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Maybe if he played his cards right, she’d ask him to cuddle again. Jesus! Did he even possess a man card anymore?
“There you two are,” a distant voice said. A voice that sounded strangely like Milly’s mom. “Everyone, the happy couple is here.”
Milly dropped her hands and stepped back. Not like they’d been caught, but as if she knew they were being watched all along. Which meant that kiss wasn’t impromptu—it was for show. Which was the point of tonight, to show their parents that this was real. So then, what was that twinge of disappointment deep in his stomach?
“Don’t you look handsome,” Gennie said, straightening Jax’s collar in a maternal way that he’d never received from his own mother.
Jax was suddenly nervous. There was a lot riding on tonight. Not only would it be the first time he’d seen Lucas since their “talk,” it was the first time Jax and Milly would be together in front of his family and friends—and apparently her parents.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Milly asked, as confused at her mom’s presence as he was that Gennie was answering Peggy’s door.
“Surprise,” Gennie said, making fireworks with her fingers.
“We talked about surprises. We vetoed surprises.”
“Oh, don’t blame Gennie,” Peggy said, coming to loop an arm through Gennie’s. “I asked her to keep it a surprise. I didn’t want to make you feel obligated to come and if you knew your parents were coming, you might feel pressured to make an appearance.”
“Of course I wanted to come.” Milly held out a bouquet of flowers she’d already had when Jax picked her up. Sexy and thoughtful. “These are for you, Ms. Carmichael. Happy birthday.”
“Well, isn’t that sweet.” Peggy gave an encouraging smile. “Isn’t that sweet, Jax?”
“Oh,” Milly jumped in. “They’re from the both of us.”
“From the both of them.” An independent look passed between Peggy and Gennie. But their smile was conspiratorial and dialed up to We already have the Save the Date cards picked out.
Lord, help him.
“Come in, before you both freeze.” Peggy waved them inside.
“We’ll hang up our coats and meet you both inside,” Jax said to Peggy, who gave him a sly wink and took Gennie by the arm before the two women left together.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded back at him without speaking, but her hand reached up to scratch her wrist. A sign, he was coming to learn, that meant she was nervous or lying. She’d been rubbing the same spot the entire way to the Carmichaels.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“A deal’s a deal,” Milly said, the set of her chin suggesting a stubborn streak. That wasn’t the answer he was looking for.
“That deal didn’t include me forcing my family on you. They’re a lot. Peggy will hammer you with questions, Brynn will be eavesdropping so she can needle me later, Nolan will make some comment about the dare, my niece Emma will probably ask if we’re getting married, and Lucas will grunt a lot. It will be like the Spanish Inquisition and Meet the Fockers collided. So let me reiterate, they’re a lot.”
“Have you met my parents? ‘A lot’ is a quiet night at our house.”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to leave.”
“Do you want me to leave?” she asked quietly. “Because if you’re uncomfortable with—” Her hand fluttered to her mouth in realization. “Is this about the kiss?” she asked. “I knew it was too much. It was too much, right? It wasn’t premediated, I swear. I just heard someone coming and … well, I panicked.”
For some reason, he always found her rambling adorable. “So you kissed me?”
“We hadn’t really talked about how we were going to meet everyone, and I figured if I didn’t have my mouth doing something else, I’d end up blabbing the whole story out before we even made it through the front door.”
“I’m glad I could help you keep your mouth busy,” he said. “And I want you to be here. But only if you want to be.”
She fiddled with a button on his shirt, then smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle with her hand. “I want to be here, Jax. I’m just nervous I’m going to blow it.”
He took her by the hip and tugged her to him. She met his gaze with a shyness that had the soft underbelly of his heart rolling over. “I’m nervous too.”
Not about blowing it with his family. But about blowing it with Milly, which made no sense. He wasn’t the kind of guy who remained friends with his exes or turned flings into a friendship. Hell, he barely had enough time in his schedule for flings. These past two weeks were the first time, in what seemed like forever, that Jax had felt as if both feet were firmly rooted in the same place for any given period of time.
