Page 42 of 7+Us Makes Nine

“Not from Dad, that’s for sure. He’s a terrible liar.”

“The worst,” she said with a giggle.

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you at six.”

“Wear clean underwear, son.”

“Really, Mom? That’s your advice for me?” I asked.

“And… don’t screw it up?”

“Thanks. I’ll take it to heart,” I said flatly.

“To this day I still don’t know how I hooked your father. I’m the worst person to ask for advice like this.”

“Trust me, I know how you hooked him.”

“Oh really? And how do you think I hooked him?” she asked.

“With that winning charm of yours.”

“I knew I trained you right,” she said.

I chuckled into the phone as I leaned up in my chair.

“See you tonight, Mom.”

“See you then.”

All day long, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I’d made reservations for us in one of the best restaurants in the city. Their French cuisine was out of this world, but I never had a reason to go there any more often than I did. I knew it was a place Catherine would love because they had plenty of vegetarian dishes, and all of their ingredients were locally-sourced.

“When’s grandma coming?” Ivan asked.

“Is she here yet?” Dmitri asked.

“Nannie!” Michaela exclaimed. “Nannie at door!”

And right on cue, the doorbell rang.

I opened it up for my mother and the kids rushed her before I could get a hug. I leaned over and kissed her cheek, watching as she shuffled the brood back into the foyer. She took off with them down the hallway while they chased her, watching as the bag she had in her hands swung at her side. I could only imagine the types of treats she had in that thing. The amount of sugar that would be forced into my kid’s systems tonight.

“That’s a nice suit.”

I turned around and looked up the steps as my mouth went dry. There Catherine stood, in a beautiful pale blue dress that hugged her curves in every single way. Her wispy hair was piled high on her head and her dangling earrings accented that neck I’d kissed so many times late at night after the kids were down for bed. Her heels flexed her calves and rounded out an ass I wanted to fist in the palms of my hands.

Holy shit.

Catherine looked gorgeous.

“And that’s a very nice dress,” I said.

“Is your mother here?” she asked.

“She’s currently feeding the kids all the chocolate she can.”

“Then we better get out of here before we get roped into her plans.”

“Sounds good to me.”

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