Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
S ky ran her fingers over her pale blue cotton skirt as she stood in front of her bedroom mirror.
Dinner with Becket’s family. Why did she feel guilty about lying to his mother? She hadn’t felt guilty about tricking her parents. Heck, she hadn’t felt guilty about lying to anyone else either. So why was his mother different?
She swallowed and turned, scanning her bedroom. A bedroom that was now clean and tidy but still felt different from how it had a week ago.
Becket had only slept on her couch the one night—her choice, not his—and man, that first night without him had been hard. Every whisper of sound, every creak and crack in the house, had set her pulse racing. How much sleep had she gotten? Two hours? Three?
Four nights later and she was a little better, but not a lot. She wouldn’t be winning any competitions for how well rested she was, that was for sure.
She just needed Jesse and his deputies to find the thief, and she’d feel safe again.
She’d checked on her neighbor, and the older woman seemed fine. A lot finer than her.
One question kept ticking over in her head—had her house always been a target? Or had her neighbor’s house been the original target, then the person had seen the broken fence and seized the opportunity?
Her phone rang, cutting into her thoughts.
She lifted it from the dresser and glanced at the screen before answering. “Hi, Mom. Are you and Dad back?”
“Yes, your father and I got home an hour ago. Tony’s taken very good care of the house and even cooked us dinner.”
Well, kudos to Tony. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen him since his little visit after the break-in. “That’s great, Mom.”
“How are you?”
Her mother had called every day. Sky had actually expected multiple calls a day, so one had been a pleasant surprise. “I’m good. Really good.” Okay, that was a stretch, but her mother was a worrier, and no good would come from adding to that worry.
“I’m glad. I hated not being here for you after the incident.”
Her mother had tried to insist on coming back early, but thankfully, Sky had been able to talk her out of it. She hadn’t had the energy to recover from the break-in and deal with her mother’s hovering. Not to mention, her father might have dropped by and surprised her with Tony.
“I want to see you,” her mother continued. “I’m coming over.”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m actually going out tonight.”
“Out? It hasn’t even been a week since you got a concussion! Where are you going? Oh, don’t tell me to the bar. No, you need to stay home. I’ll bring some chicken soup and—”
“I’m having dinner with Becket’s family.”
There was a small pause. “Becket’s family?”
“Yes.” She grabbed her purse and popped her lipstick inside.
“I see. At his mother’s house?”
“Yes, at his mother’s house. It’s my first time officially meeting her as the girlfriend, so it’s kind of important.”
Fake girlfriend. Small technicality. Although, the fake part had been feeling less accurate lately, with Becket’s constant texts and check-ins. He’d honestly been like the perfect boyfriend.
“She’ll love you, darling.”
Sky frowned at her mother’s tone. It sounded…off. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Mom…”
“I was just wondering when I’ll meet his mother. I mean, my relationship with her is important, don’t you think?”
Sky drew in a big belly breath. “Let me meet her first and make a good impression, then you and Dad can.”
Her mother sighed. “Okay, that sounds practical. When will I see you then?”
“I’m working tomorrow, but you can come by and we can grab lunch?”
“Good. But I don’t want that Chinese Crested licking me again.”
She grinned. “That’s Bella’s way of showing love. But I can keep her away from you.”
“Thank you. Okay, update me on how it goes tonight.”
“I will. Thanks, Mom.”
She’d just hung up when her phone vibrated with a text.
Becket: I’m downstairs, Peaches.
Her heart gave a little kick. She used to hate that nickname. But now? It felt kind of intimate. And whenever he used it, even if it was just in a text, her pulse took off in a sprint.
She dropped her phone into her purse and went downstairs. When she opened the door, a puff of air escaped her.
He looked good. Really good. He wore a white button-down shirt tonight. The sleeves were rolled up and the top couple of buttons were undone, showing just a hint of his muscled chest.
Hot. It was the only way to describe him.
“You look beautiful, Sky.”
Her eyes flashed up, colliding with his dark brown gaze.
Sky…he rarely used her name, but she liked the way he said it. Deep and gravelly. “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.”
One side of his mouth lifted. “That’s almost a compliment.”
Her fingers twitched, wanting to run down his chest. She fisted both hands. “Should we go?”
“Absolutely.”
She cleared her throat. “I’ll just grab the tiramisu.”
She took the moment to turn away from him to breathe deeply.
Get a freaking hold of yourself, woman. He’s just a man. Granted, a man with impeccable biceps and a voice that did funny things to her lady parts. Still…
The second she returned to Becket, he took the dessert from her fingers and put his other hand on the small of her back as he led her out of the house.
“You’re still doing okay here by yourself?” he asked once they were in the car.
