“You’re so damn adorable,” I told him.
“Let me tell you a little secret,” my mom told Chaz as she looped her arm through his and led him into the house. “I already knew that Kyle is in love with you.”
“You did?” Chaz asked.
“A mother knows these things,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I bet Clara knows that you’re in love with my son also.”
“Chaz!” Brittney cried as she ran into the room. “I haven’t seen you in ages.” She threw her arms around Chaz and hugged him tightly. “It’s been too long. How are you?”
“I’m doing great, Britt. How about you?” Chaz replied without missing a beat.
“I love Chicago!”
“Unfortunately,” my mom grumbled. “What?” she asked when Brittney pinned her with a baleful glare. “Is it wrong that I wish you lived closer?”
Brittney turned loose of Chaz and hugged our mother. “I miss you too, Mama.”
“Are you still working with Josh?” Britt asked Chaz.
“Yep, I manage the salon for now,” Chaz answered.
“Are you leaving the salon?” my mom asked. “How will Josh manage without you?”
Chaz laughed nervously. “It’s a possibility, but I haven’t made a final decision yet.”
“And go where, dear?” Mom asked.
“Well, I…”
“Let the guy breathe a little,” my dad said. “He’s barely into the house, and you guys are drilling him already.”
“Hi, Mr. Vaughn,” Chaz said.
“None of that mister stuff,” my dad told Chaz. “Call me Derrick or Dad. Come on in and have a seat. They could at least make sure you’re comfortable before they start drilling you with questions.” My dad screwed up his face into a super serious expression. “What are your intentions toward my son?” he asked in a stern voice.
“Dad,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Leave him alone.”
“I was just teasing him,” my dad told me. “You knew that right, Chaz?”
“Uh, yeah,” Chaz said, but not very convincingly.
“Hey, I treated my sons-in-law the same way when the girls dragged them home to meet us,” my dad told Chaz.
“Kicking and screaming the entire way,” Brett said from the sofa where he sat next to Jenna.
Jenn smacked his thigh playfully before she stood up to hug Chaz. “Hey, cutie,” she said to Chaz. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Chaz answered. “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great,” Jenn said to Chaz before shifting her focus to me. “Did you get settled into your new house?”
“Pretty much,” I replied. “There are still odds and ends I need to pick up.”
“You’ll be doing that for a year at least,” my mom told me. “We would’ve helped you unpack.” She sounded a little disappointed that I kindly refused their help.
“I didn’t have much to unpack, and the furniture was delivered and set up for me. I just wanted to have it completely set up before I have you all over,” I said.
“I bet,” my youngest sister, Sierra, said. “When are you going to have us over and what will you feed us? I need something more substantial than celery and carrots to survive.”
“Hardy har har.” I snaked my arm out and hooked it around her neck then pulled her to me for a head noogie.
Sierra giggled and squirmed while she tried to get away. “Quit it, you big lunkhead. You’re messing up my hair.” That only made me rub my knuckles across her head harder.
Britt returned to Chaz’s side with her husband. “Chaz, this is my husband, Mark.”
Mark shook his hand then Brett introduced himself. Chaz seemed to relax after his near slip until Britt said, “So, what were you saying about possibly leaving the salon? What are your plans?”
I was curious how much he would tell my family because only a handful of people knew that he published a book. He said he liked being anonymous because he wrote whatever came to mind and never worried what certain people would think. He started to reply, but the oven timer went off.
“Hold that thought, dear,” my mom said before she ran out of the room.
“Time to eat,” my dad said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “Let’s head on into the dining room.”
I snagged Chaz’s hand and held him back while the others left the room. “You don’t have to tell them anything before you’re ready. It’s fine if you want to tell them that you’re a writer but not give your pen name. That’s your business and I don’t want you to feel pressure to please my family.”
Chaz stood on his tiptoes and kissed me. “You’re so damn precious. It’s no wonder I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Kyle, quit hogging Chaz to yourself,” my mom yelled from the dining room. “Bring him here so we can feed him and he can finish telling us about his big plans.”
