Bliss Series Boxed Set: The Whole Damn Harem (35 page)

“Mirrors”

Kate

All morning Mac agonized over what to wear. I’ve had to redo her hair three times because first she thought it was trying too hard, and then she thought it was too casual. After I’d finally calmed her and her wayward, product-filled hair down, Daniel stepped in and reassured her that she looks beautiful and that she was worrying about nothing.

“How was your date last night?” she asks, mid wardrobe freakout.

“Great,” I answer cheerfully. “But today is about you. Meeting the future grandparents and possibly in-laws, so we’ll talk about it later.” In all honesty, I have no intention of talking about sleazy Spencer ever again.

“What? What makes you say that? Oh my god, do you think he’s going to propose? I mean, we’ve only just got back together, and yes, we love each other, and I don’t want any other penis, or man, like ever, but seriously, Kate. Me married? White picket fence and barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen?” She was breathless and panicking more than ever.

Will I ever stop putting my foot in it?

“Mac, breathe! We don’t know what the future holds. You’ve just got to take it day by day and go with the flow. Haven’t you learned anything from the past six months?”

“Okay. Yes, you’re right. Okay, I can do this. I can meet the parents of the superhero love of my life, right?”

“Yes. Now get dressed and we’ll get going.”

“Thank you for coming with us today, Kate. I know it’s beyond the call of duty and all that.” She sniffs, and I know that this is the pregnancy hormones running amok again.

“Anything for you, Mac. Always.”

∞
∞~

“I can’t do this, I really can’t. Turn the car around, Danny boy. We can go back home, and I’ll give you the world’s best blow job. I promise. I’ll show your penis how much I love you if you turn back now.” Mac’s fisting her hands in the gorgeous and totally adorable maternity dress she bought just for meeting the parents. But as you can tell, she’s a bit nervous. It must be bad if she’s pleading.

“Gorgeous, they already adore you,” Daniel replies, looking back at me and winking before reaching over to the passenger seat and rubbing her thigh. “Breathe, Mac, it’s gonna be fine. I love you, that is all that matters to them.” Stopping at an intersection, he leans over and lifts his hand to cup her cheek, softly brushing his lips against hers. It’s one of those show-stopping moments in the rom coms where all the women swoon.

“Thank you, Superman,” she whispers.

I want that kind of devotion. He is so damn good for her...hell, they’re good for each other. They’re like the perfect pieces to each other’s puzzle. Mac has her little freakout’s and Daniel doesn’t even flinch. He manages them, listens and calms her down. Between the two of us, there isn’t a Mac freakout that we can’t handle. Although she’s never offered me oral sex to get out of something.

We kissed once, but that was on a dare at a bar late one night when a LOT of alcohol had been consumed. It was nice, a bit sloppy given how drunk we were, but even then, girls are so not my thing.

It’s been so long since I’ve been kissed. And oh, how I love to kiss. I could make out like a teenager for hours. There is something honest about it. You can’t fake a kiss. You can’t imitate passion and hunger. With one heartfelt kiss, you can feel everything the other person feels for you. My three date rule is for sex, definitely not for kissing, but I’m so glad I didn’t kiss Roger or Sleazy Spencer. Can you imagine how much worse I would feel had I kissed them?

“We’re here,” Daniel says, pulling into a long sweeping driveway stopping outside a freaking mansion. Holy crap, this has Mac freakout level ten potential. I can see that my presence was definitely needed today.

“So, I need you to turn around now and take me back home. Kate can pretend to be me. It’ll all work out.”

I lean forward in the seat, wrapping my hands around the car seat and hugging Mac. “Mac Attack, two problems with that. Daniel isn’t in love with me, and I don’t have a cute, little baby belly poking out. They’re going to love you. You’ve got this. And if you don’t, Superman and I are here for you.”

“Okay. As long as you know that I may look fine on the outside, but inside I’m like that scream painting with sound. Loud, wild, flail your hands in the air, sound.”

“I think we get the picture, gorgeous,” Daniel murmurs.

She turns her head to glare at him. “Are you sure? There are so many more descriptions to go along with this freakout. The word ‘epic’ comes to mind.”

