Page 73 of Rematch
Mom said it was too late to cancel on them.
To be honest, Chelsea was excited about spending part of the holiday with Preston, even though she was slightly nervous about meeting his parents.
“Great. I was hoping…” Preston lifted one of her hands, kissing the palm. “My parents are spending the night in a hotel. They always do, even though I always offer them the guest room. I was hoping…” he started again. “I’ve never been a part of Lennon’s bedtime routine, helping with the bath, putting him to bed, doing the midnight feeding.”
“You want us to sleep over?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes. In the guest room,” he hastily added. “You could consider it my Christmas present.”
She laughed. “A sleepless night and changing shitty diapers is a questionable gift choice, but…yeah. We can stay with you that night.”
He picked her up, spinning her around as she laughed.
“Put me down, you lunatic!”
Preston placed her feet back on the ground, then leaned toward her. “I’m bending the rules one last time.” With that, he gave her the mother of all kisses, taking her lips with a hunger and passion that had her questioning whether she’d be “sober” enough to drive home.
They only stopped when her tipsy friends started cheering them on from inside the car.
When the two of them parted, she was breathless and flushed…and falling for him.
Hard.
So hard that the only thing her scarred, terrified heart could think was, if he left her the way Rick did…
This is going to hurt.
Chapter Eleven
“Oh my goodness. Let me steal one more squeeze and then I swear I’m leaving.”
Preston chuckled, and Dad rolled his eyes because this was the fourth “last” squeeze Mom had stolen, struggling—like Preston had the first time he’d met Lennon—to let the baby go.
Chelsea stood nearby, smiling widely, clearly touched by Mom’s instant love for their son.
“We’re all doing breakfast in the morning, Mom,” Preston reminded her. “So you can snuggle him all you want over eggs and bacon.”
Mom finally relented, handing Lennon back to Preston before turning to Chelsea, her arms outstretched. “Let me steal one more hug from you too, sweetheart.”
Mom was a big hugger, always had been, and so far, over the course of the afternoon, Chelsea had been subjected to no less than a half dozen of her embraces. Not that she seemed to mind.
Just like she didn’t this time.
Chelsea stepped forward, the two women hugging. “It was so nice to meet you, Grace,” she said. Mom had insisted Chelsea call her by her first name rather than Mrs. Jacobson.
“You too, Chelsea.” They parted, but Mom clasped hands with her. “Lennon is absolutely precious. You’ve given me the greatest gift this year.”
After they parted, Dad stepped in, grabbing his own hug. “I’m glad you and Preston found each other again.”
“Me too,” Chelsea confessed.
“A beautiful family,” Dad mused, his voice low, even though everyone heard him. Preston’s gaze darted to Chelsea to gauge her reaction, and he was touched by the way she smiled, then wiped away a happy tear.
“We’ll see you both in the morning,” Preston said, opening the front door to his condo as his parents left, carrying bags filled with gifts from both him and Chelsea.
Mom and Dad hadn’t been the only ones touched by the matching mugs she’d given them, adorned with a cutest picture of Lennon, his arms over his eyes as if exhausted. She’d added the words, “Not before my coffee,” which had cracked them all up.
Closing the door behind Mom and Dad, Preston leaned against it, glancing down at Lennon, who was wide awake and squirming in his arms.