Chaz turned and looked up at me as he started walking backward toward the dining room. “Do you really think they want to hear about my big plans?” I knew by his tone of voice and the way he kept looking at my crotch that he wasn’t referring to his writing career.
I closed the gap between us and pulled him against my chest. “How about we sneak out the front door and go back to my place,” I said.
“How about you get your ass in here and eat the food I made for you,” my mom said. “Sounds like you’ll need the energy.”
Chaz threw his head back and laughed. “Mama ears,” he told me. “They don’t miss a darn thing.”
I pinched Chaz’s plump ass, and he smacked my hand.
“I saw that,” Mom yelled.
“Eyes that can see through walls too,” I told Chaz.
Everyone had taken their usual spots at the table which left a seat vacant across from me for Chaz. We passed the dishes around so we could fill our plates and I got ribbed for my healthier choices while everyone else loaded up on French toast casserole and real sausage or bacon.
“I made you some low-fat blueberry muffins,” Mom said.
“Probably low taste too,” Mark commented.
“Thanks, Mama,” I said, helping myself to two of them. I bit into one and was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. I had expected Mark to be right, but I was glad he wasn’t. “These are really good.”
“She’d give you the recipe, but you don’t cook,” Sierra teased.
“I’m thinking about learning now that I have that big fancy kitchen,” I confessed. Sierra reached for one of my muffins, and I jabbed my fork at her playfully like I was going to stab her.
“Really?” Jenn asked.
“I figure it can’t be that hard to make basic stuff,” I said with a shrug. “Hell, I can read so I should be able to follow a recipe.”
“I’m so happy to hear you say that, Kyle,” my mom said. “I bought something for you then questioned whether it was the right thing to do.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I bought you a Quirky Chef membership,” she said.
“What’s that?” I asked her.
“It sounds kinky,” Brittney said. “Mom, he has Chaz now!”
“It’s a service that sends meal kits filled with fresh, healthy meats and vegetables to your home with recipe cards that tell you how to prepare the food. I thought it would be fun for you and Chaz to do together,” she said. “Did I overstep?”
“It’s a great idea, Mom.” I looked at Chaz and asked, “What do you think?”
“I think it sounds fun. I eat way too much carryout and frozen foods,” Chaz said. I agreed that Chaz and I could have a lot of fun learning to cook together.
“Okay, can we get back to what Chaz plans to do after he leaves Curl Up and Dye?” Britt asked.
“Well, I…”
“Oh my God!” Jenn exclaimed. She jumped up from her seat and ran to the bathroom down the hall.
My mom narrowed her eyes and looked at Brett. “What’s going on?”
“Um…” Brett said.
“Bret
t?” My mom used her Don’t Fuck With Me tone. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”
“Um, I’m just going to check on my wife.” Brett retreated hastily from the room.
“I recognize that reaction to food,” my mom said. Tears filled her eyes and she placed her hand over her heart. “Oh, Derrick. We’re finally going to have a grandchild.”
“Maybe she just had to pee really bad,” Sierra said with a shrug.
“And Brett felt the need to assist her with that?” my mom countered.
Britt and Mark started laughing like crazy hyenas. “I don’t believe it,” Britt said, wiping tears off her face.
“You and Jenn always had a little bit of a competitive streak going between you,” Mark said to his wife.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Dad asked.
“We’re pregnant,” Britt said excitedly.
“We were going to tell everyone on Thanksgiving,” Mark told us. “It seemed fitting.”
“That’s what we were planning too,” Jenn said, reentering the dining room. “I can’t believe you’re pregnant too. Our babies will grow up together and be so close.”
“They’ll be trying to outdo one another like we did,” Britt said.
There were a lot of hugs and happy tears as we congratulated the couples. I couldn’t wait to be the favorite uncle who spoiled my nieces or nephews rotten. Of course, there would be times that I paid my sisters back for things they did to me when we were growing up. I would buy the loudest, most obnoxious toys I could find for birthdays and Christmas.
