Chapter 53

Imet up with my mom at her house the day after my showdown with Ethan. The press conference had happened this morning and so far, it was looking like I was going to survive my first real public scandal in good shape.

Most people seemed to think Ethan was creepy for having shown up at his ex-wife's new boyfriend's place of work like that. I'd even seen the word psycho floating around on social media, which I had to admit gave me a bit of a kick.

The fact of the matter was that he was a creepy psycho. When you were divorced from someone, it wasn't common practice to stalk their new romantic interests. The public had picked up on that, at least, some even calling him pathetic for not moving on with his own life and fixating on hers instead.

On the upside, it also meant a lot more people were starting to believe Serenity's version of events that had led to the breakdown of their marriage. The press had asked me a couple questions, but mostly, the video and the fact that he'd been there at all seemed to say enough.

Whistling as I jogged up the stairs to my mom's front door, I felt pretty good about life at the moment. There was still the matter of the potential war brewing with Ethan, but if I was him, I would think twice about it after the things the public was already saying about him.

Whatever happened with that though, I'd handle it. I pushed open my mom's door, walking straight through the house to the garden at the back. She'd told me she'd be out there at the moment and I smiled when I saw her, snipping some herbs while Richard kept her company.

Pausing in the doorway, I sighed, but I wasn't unhappy. It was simply bittersweet to see him out there with her now when it'd always been my father carrying the tools she needed. In a way, everything I'd been through with Serenity had made me thankful for Richard's presence in my mother's life.

She'd lost the love of hers and he'd never taken his shot with the love of his. It was a miracle that they'd found each other and that they both had a second chance at it as a result. As I watched them now, I knew they were going to be happy and that was really all that mattered.

Smiling as I walked out, I joined them in the herb garden, breathing in the scent of the basil she was trimming. "Wow. That smells good. Are we cooking with it tonight because, if so, I'm staying for dinner."

Mom chuckled and smacked me with a gardening glove she was holding in her hand. "It's poor form to invite yourself someplace, young man. I suppose you could come, though. Provided you bring your lovely new girlfriend with you."

I groaned as I put my arms around her to give her a hug. "You saw it?"

"All of it," she said, laughing as she hugged me back. "Are you alright? More importantly, is she?"

"We're both fine," I replied as I stepped aside and offered Richard my hand in greeting. "Thanks for your advice, man. I appreciate it. Helped me get my head straight."

He chuckled, pushing to his feet from the bench he'd been sitting on and giving me a quick hug instead of shaking my hand. "Good to know. I'm glad you took it. I wasn't sure if you were going to take it to heart or get annoyed because I'd interfered in your life."

"It didn't occur to me to get annoyed." I laughed. "Either way, thank you. You saved me from a lot of heartache for a lot of years."

"I've got your back, boy," he said warmly before he released me.

Mom took his hand and pulled him to her, smiling at me. "Richard told me that he told you his story. We're both happy you decided against following in his footsteps, but you're not one to go around shoving people. What happened?"

I sighed as I gave her a little shrug. "He said a bad word. My mom taught me that name-calling was rude, so I taught him a tiny lesson in response."

She swept an eyebrow up as she stared back at me. "It must've been quite a name he called her, but I don't want to know. All that matters to me is that you're both alright. You've cleared everything up with her, then?"

"I have," I said. "We're together now. Officially. Possibly for the long haul. Although I should warn you that more stuff might happen with her ex. He's not quite ready to accept my position in her life."

Mom chuckled. "Just keep your head on your shoulders next time and we should be fine. I'm glad you stood up for her, though. Perhaps a little punch to the nose would've been in order."

I gaped at her before I laughed. "Just a little one?"

She shrugged, humor shining in her eyes as she glanced at Richard. "A big one? What do you think, love?"

"I think guys like that look better with black eyes and bruised jaws, but we did things differently back in my day. For what it's worth, I would have held him down for you if I could. The things he's done to that poor girl, he deserves nothing less."

"What he deserves is the inside of a jail cell," Mom said, her head shaking as she pulled off her other glove as well. "Come on. Let's go get some cool lemonade before we accidentally end up plotting murder."

I scoffed down a bark of laughter as I followed them inside. God, I love my mom.

When we got to the kitchen, she pulled a jug of homemade lemonade out of the fridge and poured us each a glass. "I'm so happy to finally see you opening yourself up to someone, darling. Serenity is wonderful. Just promise me you're not going to cause more drama for her. It seems to me you've done more than enough of that."

"Not intentionally, but yes. I have done more than enough of it. I'm hoping that's over now, but I will admit that I've got a lot to learn."

"That you do, but we'll help you." Mom smiled at me. "Communication is key, of course, but listening is the lock. Otherwise, you're left with a whole bunch of keys in your hand and nothing to do with them."

Richard chuckled. "I like that one. I'll have to remember it myself."

"Do." Mom winked at him, sipping her lemonade, and asked me more about my relationship with Serenity.

