. "Nice place you have here. Very luxurious. Must have cost a lot."
"It's a luxury hotel."
"Yes, yes. I've read about it in the magazines. My daughter has done well for herself. I wouldn't have thought she'd be capable of bagging someone like you, but kudos to her."
Fuck being courteous.
"Don't insult Bonnie in front of me. If that's why you came, you can go and fuck off right now."
She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "I see. We're all the same underneath, aren't we? Your clothes certainly cost more than I earn in a month, but you're just as foul as a construction worker."
"What's your point? You have exactly five minutes before I show you the door."
"My problem is that my daughter's snagged herself a rich man and still won't give me any money."
"It's not your daughter's responsibility to give you money."
I was fighting to keep my voice even. I remembered everything Bonnie told me about growing up. Her mom lost their house because of the gambling addiction. Bonnie owed her nothing.
"Do you know how much it fucking costs to raise a kid? I would've been a much richer person if I hadn't had to raise my daughter."
"What the fuck kind of logic is that?" I spat.
"You'll see soon enough what it’s like. You think it's all rainbows and stars and nice moments. It's a nightmare."
"Get out," I seethed.
She looked around again. "I don't think I will."
"I'll call security on you."
"Really? Will you? What would it look like if the press snapped pictures of security escorting the mother of your girlfriend out of the building? It seems you value privacy. I couldn't find anything about you online."
"Are you fucking threatening me?"
"No, I just want money. You have lots of it, and you can give me some. Bonnie doesn't even have to know."
I looked her straight in the eyes. "You don't want to take that route with me. You don’t come here into my office, talk shit about Bonnie, and threaten me."
"I can do whatever I want."
I stepped closer. Her eyes widened a bit, and she took a step back. I wanted her to have no doubt that I would protect Bonnie no matter what. Even from her own flesh and blood if need be.
"You have never cared about your daughter. You've never given her stability, or affection, or any support in life. And even so, she still wants to help you."
"She's not helping me. She never gives me money."
"She knows you'd gamble it all away."
She stumbled back. "She told you about that?"
"Yes, everything. I know every damn thing, so here's what we’ll do. You're going to get the hell out of my hotel. You will not pester Bonnie anymore about money, and you will never, ever talk shit to her. Do you understand me?"
"You don't tell me what to do, pretty boy. I'll do whatever I want. There's nothing you can do."
"Try me. There are two things you have to know about me. One, I don't allow anyone to hurt the people I love. And second, I love Bonnie. She's a priority for me and at the very top of the list of people I'm protecting, so get the hell out."
Bonnie’s mom was full of hate, and I wasn’t going to let my woman near her ever again. Not until she straightened herself up.
“Don’t ever expect to see your grandchild or your daughter after slinging those idle threats. You better figure out what's important in life before you attempt to reach out to either of us ever again.”
She narrowed her eyes but left my office without another word.
Marjorie immediately peeked her head inside.
“Travis, all good?”
I was steaming, trying to figure out how her mother even knew about us. Bonnie told me they hadn't been in touch for a long while.
Then it dawned on me. “Are there any pictures online of Bonnie and me?”
I’d asked her to set an alert for my name on all the search engines and monitor it.
“Only the one Sam posted from Lena’s birthday. He tagged her.”
“Thanks.”
I was fuming for the rest of the day. The way she’d spoken about raising Bonnie got on my very last nerve—as if she’d been a burden.
I was determined to keep this from Bonnie. At least, I was initially. But then as the week went by, my resolution faltered. I was no expert in relationships, but I didn’t like secrets.
On Saturday morning, she was lying on the couch, covered with a pink blanket, reading on her Kindle.
I sat next to her at the edge of the couch.
She’d spent the night at my apartment and woke up early to read.
It was a common occurrence on weekends. She insisted that it was way too early to be moving in, but I was glad that she seemed to feel more comfortable here.
Funny how, in the past, I’d guarded my space fiercely, but now I couldn’t imagine Saturdays without Bonnie.
I played with her necklace, the simple pendant I gave her in Oceanwell Bay. She wore it all the time, and I liked that.
She peeked up from her Kindle. "Did you come to distract me?"
"Hell yes."
She glanced at her Kindle again and then back at me, clearly having a hard time deciding between the two of us.
Finally, she set it down. "Just so you know, I was reading about my favorite Bridgerton."
"Which one is that?"
"Anthony, of course."
"Right. What's with this blanket? I don't remember seeing it here before."
I immediately felt her tense even as I kissed her on the side of her neck. I pulled back, watching her. "What's wrong?"
"I ordered it. I thought I needed a cuddly blanket. Is that okay? I didn't think about asking you."
I kissed the corner of her mouth before moving up to her ear, putting a hand on her belly over the blanket. "You can buy anything you want, Bonnie. I want you to feel at home here."
