“Really?”
“Yeah. We had dinner first, and we talked. He told me he was glad I was doing so well, but he had nothing for me, and really didn’t need me in his life.” Tony shrugged as if it hadn’t mattered.
“That’s really sad.” Jenni reached over and took his hand in hers as she looked at the house in front of them. It wasn’t middle class. It was much further below middle class than she’d imagined. “Let’s go meet your mom.”
Tony got out and walked to the door, ringing the bell. When his mom came to the door, she looked excited. “So this is the new bride, is she?”
Jenni was startled for a moment that she knew about the marriage, but then she realized he’d had no reason to hide it like she did. “It’s nice to meet you,” Jenni said softly.
“Jenni, this is my mother, Beverly. Mom, this is Jenni.”
“So good to meet you, Jenni!” Beverly hugged her close. “I’m so glad Tony finally found someone. I thought he’d be single forever.” She opened the door wide to invite them both in. “Can I fix you something to eat?”
Jenni shook her head. “No, I’m not hungry.” She’d been munching on snacks the whole way, so she had no need of anything. “Tony told me about your daycare, and I think it sounds amazing. I wish you had one closer to where I work, because so many people need overnight care for their children. I’m surprised more people haven’t started centers like that.”
“I could have used it with Tony when he was small. I had a job at a call center, which wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life, but it was good money. I got bumped onto night shift, but there was no one to watch Tony. My mom tried for a while, but it was a pain, so I ended up quitting and going to work somewhere else for half the pay.”
“Well, I think keeping other women from having to do the same is just amazing. There are a lot of call centers up in Westlake, and it would be so nice if you were to open a branch up there.”
Beverly laughed. “It takes a lot of funds to open two places, and I’d need someone to manage the other one. I can’t do it right now.”
“What if you had an investor?” Jenni asked, thinking she’d love to be part of the expansion of an operation like his mother’s.
Beverly looked at her with surprise. “Maybe I could do it then, but I don’t know anyone with the kind of money I’d need, and I don’t want to take out another business loan.”
Jenni started to open her mouth to offer, but Tony shook his head, and she stayed quiet for a moment. “I just think it would be a good idea to have another one. For you and for the community.”
“I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic about it. What do you do, Jenni?”
“I’m a nurse. I actually just graduated a couple of months ago. I’ve been a CNA for a while as I was going through nursing school.”
“I bet it feels good to finally be a nurse then!”
Jenni nodded with a smile. “It does. It’s all I ever really wanted. My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I had no desire. Being a nurse suits me well.”
“A nurse and a CPA. That’s a power couple if you ask me.” Beverly seemed pleased. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything to drink?”
Tony got to his feet. “We’ve been on the road all day. We stopped at my apartment to get a change of clothes, but we’re going to live at her place in Roanoke until we find a house. It’s time we get there.”
“Not too far from here, I hope!”
Tony smiled at that. “You’re just worried we’ll move any potential grandbabies too far away.”
Beverly laughed. “Of course I am! You know I want several, and I want them all to live next door.”
“Jenni works in Northlake, and since I work in Grapevine, we’ll probably end up in the Roanoke or Southlake area.”
“I can live with that if you promise to visit often.”
Tony hugged his mother, who was a good six inches shorter than him. “You know I will.”
Beverly hugged him back. “I’m proud of you, son.”
Tony wasn’t feeling particularly proud of himself at the moment, but he smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”
Jenni moved forward for a quick hug as well. “I’m glad we stopped to meet you today. I hope we’ll get to know one another really soon.”
“We will. Maybe we could get lunch next weekend?”
Jenni frowned. “I work weekends at the moment. I have Wednesday and Thursday off this week. I never know what days I’ll have until the schedule comes out two weeks prior.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Beverly said. “Don’t be strangers.” She walked them to the door, a smile on her face.
Jenni got into the car beside him. “She’s really nice.”
“She’s a pretty awesome mom. I loved showing her off to my friends growing up, because she always made the best snacks.”
“Why wouldn’t you let me invest in her company?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just—I’d rather keep the money separate for now. I don’t want her to feel obligated to us. She’s spent so long saving up enough to get her business started, that I don’t think she should be in debt any more than she already is.”
“Okay,” Jenni said softly. His reasoning didn’t seem to hold water to her, but she wasn’t going to argue any more. If he didn’t want her to help his mother, then she wouldn’t do it.
The drive to Roanoke took about thirty minutes, and she gave him directions to her apartment. Once they were there, the two of them carried everything inside and she gave him the tour.
If he hadn’t known about the money she had been born with before, he’d have known the first time he saw her apartment. It was obvious in so many little ways. When he saw a photograph of her with her parents on the wall, he stopped short. “Wait…You’re the daughter of James and Judy Thompson?” He knew most people wouldn’t recognize her father, but he followed the financial news of Dallas, and there had been a write-up on him only a couple of months before.
She nodded, waiting for him to freak out. Her father had been a pioneer in a surgical procedure back in the seventies. “I am.”