Daniel spins in his seat and leans over, taking both of Mac’s fisted hands in his. “Gorgeous, you’re the mother of my child and the love of my life. If they don’t love you, then my parents have been abducted by aliens. Last night, when I spoke to Mom, she was beside herself with excitement over meeting the woman who has driven her son crazy for the past ten months.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, oh…”

“I love you,” she replies instantly. There is no mistaking the genuine emotion in her voice.

I need to get out of this car before they start sucking face. I love them to death, but there is only so much making out that I can handle.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” I say before getting the fuck out of that car. Last night’s chat with nightdancer comes back to me as the sun hits my eyes and an imaginary ice poker stabs me in the head as my hangover hits me with a vengeance.

He was totally flirting with me. And I totally flirted back. I was drunk, but that doesn’t excuse me disappearing like that last night. No warning. I just cut him off. Oh shit! He must think I’m a total lush, or a flake, or a cock tease. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t want to talk to me again.

I’m just about to pull out my phone to type out a quick apology to him when Daniel gets out of the car, walks around the hood and opens Mac’s door like the perfect gentleman he always is. Swoon! Who would have thought my commitment-phobe best friend would find her perfect guy?

I smile at Mac and wipe around my mouth, hoping she’ll get the subtle hint that her lipstick is smeared all over her face from Daniel’s obviously successful calming down method. Sucking her face off to take her mind off meeting the parents. Nicely played, Superman!

I hear a door crack open behind us, and I turn around to see what I can only explain as a scene out of The Stepford Wives. A gorgeous couple in their late 50s, early 60s, walking down the wide stone stairs in unison. Daniel’s mom is wearing a peach-colored twin set and tailored pants that look perfectly pressed, her rich brown hair pristine in its blown out goodness, and his dad is wearing a tailored matching shirt and slacks with spit-polished black, shiny shoes and perfectly coiffed salt and pepper hair.

All in all, it looks like Daniel comes from good quality, country club stock. Not at all what Mac and I are used to.

“Daniel, you made it,” his mom exclaims before taking the steps two at a time and running toward him with arms widespread.

“Mom, take it down a notch. You’ll scare her away,” he says teasingly.

“Oh, stop.” She pulls apart and rubs his arms lovingly before looking over at Mac and I who are still planted next to the car, staring at the encounter in shock. “Mac?”

I put my hand behind Mac’s back and push her forward toward Daniel. “Ah, yeah, that’s me. The knocked up one,” she says nervously, gesturing her hand in the air around her stomach. I shake my head, biting my lip to stifle a laugh knowing that Mac can be a real smartass when she’s nervous. This is going to be interesting if not a little bit fun to watch.

Daniel’s father laughs as he steps forward to greet his son with a handshake. “Good to see you, son. Was it a nice drive out?”

“Yeah, it was. I had to calm down my girl a few times. She seems to think you’re scary.” He turns around, holding his arm out to Mac who latches on to him tightly, wrapping her arm around his waist like he’s her lifeline. She holds out the bouquet of flowers she bought for Daniel’s mother.

“They’re beautiful, Mac. Almost as pretty as you. And who might you be?” she asks, looking over at me.

“I’m Kate, Mac’s best friend,” I reply cheerfully.

“Oh yes, Daniel has told me about you as well. I hope you’re not too sad to be losing a roommate.”

“Ah, what?” Mac asks, looking up at Daniel questioningly.

I see him wince then rake his spare hand through his hair. He leans down and whispers something in Mac’s ear. I see her whole body relax—whatever he’s just told her, it has done the trick. I really need to talk to her about not stressing out so much.

“Now then, let’s get inside so I can get to know my future daughter-in-law,” Daniel’s mom says before turning toward the house and walking up the stairs again.

HOLY FUCKBALLS!

I look over at Daniel and Mac. Daniel’s wide eyes are pointing back at me, and Mac’s shoulders are tense again. Damage control round two required stat! I take a few large steps, and I’m immediately at Mac’s side just as she turns to me and tries to wiggle out of Daniel’s firm grip.

“Not letting you go so you can freak out again. You can thank me later with that blow job you promised. Until then, we’ll try to deflect any long term commitment grenades my mother might throw our way. For the record,” he says, talking to both of us, “we’ve already talked about moving in together, Mac. And Kate, you know that we’d talk to you before any decisions were made. But if you can’t tell, my mother is obviously trying to speed things up so that her youngest son is not living in sin and having a child out of wedlock. It’s her deal, not mine. I don’t have an issue with it, never will.”

