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“It means novelty item, and you’re avoiding my question,” she said, trying not to laugh, too. “Did you get me a sperm tchotchke?”
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Ms. Parker,” he said, his voice still filled with amusement. “It’s a tadpole, and the head part comes off and the tail is a USB drive.”
She was still confused by the odd gift. “Okay . . . why are you giving me a tadpole USB drive?”
“Because I thought
it was fitting, considering our tadpole,” he said, looking pleased with himself. “On this USB drive is a playlist I made for you and the baby to listen to, since I read online that music can soothe the baby, and you, too, I hope.”
She legitimately wanted to swoon. It was adorable, thoughtful things like this that pushed Daisy so damn close to falling head-over-heels in love with Aiden. “That was so sweet of you.”
“I hope you like it.” His gaze warmed as he reached out and brushed her hair away from her cheek, making her shiver as his fingers grazed her skin. “I picked every song on the playlist for a reason.”
It was getting way too serious and intimate for her, and she tried to lighten the moment. “Am I in for some Sesame Street tunes?”
“It’s a surprise,” he reiterated, and pulled his hand away to put the car in drive. “You’ll see when you listen to it later.”
“Okay.” She put the tadpole in her purse as Aiden drove away from the curb.
A half an hour of easy conversation later, they turned into a nice neighborhood in La Jolla, then Aiden pulled up to a smaller single-story home with a lush lawn and floral landscaping and parked behind two other cars . . . his brothers’, she assumed. Her nerves kicked in again, and she exhaled a deep breath as she released her seat belt and got out of the vehicle. Aiden was quick to tuck her hand securely in his as he led her up to the front door.
Without knocking, he walked into the entryway and announced his presence. “Hey, Mom!”
Daisy heard voices from the other room, male and female, as she and Aiden walked through the living room area, and a few seconds later, a woman appeared, a warm, friendly smile on her face as she bypassed her son to greet Daisy.
“Oh, my goodness, Daisy,” she said happily, and before Daisy could even register what was happening, Aiden’s mother wrapped her in a genuinely kind and affectionate embrace unlike any she’d ever received from her own mother.
And it struck her that, while Daisy’s mother had treated Aiden with disdain, his mom had welcomed her as if she was family, no prejudgment of her character.
“I should have warned you that my mother is a hugger,” Aiden teased, most likely having seen the initial startled look on her face.
His mother ignored Aiden and grasped both of Daisy’s hands in hers, as her eyes, the same shade as her son’s, took in her features. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. You’re just as beautiful as Aiden said you were.”
Oh, wow. The compliment suffused Daisy’s cheeks with warmth. “Thank you. It’s wonderful to meet you, too, Mrs. Stone.”
“Pfft.” She waved a dismissive hand between them. “Call me Grace, and come on in. Everyone is in the kitchen.”
Grace hooked her arm through Daisy’s and led her into the adjoining room, where three men were standing around a granite-topped island in the kitchen, drinking a beer and snacking on the chips and dip that were laid out.
“I hear you already know Dylan since he’s working on an app for one of your clients, but this is my other son, Leo,” Grace said, introducing them.
Daisy was grateful that she and Dylan had gotten over her awkward rejection a few weeks ago, and she stepped up to Leo and shook hands with the other man, who was just as good-looking as both of his brothers but seemed to be more serious and reserved. But he did give her a smile . . . and yes, he, too, had inherited that sexy Stone dimple.
Grace turned toward an older gentleman who looked to be around her age, with salt-and-pepper hair and light blue eyes that sparkled jovially. And the way he looked at Grace . . . well, he clearly adored her.
“And this is my friend Charles,” Aiden’s mother said.
Dylan cleared his throat, the beginnings of a smirk appearing on his lips. “Her gentleman friend,” he explained, giving the two words air quotes, then followed that up with, “wink, wink.”
Charles chuckled at the insinuation and didn’t refute Dylan’s statement, but Grace blushed furiously.
“Behave yourself, Dylan,” his mother scolded, wagging a finger at him.
“Come on, Mom,” Leo chimed in, rolling his eyes at his mother’s modesty. “We’re all adults here. You’ve been ‘friends’ with Charles for the past six months. You just spent three weeks with him on a cruise and stayed in the same room. And if I’m not mistaken, I saw a man’s overnight bag in your room when I walked by to go to the bathroom earlier.”
“Ohhh, busted,” Dylan said, and laughed.
“I guess the cat is out of the bag, thank God,” Charles said with relief, and pulled Grace to his side and placed a kiss on her head. “I knew your boys would understand and wouldn’t think you were a floozy.” He grinned at the group. “Those were her words, not mine.”