"This is your home, though. I don't want to invade your space."
I kissed her neck, dipping the tip of my tongue along her jawline. She shuddered. "Babe, you're not. I love having you here. If you want to buy a goddamn tent, I'd be okay with that."
"Why would I buy a tent?"
Because my woman had been getting strange ideas lately.
She’d ordered no fewer than six different beds for babies, insisting that she wanted to see them all side by side to decide which one would be better.
She hadn't found a single store that carried all of them, so she couldn't compare them.
I thought that was nuts, but instinct told me to keep that opinion to myself.
They'd all been delivered this past week.
Today, Tate, Sam, and Luke were stopping by to help me assemble them while Megan and Lexi went with Bonnie to a yoga class that Ashley taught.
"Do you think I have time for another chapter before your family arrives?"
"I need to talk to you about something."
I straightened up, finally looking at her. I interlaced our fingers, squeezing hers lightly.
She swallowed hard. "You're scaring me. What is it?"
"Your mother dropped by the hotel."
Bonnie gasped, pushing herself into a sitting position. Her hand was shaking. "My mom? At your hotel? When? I didn't know she was in Chicago."
"She came by this week."
"What did she want?"
"Money."
"Oh my God. I can't believe this. I'm so sorry, Travis. I… I’ll talk to her. Why would she even bother you? Wait, how does she even know you're… you? I never mentioned what you do or even your last name.”
“Sam tagged you in some photos he posted online.”
“I'm so sorry."
I clasped her shoulder. "Stop apologizing. This isn't your fault."
"She's my mom, and she’s never been like your family. I’m so embarrassed." I could see tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"Babe, never be embarrassed. I love you. My family loves you no matter what, got that? You don't have to apologize for her behavior. I set her right. And I told her not to bother you until she straightens things out in her own life."
Her eyes were wide and fearful, and I hated it. Why the hell did I tell her?
"This isn't right," she murmured. "She shouldn't have come." Her whole body was shaking.
I sat behind her so her back was against my chest. I hated that this was what her mom did to her.
Bonnie was a strong woman and had made it through a tough life with parents who were selfish.
She needed to know she was a Maxwell now and had the family she'd longed for. I’d make sure she understood that.
"Bonnie, forget about it. I just wanted you to know so there would be no secrets between us. I told her I'd protect you no matter what because you're mine. Don’t doubt that, okay?"
She looked up at me, turning around slightly. "You don't understand, do you? You're the one who needs protection. I’ve dealt with Mom my whole life."
I loved that my girl was worried about me, but she didn’t know us Maxwells well enough yet to realize we stuck together.
"You're mine, Bonnie," I repeated, putting a hand on her cheek, resting my fingers at the nape of her neck.
"Mine to love. Mine to protect. Every day, all day, from anyone, including your family if need be. "
"Yours to love?" she murmured.
"Yes. I love you so damn much." I could feel her eyes on me.
"And I love you, Travis. But even though you're stubborn, and you're making me melt, I still need to be allowed to protect you."
"That's not how it works, babe," I said.
Turning around, she leaned into me, circling my torso with her arms and resting the side of her face on my chest.
"I'm scared of not being a good mom."
"Of course you will be," I said.
"Really, though? Growing up, I didn’t exactly have a role model. And I don’t have experience with kids."
"Yes, but you're a great person, and you're good with animals."
She laughed. "Oh, that makes me feel so much better."
"It should. And you're great with my niece too."
“Sure… as long as I don’t do crazy things like climb a ladder to a tree house, right?”
“Got to keep you safe, babe.”
The doorbell rang, and she startled in my arms.
"That will be the group," I said.
We both rose from the couch. She folded her pink blanket, putting it on the couch with the Kindle on top.
I opened the door. Lexi and Tate came in first, Luke came with Megan, and Sam and Dad brought up the rear.
I furrowed my brow. "Dad, I didn't know you were coming too."
"Thought you all needed supervision, or those beds will never get done," he said.
"Good point," I replied.
"Ready for yoga?" Lexi asked Bonnie, who nodded.
"My gym bag is by the door."
"Okay, boys. Let us know if you want us to pick up some food on the way back," Megan said. "Our class starts in fifteen minutes, so we can't linger."
"Oh, that's right," Lexi said.
“Ashley is already there,” Bonnie murmured.
"You all lure us here and then leave us to work alone. Maybe we should wait for you all to come back," Tate said.
"See, that's why I'm here," Dad said. "Come on. Let's all get to work."
Bonnie still looked vulnerable, and I hated that I'd told her about the encounter with her mother.
I wanted her here with me in the penthouse now, before the baby was born, and I needed her to agree with me. I didn’t like the idea of her living alone ever, and especially now. What if her mother showed up at her apartment to bother her? I was her protector. She was mine, and now she knew it.