When our drinks were gone, I checked the time and got up. "We should go. We're having lunch with her, right?"

"We are. I wanted to take her out for our last meeting. As far as I know, everything is ready for the wedding. All everyone has to do now is to show up, but she wanted to see me again one last time before the big day and I thought it was a good idea to have a celebratory lunch."

"Are you joining us, Richard?" I asked, but the older man shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't. I'm meeting with my travel agent about the honeymoon." He grinned at my mother. "Don't even bother asking. I do still have a few surprises up my sleeve."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." She gave him a chaste kiss goodbye, then took my arm and told me the name of the restaurant she'd made a reservation at.

Serenity was already waiting when we got there, seated at a table in a beautiful green garden under a canopy of trees. My heart clenched when I saw her standing up to greet us. Then it skipped as my gaze ran over her. She was wearing a white sundress, with sunglasses on top of her head and hair loose.

In my mind's eye, I imagined her somewhere just like this, but on our wedding day. Obviously, I'd be the one waiting for her that day, but still. I jolted at the mere fact that I'd just had an errant thought about our fucking wedding day, and I shook my head at myself as Mom released my arm to greet her.

Once they were done with their hellos, Serenity turned to me with a surprisingly shy smile on her lips. "Hi."

"Hey," I said warmly, taking her hand and pulling her to me. "She knows about us. You can kiss me now."

Serenity blushed but indulged me, wrapping her arms around my neck and laying one on me right there in the middle of the crowded garden. Mom giggled, the sound full of delight. Even so, it reminded me that we weren't alone and I released her, but took her hand again once we were sitting down.

"There's nothing left to finalize on my side," Serenity said to my mom after a waiter brought over some more lemonade. "I just wanted to see you to make sure you were all set and that you didn't have any more questions for me?"

"We're all set," Mom confirmed happily. "My dress is hanging in my bedroom and all the people who are going to be making me look pretty on the day have confirmed. Now my sons just have to remember the time they have to be there to walk me in and all will be well."

Serenity chuckled. "I'll be sure to send each of them a reminder. Especially this one."

She gave me a pointed look and my mom waved her off. "Oh, I'm sure he'll be getting ready with you, my dear. Just kick his behind out the door when he has to leave."

Serenity blushed again but took it in her stride as she looked back at my mother across the table. "Thank you for taking a chance on me, Diana. I know you could've gone with any venue and any wedding planner in the city, so thank you for choosing the rookie."

"I never doubted you for a minute, honey," Mom said graciously. "Besides, us women have to support each other. I'm just glad we got to you in the early days, before you were fully booked for years in advance."

Serenity laughed. "Well, I think that's a ways off, but thank you."

We ordered some food and had a quick lunch together. Then Mom winked at Serenity after saying goodbye. "Congratulations for taming him. Give me a call if he messes up, alright? Thanks again for making this wedding happen for me in such a short amount of time."

She flushed all the way to the roots of her hair but nodded and agreed to call her if she had to. Mom gave her a hug before she looked at me again. "I'll give you two a minute and I'll be in the car when you're done."

Waving at us, she took off and Serenity turned to me with a smile on her face. "God, I love your mother."

"I know. Same here. In fact, I had that exact thought myself earlier."

She shuffled a little closer to me, glancing around before looking back at me. "Do you want to see me again tonight?"

"Yes," I said without having to think about it. "I've actually got something planned for us. Come to my place after work?"

"I'll be there." She put her arms around me again, giving me a kiss that I almost took too far again before making myself stop.

When she arrived at my place later, I could tell she'd been expecting something entirely different than what I'd planned. She didn't seem disappointed, but she glanced at the blankets on the couch and Chinese takeout containers on the coffee table before she frowned at me.

"What's all this?"

"I thought we could watch a movie together," I said as I led her over to the dining-room table, where I had another box waiting for her. "There's something else in there for you, too."

She opened it excitedly, squealing with laughter when she saw the sweatpants and comfortable T-shirt. "I love it! Thank you."

While she changed into something more comfortable, I put on reruns of her reality show and held the remote out of her reach when she tried to change the channel. "Nope. This is the movie we're watching."

She laughed. "It's not a movie. Turn it off. I hate watching myself."

"Really?" I switched it off immediately, pulling her into my lap as I shook my head. "Why? I love watching it. I feel like I've learned a lot about you that way."

"Is that so?" she asked, a flirty smile appearing on her lips as she got comfortable on my lap. "What have you learned so far?"

I grinned, pushing my fingers in underneath the hem of her shirt and caressing her back. "That you like massages."

She giggled. "Who doesn't?"

"Me. I don't like people touching me that way, but I'd be okay if you wanted to give it a try." I leaned into her and claimed her mouth with my own as our movie night took a turn for the sexy.

That was okay with me, though. I'd wanted to hang out with her tonight, but I could never keep my hands off the woman, and I could tell she felt the same way when she peeled my T-shirt off and laid me back on the couch.

We could watch a movie later. For now, I was perfectly happy to let her have her way with me.