Page 72 of Devoted

Chapter 22

Jess

“You can do this. It’s going to be fine.” I give myself a much-needed pep talk as I close in on Brooks’ mom’s house where I’m minutes away from meeting his aunt, cousin, and mom. The ironic part is I’m not nervous about meeting his family, I’m more anxious about seeing his mom, afraid that being close to her will bring back memories of my mom fighting for her life. The last thing I want to do is have to excuse myself to the bathroom to choke back sobs, or make a fool of myself for crying for no reason.

Of course, there would be a reason for my tears, but I don’t want to have to explain that. Not tonight. I just want to meet the people that Brooks deems the most important people in his life and fantasize about the future we could build together.

Brooks insisted that I didn’t need to bring anything, but I still stopped for flowers and a bottle of wine because I hate showing up anywhere empty-handed. I know Vivian probably wouldn’t drink, but I figured maybe someone else would partake in a glass. However, I figured flowers were a safe gift for her, so I opted for a purple tulips that just called to me. My mother loved tulips, so I hope Vivian appreciates them too.

I park on the curb of the house Brooks grew up in, noticing immediately the front yard and porch covered in plants. He shared with me his mom’s love for gardening last week, which took me by surprise when I revealed that my mother was the same way. The more we discussed, the more I realized that seeing Vivian today and talking with her might be like seeing a version of my mother again. And as I lock my car and make my way up to the door, I can hear my heartbeat in my ears and feel my chest pound with each pump of blood.

“It’s going to be okay. You’re doing this for him, remember. He’s worth it.” My hand rises and hits the doorbell, the ringing inside so loud that I can hear it on my side of the door.

And then the door opens and the larger-than-life man that makes me weak in the knees smiles down at me. “Hey, babe. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. I brought flowers and some wine,” I say through trembling lips, which Brooks picks up on right away.

He lowers his voice and then leans in close to me, brushing my cheek with the back of his hand. “There’s no need to be nervous, babe. Everyone is gonna love you.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just been a long time since I’ve met a guy’s family.” And I’ve only done it twice before, so the pressure I feel is real.

“Well, next I get to meet yours, so you can return the trepidation favor soon, alright?” His tone is playful, which helps ease the tension a bit.

“Deal.”

“Come on.” He waves me inside and then ushers me through the door with his hand on my back as I take in four faces staring back at me with borderline scary smiles on their faces.

“Shit, guys. You look creepy as hell!” Brooks berates his family as the four of them visibly relax and start laughing.

“Sorry, it was Ethan’s idea,” Brooks’ aunt admits as everyone agrees.

“Don’t think I won’t get you back one day, Ethan,” I reply with a lift of my brow, the women all chuckling at his reaction of surprise.

“Oh, I like her already,” Vivian says before waving me over. “Come here, Jess. Come sit. It’s so lovely to meet you finally.”

I take a seat on the couch beside her as everyone else moves around the room, most of them taking residence in the kitchen where a counter full of food caught my eye as I stepped into the house.

“These are for you.” I hand her the bouquet of tulips and then pull the bottle of wine from my purse as Brooks sits down beside me. “I brought wine too, but I wasn’t sure if you’d want to sample that while going through chemo. I know some patients can have a little, but if you don’t want any, I won’t take offense.”

Vivian smiles and reaches for the flowers, inhaling their floral scent. “These are lovely. Thank you. And I love purple.”

“Me too.”

“Mom, I’d like you to meet Jess officially. Jess, this is my mother, Vivian Bennet.”

We shake hands for the formality of it, but that just makes us both chuckle at his expense.

She throws her head in Brooks’ direction. “It’s as if my son doesn’t think I know how to introduce myself to someone.”

“Ah, come on, Mom. I was just trying to be polite. If you want the real introduction, Jess, I’ll tell you all about what an embarrassing mother she was while I was growing up.” He counters as she scoffs.

“Brooks Bennet! You’d better be joking, or I’ll show you embarrassing right now. Jess, wanna hear about the time I walked in on him jacking off?”

“O-kay!” Brooks exclaims as he changes his tune rather quickly. “I take it back, Mom. I take it back!”

“That’s what I thought. Now, do me a favor and pour me just a sip of this wine so I can have some with dinner.” She hands him the bottle as he moves to stand.

“You got it, Mom.” Brooks traverses the couch, but not before planting a kiss on the side of my head, and then giving his mom one as well. “Be nice to her, Mom. I kind of like her,” he teases before winding up in the kitchen in two seconds flat, leaving me alone with a woman who reminds me so much of my own mother, it stings.

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