Page 66 of Restrained

Vivienne leaves, and once again I'm left with Lola. I quickly grab her waist, tugging her to me. “He’s cute.”

“Too cute. And he knows it.”

I laugh. “You want me to take off my suit jacket?”

Her eyes slide down my torso and then back up to my eyes. “I’m a sucker for a man in a suit, but definitely later.”

Part of me wants to skip the dinner and get to that later part, but I know this is important. “Did Penelope show?”

Her eyes are worried, and she bites her bottom lip, looking down at the floor. “Not yet. I’m not sure she will.” Her head lifts, and she takes one of my hands in hers. “But everyone else is here, and I'm excited for you to meet them.”

Meeting the family is a big deal. I didn’t have role models growing up, but I get social norms. I know that meeting her mother and siblings is a big step, one I’ve never taken with a woman before, but I'm not nervous about that.

The only thing that has my palms sweating is the fact that one person close to her shares my DNA.

“I’m ready when you are.”

She tugs my hand, instructing me to follow her into the kitchen and dining room. I hear the laughter before we enter,and when we do, everything stops in a semi-cliché sort of moment.

An older, yet still stunning, woman is standing at the stove talking to a gentleman around her age and a young handsome man, both sitting at the kitchen bar.

“Mom, Tony, Ash,” Lola motions toward me, “this is Hayden West.” She turns to me with a warm smile. “Hayden, this is my youngest brother, Asher.”

The younger man nods his head, not cracking a smile, but grunts a “hey” to me.

Lola looks slightly annoyed, but quickly moves to the man next to him. “My stepfather, Tony.”

The older man smiles and gives a cheery “Hello.”

And then Lola turns to her mother, who has something boiling on the stove. “And this is my mom, Nora.”

The pretty woman wipes her hands on her apron and walks over to me, her eyes studying me intensely. It would be nerve-wracking if she didn’t seem so kind. Nora has a sort of bright light around her, one that instantly makes my body relax. Her hands move to my face, and my eyes widen, wondering what she’s looking for. “Hayden.”

I nod. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She smiles, not releasing me. “My God.” Her hands fall to her mouth as she shakes her head, and then she turns to Lola, letting her hands drop to her sides. “How did you guys not see it?”

Lola looks slightly embarrassed. “Mom?”

She only smiles and then looks back at me. “The first time my boys brought Penelope home, I looked into her eyes and fell instantly in love.” I swallow the thick lump in my throat as I listen to her. “She was special. I could tell even then. I saw the pain in her young eyes, but I also saw the fire. I knew she’d be part of our family.”

I’m slightly uncomfortable at her words, but Nora holds a trance-like hold over me, as if she knows things others just don’t. “I’m glad she had your family.”

“We were lucky to have her.” She turns to Lola, shaking her head from side to side again, “How long did it take you to figure out he was related to Penelope?”

Lola’s cheeks heat. “Mom,” she laughs, “they aren’t twins.”

Nora only shakes her head again with a light, easy laugh that’s not unkind. “They might as well be.”

“That’s great, Lols. You found the dude version of Penelope. Essentially fucking your best friend.” Her brother Asher takes a drink from the beer bottle in front of him. “Seems to me you might want to switch therapists or start going a few times a week.”

Nora’s eyes shift to her son with a disapproving look but a small smile on her lips. My body tenses at his tone, but Lola just laughs it off. “If I wanted to screw Penelope, I’m pretty sure I could have.”

I turn to Lola, an uncertain smile on my lips, but her brother laughs into his beer as he takes another drink. “Probably.”

“Kids,” Nora scolds, laughingly.

I lean into Lola’s ear. “Are you telling me my sister swings both ways?”

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