He stared at her for a moment before nodding. He couldn’t let it be a big deal. She hadn’t lied to him or hidden anything. Her personality wasn’t wrapped up in who her parents were. “Cool.” Thoughts of meeting her family made him slightly queasy, but she seemed to want to put it off for as long as possible anyway.
“What do you want to do about food tonight?” she asked. “I’m not feeling up to cooking, and I’m assuming you aren’t either.”
“We could go out or I could pick something up,” he suggested. “Do you have a preference?”
“Let’s go out. I don’t want you to have to go get something without me.” She rubbed the back of her neck, stiff after all the hours in the car. “Would you mind resting for a bit first? I could use a quick nap. Maybe thirty minutes or so. I’m not super hungry yet, anyway.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all. Is this your way of inviting me into your bed?”
She rolled her eyes. “Not at all. This is my way of talking you into letting me sleep before we stuff our faces.” She walked into her bedroom and pulled the covers back. “I’m going to change into pajamas. I’ll put on something clean after my nap. I always feel like I’m covered in filth after a long car ride.”
He nodded, stripping quickly while she got her pajamas to change into. She could keep worrying about wearing clothes around him if she wanted, but he was perfectly content to go naked around her. He slid between the covers, exhausted. They’d have to set an alarm to make sure they didn’t sleep all night. Vacations were exhausting.
Jenni was surprised to find Tony already asleep when she got back from the bathroom. She stood for a minute watching him sleep before climbing into the bed beside him. She hoped he was able to get past her history, because she couldn’t do anything about it.
*****
Jenni was woken the following morning by her phone, which stopped ringing, and then s
tarted again thirty seconds later. That was her mother’s signature. Call, and if you don’t answer, call back again immediately.
Jenni brushed a kiss against Tony’s shoulder before walking over to her dresser where her phone had been charging overnight. “Hello?”
Tony sat up in bed, looking at her with a frown. He glanced at the clock and saw it was only seven. Who was up at seven on a Sunday morning?
“Hi, Mom. Yeah, I’m back from my cruise. Yes, I had a very good time! Did I marry any random strangers on my cruise and bring them back to live with me? What kind of question is that?” She looked at Tony, her eyes wide. “Actually, I did. His name is Tony.”
Jenni held the phone out and away from her ear for a moment, and Tony could hear the loud female voice from across the room. “No, Mom, I’m not joking. I really did get married.” There was another pause as Jenni held the phone away from her ear. “Yes, we’ll come to dinner. When?” Jenni bit her lip. “No, I don’t think we have plans. We’ll be there.” She ended the call and set the phone down on the bed, walking over to climb back under the covers with Tony.
“So we’re going to your parents’ house for dinner?”
She nodded. “Tonight at six. She reminded me to dress appropriately.”
“What’s the appropriate way to dress for dinner? This is Texas. Even fancy restaurants are usually okay with jeans and a button up shirt. Cowboy boots.”
She sighed. “Suit and tie for you. Dress for me. Slacks are not acceptable dinner attire.” She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “I guess we’ll spend the day working on packing up your place, and the evening dealing with my parents.”
He groaned. “I don’t even want to think about it.”
“They won’t bite.” She snuggled close again. “I’m not ready to get up yet. Are you?”
“No, but I’m not sure I can sleep knowing I have to meet them today. How am I ever going to fit into your world?”
She sighed. “That’s what you’re not getting. It’s not my world. Not anymore. My world is cleaning up vomit and changing adults’ diapers. I don’t live in their world and haven’t for several years.”
He didn’t say anything to that as he stroked her hair, holding her close to him. If she could handle introducing him to them, he could handle meeting them. It wasn’t something they could put off forever.
An hour later, they were both dressed and headed for the door. “Let’s take my truck to your place. We can fit more in it. Do you have a storage unit?”
He shook his head. “I don’t. We’ll have to deal with all that stuff tomorrow. For now, we’ll just bring over my clothes and the essentials. Furniture and stuff can wait.” He was suddenly nervous about her seeing his place. All the furniture had been purchased secondhand, and it would probably be best if he just sold it all. He didn’t need it anyway. Everything she had looked new and was of good quality. “How does your mother feel about you driving a truck?”
Jenni grinned. “She thinks I should drive a Lexus, because it’s more fitting to her social status. I love my F-150 though. It’s great for moving or whatever I need it for. I even have a pair of Wrangler jeans and a pair of boots the same color red as my truck.”
He laughed. “Sounds like you’ve gone all out doing whatever you want to do.” He couldn’t help but admire that about her.
“Why shouldn’t I? It’s my life now. Not hers.”
“Is your dad as bad as your mom? You keep talking about your mother, but I’ve heard very little mention of your father.”
“Dad didn’t have a lot to do with me growing up. I’m sure he would have if I’d been a boy, but I was a girl, so it was my mother’s job to make sure I grew up properly.”
“And what about now?”
She shrugged. “It seems that Mother does all the talking for both of them, and when I’m a disappointment, she’s the one who makes sure I know about it.”
“It’s going to be an awful night, isn’t it?”