“Wow, this has been an amazing day. All of my kids are happy, healthy, and doing things they love. Sierra, you’re so close to having your Ph.D., Britt and Jenna are becoming moms, and my boy has found a man who makes him happy and bought his first home. It’s just so wonderful.”
“That’s not all, Mama,” I said excitedly. “You won’t believe what Chaz gave me for a housewarming gift.”
“We could probably guess,” Sierra said snarkily.
“He bought me an X-Men lunchbox to replace the one you accidentally put in the yard sale.” My family groaned when they heard my joyous news.
“Uh oh,” Chaz said. “Did I mess up?”
“No, baby, you didn’t,” I said. “It’s my most treasured possession.”
“I bet he starts taking his lunches in it again to work,” Jenna said.
“And everywhere else he goes,” Sierra added.
“Yeah, remember how he even carried his comics or rock collection in there?” Britt asked.
“It’s sitting on the fireplace mantel for everyone to admire when they visit,” I said proudly.
Brittney snorted and said, “Until Mom accidentally sells it on purpose again.”
“Brittney!” Mom said.
“I knew it was no accident,” I stated accusingly, narrowing my eyes at my mom. “How could you?”
“Honey, you were getting a little old to be carrying that thing around. I thought it was one of the reasons you had a hard time making friends,” she said softly. “I just wanted you to be happy.”
She had a good point, but still. “I wasn’t that old,” I grumbled.
“Kyle, you were twelve,” Jenn countered. “Mom had to act fast or you would’ve taken that thing to high school with you.”
“Laugh it up, Jenn-Jenn,” I said, “but I know what really happened to Mr. Pumperknickle.” She dragged that stuffed cat with her from her first step to second grade.
“Mom!” Jenn said accusingly. “Did you sell Mr. Pumperknickle?”
“Oh, honey,” my mom said sadly. “I couldn’t have given that thing away. At least I made a few bucks off Kyle’s lunchbox.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so betrayed,” I replied dramatically. I’d known all along that my mom sold the lunchbox and why, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t tease her.
“Honey, at least I didn’t tell Chaz about the time you—”
“I published a book,” Chaz blurted out, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. “That’s what I plan to do full time if, or when, I leave Curl Up and Dye.” His announcement sidetracked my mom from what she’d been about to say. My man had thrown himself on the sword to spare me. Chaz winked playfully as he was bombarded with one question after the other about his writing. Surprisingly, he told them everything. My mom and sisters broke the No Phones at the Table rule to buy his book even though he told them he’d gladly give them a copy.
I loved the way Chaz glowed when he talked about his passion for telling stories and the easy way he interacted with my family. It didn’t feel like it was the first time I brought him home and I was certain it woudn’t be the last. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so hard and felt so happy. I knew the biggest reason for my happiness wasn’t my cool lunchbox, my amazing new home, or my crazy family; it was the man smiling at me from across the table.
“You really haven’t traveled out of Ohio until now?” Kyle asked me for the second time as we got in the back of the hired car. He asked me the first time when I confessed that I was flying for the first time when we boarded the plane.
“No,” I said again. I wasn’t annoyed by Kyle’s question because he asked out of surprise, not derision. The things I worried would turn Kyle away from me, actually drew him closer. He loved that I had limited experiences so that he could be with me as I discovered new and exciting things. He thought I was refreshing, not unsophisticated.
“I wish we were staying longer than four days then,” Kyle replied. “There are so many things I want to show you.”
“We can always come back.”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing like Christmastime in New York,” Kyle said. “Are you excited about tomorrow?”
“Yes, but nervous too,” I answered honestly. “I’m not convinced I need an agent, and I don’t want to disappoint my idol.”
Kyle reached for my hand, and I resented the gloves we wore that kept me from feeling his flesh against mine. “You can’t disappoint anyone,” he said softly. “Everyone loves you and she will too.”