No . The word was a very unwelcome shout in her head. Because of course she wanted the former Navy SEAL to sleep on her couch and protect her from any future crimes. But she was a grown-ass woman, and she needed to suck it up and sleep in her house by herself. Plus, they weren’t really dating, so it wasn’t fair to keep relying on him.
“Yes.” Okay, that hadn’t come out with nearly enough conviction.
He nodded, but she didn’t miss the way his fingers clenched around the wheel. He didn’t believe her. She’d never been a good liar.
When they reached his mom’s house, she nibbled her lip.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
“Not nervous. For some reason, I feel guilty about lying to your mom. Which is strange because with everyone else, the lie feels easy.”
“Don’t think about it as lying.”
She frowned. “It is a lie though.”
One side of his mouth lifted. “If it feels real to us, it’ll feel real to her.”
Her jaw dropped as he got out of the car. Was he insinuating it felt real to him?
She didn’t have time to think about it before Becket was opening her door. He helped her out and grabbed the tiramisu. When his arm curved around her waist, warmth slid over her skin, and not just the parts that he touched.
What the hell was going on with her? She needed to get a damn grip!
Becket opened the front door without knocking, and they found everyone in the kitchen and living area.
Clara and Indie were filling wine glasses while Jesse was getting stuff out of the fridge, and Becket’s mother and Aspen were setting the table. Everyone stopped and looked up.
“You’re here!” his mother said first. She crossed the room and hugged her son before turning to Sky. “Hi, I’m Pam.”
Then she pulled Sky right into a hug. The embrace was tight and warm.
“It’s so good to properly meet you,” Pam said before pulling away. “I was wondering if my son was ever going to bring a woman home.”
Becket pulled Sky close again. “I hadn’t found Sky yet.”
Her heart gave a little thump.
His mother’s smile widened. “Well, I’m glad you did, because I’m getting old. I need to see all my babies happy and in love.”
Indie scoffed from the kitchen. “You don’t need love to make you happy, Auntie Pam.”
“No. But it makes me feel better knowing someone loves them as much as I do, in case anything happens to me.”
Jesse growled from the fridge, “Nothing’s happening to you, Mom. You’re going to live to a hundred.”
“A hundred and ten,” Clara corrected. Her gaze went to the dish in Becket’s hand. “Don’t tell me you made that.”
“I did.”
Sky elbowed him in the side.
Becket grunted. “Hey. What was that for?”
“Taking the credit.” She slipped the dish from his hold. “I made tiramisu for dessert.”
Aspen gasped. “I love tiramisu. I haven’t had it in years.”
“Well, hopefully this one is as good as you remember.”
Sky set the dessert onto the counter while Becket went to man-hug his brother.
“Can I help?” she asked Clara.
“Nope. We’ve got it all handled.” Clara’s voice lowered. “How are you feeling after the break-in and the fall?”
“Okay. Better every day.”
“Good. Did our appointment help?”
Sky had booked an emergency acupuncture session yesterday. It had been very necessary, and it immediately took the edge off some of her stress. “It was the best night’s sleep all week.”
Not perfect, but better than previous nights.
Clara smiled. “Good.”
“Has Becket been staying with you?” Indie asked.
She opened her mouth to say just the first night but stopped herself. If he were her real boyfriend, he would have camped out at her house all week. Either that or forced her to stay with him. “Um, yeah, he has.”
“I’ve stayed with Mom a few nights,” Clara said. “I didn’t want her to be alone.” She looked at Indie. “Have you been okay?”
“Well, Colt had a really good security system put in, so I always feel safe.”
Sky glanced at the woman. “Who’s Colt?”
“He’s…” Indie shook her head. “ Was my husband. We’re separated. Not officially yet. We haven’t signed any divorce papers, but in every other way.”
Sky’s brows rose. She hadn’t realized the other woman was married. But by the look on her face and the sympathetic smile Clara sent her way, it was something she didn’t want to discuss.
The front door opened, and Holden walked in. Sky felt the change in Clara immediately. Her back straightened and her eyes widened slightly.
“He looks good tonight, doesn’t he?” Clara whispered before taking a big gulp of wine.
Indie lifted a shoulder. “He looks okay.”
Holden wore a navy T-shirt that fit his sculpted physique nicely. And yeah, he looked good. But Sky couldn’t help but keep looking at Becket. He was standing with Jesse and Aspen by the table, arms folded over his thick chest.
He glanced at her, and when he winked, her heart stopped.
He looked good. Dangerously good.
Indie leaned over and handed her a big glass of wine. “Welcome to our crazy family.”