“Not if we use a lot of antiperspirant.”
He blinked a few times, trying to follow her line of reasoning. “How is that going to help us?”
“Well, I learned when I was about thirteen that I could handle anything my mother threw at me if I kept one very important rule in my mind at all times.”
“What’s the rule?” he asked, frowning. What was she talking about?
She stood on tiptoes, her hand going to the nape of his neck as her mouth went to his ear. She whispered, “Never let ‘em see you sweat.”
He laughed, hugging her close. “So we’re meeting one of the most important doctors of our time and his wife, and the only rule I need to remember is not to let them see me sweat? Are you sure about this?”
“Have I ever failed you?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve only known you for a few days. How could you have already failed me?”
“But we’re married, and I’ve never failed you. See? This can go on forever. I’m just that good.”
He sighed. “Sometimes I think you have the rules and manners your parents must have worked very hard to instill, and then I see this side of you. Kaya and Bridget have corrupted you more than you can see on the surface.”
Jenni grinned at him. “Isn’t it awesome?”
“That’s one word for it. There’s also ‘frightening.’ I think I prefer my word actually.”
“If you’re not nice, I’ll find a karaoke bar tonight and make you sing I Got You Babe.”
Tony laughed softly. “Bring it on. I can do it if you can.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure I can. I was never a fan of the song, but if I had been, it would now be forever ruined…”
“I can see why!”
Chapter Seven
Tony and Jenni worked most of the day at packing up his apartment. They were nowhere near finished at the end, but they were at least satisfied that they’d done as much as they could in one day when they returned to the apartment to prepare for dinner with her parents.
“I wore my best suit for our wedding,” he said, obviously worried. “I need to have it dry cleaned.”
“Do you have a second best?” Jenni asked, rummaging through her clothes. Something sedate in black would please her mother the most, and tonight would be all about appeasing her.
“Can’t we call them and say we’re busy making them grandbabies and not go?”
Jenni choked on a laugh as she laid a black tea length dress on the bed. “Having met your mother, I think that would work on her, but not on my parents. Mom has been pushing me to marry, but not to have kids yet.”
“It was worth a try.” He sighed, pulling out the suit he’d just hung in her closet. “I guess I can wear this. White shirt and black tie?”
“That will please my father.” She walked to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. “We’re going to get through this. Remember, we don’t need their approval to be happy.”
He groaned. “I guess we don’t.” He caught her waist and pulled her up against him, his mouth descending to hers. “Are you sure I can’t talk you into staying home?”
Jenni sighed, pulling away. “I really wish we could. As much as I don’t need them in my life, they are my parents, and I feel like I need to respect them. Do you know how much pain and agony my mother went through to have me? And that was before she was even pregnant!”
He grinned at her, knowing her mother had tried to guilt her about the pain and agony for years. “I guess we should go.”
“Get dressed. We don’t have to stay forever.”
“Fine.” He knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of it, so he didn’t bother trying again. “I’ll get ready, but I won’t like it!”
She went into the bathroom to quickly change clothes and came out. “We’re going to have to take my truck. Do you want to drive it?”
He frowned. “My car gets better gas mileage, I’m sure. Why would we take your truck?”
She shrugged. “It’s the annoyance factor.
My mom hates my truck so much I don’t want to show up in something she’d consider respectable. I know it’s a little crazy, but it makes me happy. I’ll dress for dinner. I’ll act like a lady. But I’ll do it all while driving my F-150.”
“You know that’s a little nuts, right?”
“I’ve spent the last five years hanging out with Kaya and Bridget. Remember, a little nuts is mandatory. It’s when I need a strait jacket that we all need to worry!”
He shook his head as he looked in a mirror to straighten his tie. His accounting firm was casual, and he was able to get away with wearing a pair of slacks and a polo most of the time. He only had a couple of suits for weddings and funerals. He sure hoped dinner at her parents’ wouldn’t be a regular thing.
On the drive there, he drove her truck, and she put in a CD of country love songs. They sang along with it, and he loved how much fun she had doing something so simple.
When they were close, she turned down the radio. “I’ve always wanted to drive up to their house with the music blaring, but I’ve never had the guts.”
He shook his head. “Don’t look at me. I’m not going to encourage that.”
She sighed. “I know.” Looking down at her hands for a minute, she sighed. “I’m sorry you have to be inspected tonight.”
“Is that what this is?” Tony asked her. “Inspection?”
“Oh, absolutely. At least you work in a profession my father will approve of. He’d come unglued if you were a construction worker or something.”
He followed her instructions and pulled up in front of the house, swallowing hard. “This place is huge.”
She leaned over and caught his tie, pulling him in for a kiss. “You’re already part of the family. It’s not like they can force us to divorce!”
He shook his head at her, checking the visor mirror to make sure there was no lipstick on his face. Then he straightened his tie. “Don’t muss my appearance when I’m about to meet you parents.”
She laughed hysterically. “Muss? You’re worried I’ll muss you?”
Teasing in Texas (At the Altar Book 10) Page 7