Good god, that man is a miracle worker.

“Okay,” Mac says, burrowing herself deeper into his side just as Daniel’s mom turns and looks down at us.

“Come now, we don’t bite!”

“Much,” Daniel says under his breath, breaking the mood as he leads us up the stairs behind his dad.

“He’s right, you know. She’s all bark and no bite, and I should know,” Daniel’s dad says with a wink. “Although, when she does bite, I don’t complain either.”

Wow, Daniel and his dad are two peas in a pod. Handsome, funny, and dirty minded. Mac’s giggle lets me know that she is thinking the same thing.

“After you, ladies,” Daniel says with a grin, smacking Mac’s ass when we reach the door.

“Watch it Danny Boy, or all promises of previously aforementioned sexual relations will be retracted.” Mac turns to face Daniel, putting both hands on her hips.

“Low blow, Mac,” he whispers in her ear, wrapping one arm around her waist and resting his other hand on top of her baby bump. “You should be nice to the mini superhero’s daddy. The baby’s listening you know.”

“And our mini super heroine’s daddy also knows that I never make a promise I won’t keep. So daddy better help me get through today if he wants to get his daddy reward later on.”

“And that, my friends, is my cue to leave,” I say loudly, walking ahead into a large living room where Daniel’s parents are waiting for us.

“You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Winters,” I remark, walking toward a wall of windows overlooking a private lake. “You have a lake?”

Mr. Winters chuckles. “We have access to the lake, but there are about six other properties that back onto it as well. And please, call us Will and Jenny. Mr. and Mrs. Winters makes us sound old.”

“Oh, okay, Will.” I feel myself blush. “But thank God it’s not yours. I was starting to think I was in the presence of royalty or something. I mean who owns their own lake,” I explain, flailing my hand toward the lake as I turn back around. “Next you’ll be telling me you own a country club or something too.”

Suddenly Daniel clears his throat, and I snap my head towards him. The smirk on his face tells me that I’ve just put my foot in my mouth again. “Oh no, don’t tell me you do own the local country club as well?”

This time it’s Jenny that corrects me. “Well, no dear. But we are members, and Will is on the board.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. So are the other Winters children coming today?” I look over at the wall of the living room and see photo upon photo of Daniel and his brother and two sisters. Photos from high school, college graduation, family holidays...you name it, there was a photograph taken and displayed.

“No, not today. I didn’t want to scare Mac with the whole family just yet. Daniel has just found her, I don’t want her running off again.”

Sheesh, is there anything this woman doesn’t know?

“Aww, look Superman, you were so cute!” Mac says excitedly, walking over to the photo wall to take a closer look. Surprisingly, she doesn’t freak out over Jenny’s comment.

“Superman?” Jenny asks inquisitively.

“Ah, yeah mom, Superman. It’s Mac’s nickname for me,” he replies sheepishly.

“I don’t think I want to know why. I think we should move out onto the patio and start lunch. What do you think, Mac? Is my grandchild hungry?”

“Always, Jenny. I’m surprised I’m not the size of a house yet. Maybe even as big as this house,” she adds, fidgeting with her hands in a totally non Mac way. She’s so nervous; it’s almost cute.

I scoff at her, earning a scowl in my direction. I poke my tongue out at her, succeeding in making her grin.

“Oh rubbish. You’re glowing. I swear, I didn’t put on more than ten pounds when I was carrying Daniel, and I ate everything in sight. William can tell you all about that.”

I hear Daniel chuckle and see Mac look up at him incredulously. “And what are you laughing about?”

“Sorry, but I’m sure it was just last night you wanted to send me out for Tiramisu from that restaurant Kate was at, and I compromised by getting some Ben & Jerry’s for you.”

“Shut it. Your parents don’t need to know that about me,” she says in a low growl which just makes the rest of us laugh louder. I giggle when she crosses her arms across her chest, making sure that her displeasure is known to all, but it only serves to make Daniel laugh harder.

“Anything you want, any time you want it, gorgeous. Proved that quite a few times already.” He kisses her forehead and leads her outside to the patio, pulling out her seat and pushing it back in.