* * *
Becket leaned back in his seat as his family talked around him. He was smiling. A wide fucking smile, and not just because the food was good and the company was everyone he loved. He was smiling because when he touched Sky, she didn’t pull away. When he leaned in close, she didn’t look like she wanted to nail him in the gut. And when he spoke softly into her ear, he swore he saw a hint of something deeper there. Maybe some trust. Some attraction.
He slipped his arm behind her and swiped his thumb over her waist, and even though the noise of people talking around the table was loud, he still heard her sharp intake of breath.
“Where did you both end up on that fence?”
Becket’s gaze shot up at his mother’s question. “How do you know about that?”
“I hear things.”
He shot a look at Clara, who was conveniently staring across the room as she sipped her drink. “You told her.”
Clara lifted a shoulder. “Yes. I told her you were being a jerk to your neighbor and listed off all the things you did. But I’m glad that’s changed.”
“Me too.” His mother nodded. “That would be so stressful, living next door to someone you didn’t get along with.”
“Really stressful,” Sky agreed with a grin.
He tickled her waist, and she yelped, before he turned to his mother. “I’m actually a delightful neighbor. Ask anyone on the street.”
Sky nodded. “It’s true. Everyone else had great things to say about him. It was very confusing. He must have saved his less-favorable side for me.”
“He was trying to hide how besotted he was with you.” Clara sighed.
“Couldn’t hide it for long, though,” Indie added.
Okay, that was enough talk from the nosy women in his family.
“I’ll start clearing the table.” He rose to his feet, not missing the laughs that both Jesse and Holden were trying to hold back.
“I’ll help.” Sky moved to stand, but Becket set a hand onto her shoulder.
“You made dessert. I’ve done nothing, and my mother raised me right—if you don’t cook, you clean.”
Holden and his brother rose too.
He was rinsing dishes when Holden came to stand beside him. “Looks like things between you two are going well.”
He glanced over at Sky. The women were laughing at something Clara was saying. He’d become so used to her frowns and scowls during her time as his neighbor, every time he got a look at that full smile of hers, it squeezed the fucking air from his chest.
“Yeah,” Becket finally answered. “Things are going well.”
Jesse stood on his other side. As he started putting the leftover food in containers, his voice lowered. “In case you miss it on the local news, there was another break-in.”
Becket stopped and looked at his brother. “Another break-in…but no arrest.”
A muscle ticked in Jesse’s jaw. “No. But they left something behind this time. A black cap.”
He straightened. “Can it be used to identify the person?”
“There were some strands of hair inside. We’ve sent it away to see if we can get a DNA profile, but it will take over a week and if they’re not in the system, it won’t tell us much.”
Jesus Christ. “Did anyone get hurt?”
“No. So far, Sky’s the only one who was home during a theft, which makes me think even more that it was a crime of opportunity. They saw the broken back fence and got greedy.”
And Sky was the one who’d paid the price. His back teeth ground together as he finished the dishes.
“Oh, Aspen, if you and Jesse are planning a trip away, you need to see these photos of Whistler.” His mother pushed back from the table. “I took the kids when they were young so they could snowboard, and they loved it.”
Becket dried his hands. “I’ll get them, Mom. They’re on a high shelf in the office.”
“Thank you, darling.” She turned toward the women. “Advantage of having tall boys.”
He gently squeezed his mother’s arm as he passed her and winked at Sky, whose cheeks turned a pretty rosy pink.
He smiled to himself. Yeah, things were definitely going well between them.
In the office, he studied the photo albums on the top shelf. His mother had documented every part of their childhood, and he loved her for that. For most of their childhoods, she’d raised them on her own and done a hell of a job.
He grabbed the album labeled “Whistler” and turned just as his mother entered the room.
“Hey. I’ve got it,” he said.
“Thank you.” She crossed the distance between them and gripped his arms. “I just need to tell you something.”
“Something that needed to be said in private?” Shit, was he in trouble?
“No, it could have been said out there, but I wanted to say it in here.” She tilted her head. “I like Sky. And I like that she makes you smile.”
“Thanks, Mom, but we should—”
“And…I want you to know that it doesn’t matter how things start. Hate can turn into love…and something that maybe didn’t feel quite so real can turn into the most real thing in your life.”
Becket almost pulled back. Did she know? How the hell did she know?
“You needed someone strong,” his mother finished. “I’m glad you found her.” She took the book from his hands and headed out of the room.
He stood there for another moment, shocked as hell, before shaking his head and returning to everyone. As he returned to the dining room, Sky’s phone rang. She frowned at it, then excused herself and walked down the hall before answering.
Was it her mother? No. Sky had looked surprised by the name on the screen. Her mother called too often for her to be surprised.
Less than a minute later, Sky reentered the room.
He stepped in front of her. “Is everything okay?”
“That was Rosemary…Bella’s missing.”