Page 93 of Matched By My Rival
“Then welcome to the family.”
Chelsea swatted me playfully, blushing, and I suddenly realized Grandma and Grandpa had wandered off. That was a scary thought. I hurried toward the kitchen, blanching when I saw my grandparents reading the chore list posted on the wall—right above a bowl of condoms.Shit!It was always there, so I didn’t even notice it anymore, and it had entirely escaped my cleaning frenzy.
Jackson’s gaze went straight to the bowl, and he smirked. Before I could get irritated by his amusement, he cleared his throat. “It’s nearly lunch. Anyone else hungry?”
“Yes!” I seized on his lifeline. “Good idea.”
“But the muffins…” Chelsea trailed off when Jackson gave a small shake of his head.
“Oh, the muffins are great. But I’d rather not spoil my lunch. I’ll eat one later. The guys will be really excited.”
Grandma looked around. “Where are all the boys? I thought I might meet some of your friends.”
“Everyone is busy,” I lied. Linc and Aidan had left through the backdoor. Most everyone else was still sleeping off the party. “Parents weekend, you know? Let’s go downtown. You love that Italian place if I remember right.”
“I can’t get enough of those breadsticks,” Grandpa said, rubbing his hands together.
With only a little more cajoling—and a supersonic tour of the main floor—I was able to lure them out for lunch. And I owed Jackson for helping me distract them.
His laidback nature reminded me of Parker, sending a pang through me. I bet Parker would be great with Joey. Grandma and Grandpa too. He was the kind of guy that most everyone liked. I wasn’t sure why it had taken me so long, but now I liked him more than anyone I’d ever met.
I just hoped I hadn’t pushed him away for good. I wanted him to meet my family. Wanted them to see how much he meant to me.
After we’d all stuffed ourselves with carbs, we lingered out front while Grandpa went to fetch the car. I’d offered to drive it, but Grandpa let no one touch his car. Never had. It was the only thing he’d ever been stingy about. “A man has to have something to call just his own,” he’d said to me when I was a teenager. “One day you’ll understand.”
I thought I might get it now. But it wasn’t a car I wanted to call my own.
“I want to see where you work,” Grandma said, sounding eager. “What was the name? Something to do with trains or rails?”
“Tracks.” I laughed. “Like music tracks, not railroad tracks.”
Grandma swatted my arm. “Don’t laugh at me, Mister. I changed your diapers.”
“And I am eternally grateful.”
“As you should be,” Chelsea said. “And asyoushould be,” she added pointedly to her son, Joey, tousling his hair. “I had to clean your dirty butt so many times.”
“Mooooom!”
Chelsea’s boyfriend, Jackson, laughed and said to Joey, “She’s embarrassing, huh?”
“Yeah!”
“All good moms are.” He swung Joey up and flipped him over his arm, making him squeal, before setting him down again.
I hadn’t been too sure what to think when he’d shown up at the frat house with my family, but he seemed like an easygoing guy who was great with Joey. Grandpa pulled up in his Lincoln Town Car, ready to drive us to our next destination after lunch.
“I don’t think we should take Joey to a bar,” I said after everyone had piled into the car.
“Oh, probably not,” Grandma said with a frown. “Can we at least drive by?”
“Sure.” I gave them directions and sat back, watching the buildings pass by, wondering where Parker was right then. His parents were coming up this weekend. Was he in a car somewhere, just like me, visiting spots around town that were important to him? Would he tell them what he’d told me? That he wanted to give up football?
What if they tried to convince him he was making a mistake? What if they reacted badly?
Like I did.
Shit, I’d really screwed up, hadn’t I?
