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I shrugged and bit back my smile as I went in for the kill. “You know, the marriage part isn’t scary to me. The unplanned pregnancy? Yeah, not gonna lie, that scares me a little bit. But it has nothing to do with Thatch being my baby daddy and more so with the fact that my boobs are already big. I mean, can you imagine what they’re—”
She looked like she sucked on a lemon. “You’re pregnant?”
“I can’t be one hundred percent sure yet. But—”
“You’re pregnant?”
“The wedding makes sense now,” Kline muttered in the background.
I ignored him and focused on Georgia, giving in a little and changing the storyline just slightly. “Well, no, not yet. But I think I’m ovulating, and Thatch is like real virile, if you know what I’m sayin’.”
She put a distressed hand to her face. “I think I need to lie down.”
“Will you and Kline be the godparents?”
The screen flashed across their kitchen in a blur until it hit the ground with a loud thud. Footsteps echoed across the hardwood until Kline’s face came into view again. “I’m convinced you’re trying to kill my wife.”
I couldn’t hold back the laughter. “Okay, so the pregnancy thing was a joke, but I couldn’t help myself.”
His face turned skeptical. “You two are really getting married?”
Thatch tilted the phone toward himself again. “I want Vegas for my bachelor party, K. But I think Wes should plan it. No offense, but his pockets are deep and won’t have us cruising the Strip in a minivan.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me right now.”
“Just hang up the phone, Kline!” Georgia shouted in the background. “Just hang it up and call 911. I think they’ve pranked each other into having nervous breakdowns.”
Thatch chuckled and I smirked.
“I want to hear you say it,” Kline said, his blue eyes scrutinizing Thatch’s face. “Tell me you’re getting married.”
Thatch stopped at a red light and gave Kline his full attention. “I’m getting married.”
“Tell me you asked Cassie to marry you.”
“I asked Cassie to marry me.”
“Tell me you want to spend the rest of your life with her.”
Thatch paused for a few seconds, and then his face lit up with a soft grin. “I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
My breath caught in my lungs when I heard those words pass his lips. His response felt way too genuine to just be playing along. Half of me had begged the gods to make him serious, while the other half lobbied for the exact opposite. Because I needed both to be a reality. Him joking was the only thing keeping me from freaking out.
He’s not joking, the little voice in my head told me, and then answered itself with, thank God.
What in the fuck was happening to me?
My brain screamed one word: love.
My stomach clenched in response.
I fought the urge to slap Thatch in the dick. Or in the face. Or maybe I needed to slap myself. Someone in this car needed to have some sense knocked into them.
But my heart? Yeah, it motherfucking smiled.
Kline stayed quiet for a minute, and then his face morphed into a huge smile. “Holy. Shit.” His smile got even bigger. “Dude?”
Thatch returned the smile. “Dude.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. Congrats, buddy. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, man,” Thatch answered. “We’re almost to my parents’ house. Give Georgia girl a kiss for me, okay?”
Kline flipped him off. “Tell Cass I’ll have my wife call her when she’s wrapped her head around this and forgiven you guys.”
I ended the call as Thatch took a right onto a dirt road.
And before I could slip my phone back into my purse, it pinged with a text notification.
Georgia: We’re not friends anymore.
Me: Yes, we are.
Georgia: You should’ve worn a bra to meet his parents.
Me: I know your game, G.
Georgia: His mom is going to think you’re a floozy.
Yeah, she was definitely trying to freak me out as payback.
Me: I’m not taking the bait on this one.
Georgia: You really want me to be your matron of honor?
Me: And my future child’s godmother.
Georgia: Even though I hate you right now, I love you. I’ll be anything you need me to be. Even if I think you’ve lost your mind. You better call me tomorrow. You’ve got some serious explaining to do.
Me: I love you too, Wheorgie. We’ll chat tomorrow.
A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of his parents’ house, and he shut off the engine. He turned in his seat and took me in with amused eyes. “That was actually more fun than I thought it would be.”
“I know, right?” I laughed. “I should probably feel a little bad about it, but man, I can’t help myself. Georgia is easily one of my favorite people to mess with.”
He glanced toward his parents’ house and back at me. “You ready?”
Shutters and window boxes framed the summery floral wreath on the front door. Before I could think of what that might mean about Thatch’s mom, I took a little breath and dove in with both feet.
“Let’s do the damn thing. Let’s show Ken and Sally I’m actually a really nice girl who just so happens to have a fabulous rack.”
“Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves,” he teased, and I flipped him off.
He laughed in response, but he hopped out of the car and walked around the front to open my door and help me out. “Come on, honey,” he said as he led me up the porch steps. My feet felt a little heavier than normal, so I leaned on him a little extra. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
I tilted my head to the side, confused, but I didn’t get a chance to question him. The door swung open, and both of his parents greeted us with wide smiles.
“Mom, Dad, this is my fiancée, Cassie,” Thatch introduced us.
Wow. Introducing me as his fiancée right from the get-go. Definitely not joking, my brain taunted.
I held my breath for his mother’s reaction to turn from welcoming to murderous—because, yeah, I generally made a great first impression, but my tits weren’t usually mom-friendly, if you know what I mean. But she did the complete opposite of what I had expected. She ignored Thatch completely and made a beeline for me, pulling me straight into her arms.
“Cassie, it is so great to finally meet you!” she exclaimed and hugged me tightly. She leaned back and took me in with soft eyes and an easy smile. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally meet the woman who can keep my Thatcher in line.”
“Finally?” I blurted without thinking. We hadn’t been together long enough to use words like finally.
“He’s been talking about you since Kline got married.”
I whipped my head to the side.
Thatch’s deep chuckles filled my ears, and a barely-there blush rosied the cheeks under his scruff.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Kelly,” I answered as I pulled myself together. My smile was confused but genuine. The idea of being on his mind that long made my chest ache.
“Please, call me Sally.”
Thatch pouted. “No hug for me, Mom?”
She waved him off and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Isn’t she gorgeous, Ken?” she asked her husband.
“Too pretty for Thatch, that’s for damn sure,” Ken remarked with a smirk. “Seriously, Cassie? Is he blackmailing you? Do we need to alert the authorities? Blink twice if he kidnapped you. Three times if you fear for your life.”
The teasing personality was a family trait. I loved his parents already.
I blinked three times, and his dad cracked up.
“Turncoats,” Thatch responded. “You’ve known her for all of two minutes, and immediately, you’re on her side.”
Both of his parents grinned, and his mom finally wrapped him up in a loving hug. “I’m glad you’re home, sweetie. But I have a feeling she’s less trouble than you are.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he replied with a grimace before smiling down at her with affectionate eyes. Right off the bat, it was apparent he was very close with his folks. The idea warmed my heart. “But she’s definitely not less trouble.”
My warm heart felt ragey all of a sudden.
“Well, let’s go inside,” Sally insisted, unfazed. “Dinner is almost ready.”
“Dinner was delicious.” I dried off the last dish and set it in the cabinet carefully. Sally had served us dinner on the good china, and a constant film reel played in my mind of somehow shattering all of them. But I wanted to make a good first impression, and if I knew anything from Rom Coms and my first encounter with Claire, helping a woman clean up when no one else did usually racked up serious points.
Sally grinned and wiped her hands off with a dish towel. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“I did. Thank you so much for having me.”
“You’re welcome here anytime, sweetheart.” She lovingly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. It seemed intimate in a way I wasn’t expecting, like she really did intend to consider me a daughter. My thought-crazed brain wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it right then, but I knew I’d figure it out eventually. “I hope you’ll force Thatcher to stop by and see us more often.”
