Page 52 of The MC's Surprise
That was enough for him. He smiled brightly at me, dipping his head to kiss me again. It felt a little like my heart was trying to escape my chest and throw itself at him. How had I managedto land such a sweet, supportive, caring man? And just how far would I have to go to keep him?
“Any chance we can skip this dinner and head back to my place?” he murmured against my lips.
I felt it too, that desperate need to connect with him. Unfortunately, that’s when my phone buzzed and when I pulled it out, there was a message waiting from my mom.
“She’s freaking psychic,” I muttered, turning the screen to face him.
M:Don’t you dare think about skipping this dinner. I’ll invite his mom in anyway and we’ll start arranging your wedding. You’ve got twenty minutes to get home, Sierra, or so help me.
30
Vegas
With the warning from Sierra’s mom kicking our butts into gear, we headed back to her place, arriving just after my mom and sister did. They were already greeting Sierra’s parents, leaving me and Sierra to take up the rear, joining them as they were led to the living room.
Sierra looked as nervous as I felt. I’d never been the guy to meet the parents. My relationships never lasted that long, and aside from my one-sided crush on Charlotte, I never felt strongly enough to even bring it up. Until now. My gaze shifted to the beautiful woman beside me, her belly round and leading the way as she gave my mom a hug. My sister followed after, cooing over how excited she was to be an aunt and grilling Sierra about her due date and the gender. We still didn’t know, the baby was being stubborn about that particular reveal, but I didn't mind. I didn’t care. The last ultrasound we went to, the doc said the baby was growing right on schedule and looked healthy, and that was what mattered. Sierra was healthy and happy, and so was my kid. All was good in my world.
A sharp tug on my ear drew me out of my thoughts. I growled, whining at my mom as she tugged a little harder. “Ouch, Mama! What’d I do?”
“She’s been here for weeks and this is when you introduce me? You’re lucky I was staying with Erica and she could help me get the baby things down from the attic. I can’t believe you.”
“I told you we’ve been busy,” I protested lamely. I wasn’t actually going to argue with my mom, especially while she was still so fragile, but I felt the need to defend myself. Most of my focus had been on Sierra and the club. I was lucky I’d thought to talk to Mel about the house. Which… I also hadn’t told my mom about yet. I flinched before I could smother the reaction, and she caught on real damn quick.
“I know that look. What else are you keeping from me?”
Putting my hands up, I grimaced when she pulled a little harder on my ear. “Ow! It’s not a big deal! It’s only been a few days since we looked at the house! I haven’t even put the down payment in yet!”
“You’re buying a house?” Erica asked curiously.
“Well, yeah. I don’t want to raise my kid in the clubhouse,” I muttered, rubbing my ear when my mom finally let go.
“What house? I want to see it. Does it have a yard? Is it near the school?”
I tried answering her questions, but it just led to more questions. I felt like I was part of an inquisition and until I took my mom to the house to look at it, she wouldn’t let it go. The audience wasn’t helpful. Noelle looked like she fully supported my mom’s violence toward my ears, and Sierra’s dad watched on with bland amusement. Thankfully, I had one person on my side.
“I’ve seen it,” Sierra offered, coming to my rescue. “It isn’t perfect, the two bedrooms are on separate floors, but the yard is big and yes, it’s near enough to the school to walk. Mel, theseller, also said her neighbors are nice and always checked in on her if she looked too tired after a long shift. And it's near enough to the clubhouse that if there was ever an issue and a babysitter was needed, they’d only be a few minutes away.”
Mom humphed, her arms crossed over her chest. She had every reason to be mad at me, I completely forgot to call her and that was on me. I’d be groveling for a while to make up for it.
“Mom, you’ve met Mel. She’s Prez’s little sister, remember? It’s her house. It’s well taken care of and she’s willing to give me a fair price for it because we’re family. It’s a good house and she’s even willing to let me move in early if the paperwork isn’t done before the baby comes. It’s only been a few days since we discussed it, which is why I haven’t mentioned it. I wanted to make sure Sierra liked it first before starting any paperwork.”
She pursed her lips, eyes narrowed on me. I held my breath, worried a little for my ears, when she finally relented with a nod. “Fine. I can accept that. It’s more important for Sierra to see it first, I’ll give you that. Will you two be living there together?”
Sierra looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights, and I was quick to jump in to rescue her. “Right now, we’re still discussing things. We haven’t known each other that long and neither of us want to rush this and ruin things before we’ve even had a chance to start. We’ve still got time.”
“Not much,” Erica warned, giving a significant look at Sierra’s belly. “The number of babies who come on their actual due dates is low.”
Thankfully, Sierra’s mom came to the rescue before either of us could spiral. “That’s partially why we’re having this dinner,” she said, gesturing everyone to the kitchen. “Food is ready. We can discuss the future and make sure everyone is on the same page while having a good meal. Sierra, honey, have you taken your prenatals yet?”
She made a face. “No…”
Mom huffed a laugh, nodding in commiseration. “I know how you feel. Those horse pills are darn awful.”
“I choke on them every time,” Sierra complained, grimacing as her mother handed her a glass of water and a pill. My mouth dropped.
“Holy shit, you can swallow that?”
Mom shot me a dirty look. “Language, Justin! I raised you better than that.”