I was happy that only one of the four days involved book stuff so that I could have plenty of time to sightsee with Kyle. As excited as I was to attend the book convention and meet Agnes, I was more excited to see what Kyle had planned for us. He refused to tell me anything, but I loved surprises almost as much as I loved him.
I considered myself an imaginative person, but not even I could’ve written a date as romantic as the one Kyle planned for us. Our excursion started late in the afternoon when he took me to see the Rockette’s at Radio City Music Hall. “You can’t have Christmas in New York without the Rockettes,” Kyle said.
“It was amazing,” I told him. “Thank you so much.”
“Baby, we’re just getting started,” Kyle said.
He wasn’t joking either. After the show, he took me to an incredible dinner where I ate exotic foods I would never find in Ohio. I thought that would be the end of our night, but he had one more surprise up his sleeve when he took me on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city. I snuggled beneath a flannel blanket with him and took it all in. I loved the cold crisp air, the sounds of hooves clomping against the pavement, and the taste of hot chocolate on my tongue. My favorite thing of all was the way Kyle smiled at me as I enjoyed each of those things.
A light snow began to fall from the sky on our ride back to the hotel. Kyle pulled me to him and kissed me tenderly while snowflakes fell all around us. It was so ridiculously romantic that I expected a director to yell, “cut,” at any second. It was too impractical and perfect to be real, but I wasn’t dreaming. Not even I could imagine the adoration and sensual promise that simmered in Kyle’s eyes when he looked at me.
“You’re not the only one with a surprise,” I told Kyle when we strolled through the hotel lobby. “I wanted to find the right time to give it to you, and I can’t imagine I’ll have a better night than this one.”
“This
weekend was supposed to be about you,” Kyle said, but I saw the excitement in his eyes. He probably thought he was getting another lunchbox or comic book to add to his collection and I hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed.
I instructed him to sit on the couch while I retrieved his gift from my suitcase. I blew out a shaky breath when I handed the box to him.
“You look really nervous,” Kyle said. “Terrified, actually.”
“I am,” I admitted. It was the boldest move I’d made in my life. “Go ahead and open it.”
Kyle took his time pulling off the ribbon and removing the paper, unlike the time I gave him the lunchbox. Of course, he was probably reacting to the energy I put out in the room. I was nervous and made him edgy too. After what seemed like twenty minutes, Kyle pushed aside the tissue paper and looked down at his gift.
“It’s your new book!” he said excitedly and lifted the paperback out of the box. “I’m so excited that I get to hold it in my hands months before anyone else can.”
“There’s more,” I told Kyle. He looked into the empty box then back at me. “It’s inside the book.” I saw the minute he realized what I meant. He swallowed hard then opened the book to the dedication page.
To Kyle,
You put the stars in my eyes, fireworks in my heart, and magic in my words. I love you.
I held my breath the entire time he read the words I’d written to him, worrying that the sentiment was too sappy. Hell, I might as well have started singing Bette Midler’s “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” I started to feel a little lightheaded and wondered how many times he’d read the words and why hadn’t he said anything. Oh my God! It’s too late to change it if he hates it. Breathe, dumb ass, or you’ll be dead before he has a chance to tell you.
I breathed easy when Kyle looked up at me and said, “Wow,” in an awed voice. I recalled the times when that word was all I could say to express feelings so intense that words failed me. “I love you too.” Kyle set his book aside, and we reached for each other.
I kissed Kyle the way I had wanted to that magical night beneath the stars while fireworks exploded in the sky. I reached for Kyle and held him close rather than pushing him away. I kept my eyes open, so I could see every expression on his face when I kissed him in all the places that drove him wild, like the back of his knees, his ticklish rib cage, and the crease between his pelvis and thigh. I heard the whispered words of love as Kyle lay me down and slid inside me. I felt the way his body trembled when I ran my hands up and down his spine as he made love to me. But what stood out to me the most that night was the look in Kyle’s eyes that promised me a love beyond my wildest imagination and greater than my most vivid dreams.
Unscripted Love (Road to Blissville, #1) Page 20