Page 104 of Finding Olivia (Trace + Olivia 1)

“This is fantastic,” Trace told her.

“Thank you,” she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Do you cook?”

“I love to cook,” he grinned.

“Really?” Her eyes widened. “That’s nice to hear.” Turning to me, she whispered under her breath, “He’s a keeper.”

“Mom,” I grumbled.

Trace chuckled, eyeing me over his glass of ice water, and I knew he had heard her.

“So,” she continued, “what do you like to cook, Trace?”

He shrugged. “All kinds of things. My mom made sure that my brother and I could cook for ourselves, do laundry, and all kinds of domestic things. She didn’t want us to be clueless.”

“Your mom sounds like a wonderful person,” she commented.

Trace beamed. “She’s the greatest. I don’t know what I would do without her and my grandparents. Family is everything.”

My heart soared at his words.

That was one of my favorite things about Trace, he cared deeply for his family, and wasn’t afraid to express that.

“Maybe I’ll get to meet them one day,” she looked between the two of us.

“Mom, please,” I hissed. If I didn’t watch her, she’d be asking Trace to propose before he left.

“Sorry,” she chuckled, “I’m getting a bit carried away.”

“Yeah, you are,” I agreed.

“Olivia,” Trace reached for my hand under the table, “it’s fine. I would love for my family to meet you,” he looked at my mom, turning back to me, he added, “but I would like for Olivia to meet them first.”

Oh, crap.

The color drained from my face.

Me, meet Trace’s family?

Trace chuckled huskily and whispered in my ear, “It’s payback time…not really though, they’ll love you.”

His words did nothing to comfort me. I had never met a guy’s family before.

My chest felt tight and I idly wondered if this was what a heart attack felt like.

He laughed again before pulling away.

“I think it would be nice for Liv to meet your parent’s,” my mom spoke to Trace. “After all, you’ve met me, it only seems fair,” she smirked at me.

Who was this woman? She certainly wasn’t the meek mother I was used to.

I cleared my throat and forced a bite of potato into my mouth. Swallowing, I asked, “When exactly would this be?”

Trace stretched an arm across the back of my chair, his early nerves about meeting my mom, completely gone. Now, I was the nervous one.

“Hmmm,” he tapped his stubbled chin and pretended to think. “Soon, I think. They live in the area.”

“That sounds…wonderful,” I swallowed a gulp of water. Actually, a lobotomy sounded less frightening than meeting Trace’s family. I was beginning to regret caving to my mom and inviting him to meet her. This was causing me nothing but trouble.

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