Chapter 8

CHAPTER

EIGHT

Merrick

"What's up?" I answer my phone as I check my back pocket for my wallet. It's Maverick, and I've had this weird feeling for the last hour or so. A call from my twin isn't surprising, because that feeling, it's not about me.

"What are you doing tonight?" Maverick asks.

"I'm having dinner with Courtney and her parents." I look around the mail on the counter for my keys. I find them and grin, gripping them in my fist. "What's going on? You need me?" As much as I don't want to let Courtney down, if my brother needs me, I'll be there. I know there's something on his mind. It's not just his tone, but it's this gut feeling that I have. One that I only get with my twin.

"Nah, just calling to see what you're into. Stella and the kids are napping, and I can't seem to shut my mind off."

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I have a few minutes before I need to leave. I sit down on the couch. "I'm listening."

"It's surreal, Mer. How is this my life?" he asks softly.

"You deserve all of it," I tell him, meaning every single word.

"I'm supposed to be sleeping when the babies are, and all I could do was stare at my wife. Ada is curled up at her side as they sleep in our bed, and damn, Mer, I love them so fucking much. It's... overwhelming sometimes."

His confession makes me smile. "They love you too. You're the center of their world, Maverick."

"Yeah," he says, his tone lighter. "I want this for you, man. I do. I know we teased our brothers about this, but fuck me, Merrick, it's unlike anything I've ever known."

"I'll find her," I tell him.

"She might be right in front of you and you don't even know it."

I chuckle. "You mean like Stella was right in front of you?"

"Exactly. I'm so fucking glad I opened my eyes. It makes my chest ache to think I could have missed out on life with her and Ada, and now the twins—my heart is so fucking full it could bust wide open."

"Embrace it, brother."

"I am. So... dinner with the family tonight?"

"Yeah, Court's mom has been on her about all of us having dinner, so we're meeting them at that new steakhouse in Harris. Her sister and her fiancé will be there as well."

"She's nice. We like her."

I shake my head even though he can't see me. "Yeah, she's nice, and I like her too. She's easy to be around, which is a plus, since we're faking this whole relationship thing."

"Right. Faking." The words come out with a fake cough, and I roll my eyes.

"I need to get going. Call me if you need me, and go nap with your family."

"Thanks for listening."

"Anytime, Mav. Love you, man."

"Love you too."

Locking up the house, I climb into my truck and head to pick up Courtney, all while ignoring the fact that I'm excited to see her.

We're a few minutes away from the restaurant where we're meeting her family and the closer we get, the faster her leg bounces. Reaching over, I place my hand on her thigh, and she instantly stills.

"It's all going to be fine, Court."

"We don't have a story." She huffs out a breath.

"Okay, then give us a story."

She turns to look at me. I glance over, feeling her gaze, and offer her what I hope is a comforting smile. The clock on the dash tells me we're twenty minutes early. Decision made, I signal and pull into the grocery store parking lot.

"What are we doing?"

I put the truck in Park, take off my seat belt, and turn to face her. "We've got about twenty minutes before we have to be there, so we have a few extra minutes. Our story is that you work for my sister-in-law. I've seen you when I visit, and one thing led to another, and I finally asked you out. We kept it to ourselves because you work for my family until we knew that this was more than just a few casual dates."

Slowly, she nods. "Okay."

Reaching over, I rest my hand against her cheek. "We can do this. I'll follow your lead. If I see you struggling, I'll jump in. That's what good boyfriends do, right?" I tease, and it works because a beautiful smile crosses her face.

"This is why I've been single so long." She huffs out a laugh. "I'm a lot. Thank you, Merrick."

"Don't." My voice is stern. I've lost the sweet softness I was just using with her. "Not around me. No, in fact, not ever. You're not a lot. You're allowed to feel however you feel. Scared, nervous, guilty." I raise my brows and she nods. "You're allowed to feel anything and everything, and don't you dare apologize for it."

Her reply is to turn toward my palm and kiss it. Shock races through my system at the feel of her lips against my skin.

"Feeling better?" I ask, pretending as if my hand isn't tingling where her lips just were.

"Much. Thank you, Merrick."

"You and me." She nods, and only then do I drop my hand. I miss the contact of my skin against her immediately. My hand is cold, and I rub it against my thigh on my jeans to alleviate the loss I feel. I need to shake out of this.

Putting the truck in Drive, I place my hand back on her thigh, because there's an intense feeling inside me telling me I need to touch her to keep her calm. I refuse to think of any other reason I'd feel the need to constantly be touching her.

Two minutes later, we're pulling into the restaurant. I kill the engine, grabbing my keys and phone. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." She nods as she speaks, as if she needs the physical reply as much as she needs the words to pump herself up.

I make my way to the passenger door and pull it open for her. "Are they here yet?" I ask.

"I didn't see their cars."

"Well, just in case, we need to be on."

"What does that mean?" she asks with a soft huff of laughter.

"It means that while we're here, where they're going to be, we're real."

"What?" she gasps.

"That's how you need to think of it. Pretend this isn't pretend." I wink, and this time her laughter is loud and boisterous.

"You're too much." She takes my hand and allows me to help her out of the truck. Once the door is shut, I slide my arm around her waist and lead us into the restaurant. I don't know who's watching, but I'll be damned if I offer them a reason to give her a hard time, so I lean in and press my lips to her temple. She peers up at me under long lashes and smiles shyly.

Damn.

If she only knew the effect that look has on me, and those big brown eyes of hers, I could easily get lost in them. If I were to allow myself that luxury.

"Hey, Courtney," the hostess greets. Her eyes flash to mine, and I feel Courtney stiffen in my arms as the hostess takes her time, letting her eyes roam over me.

"Hi, Becca," she replies. "We have a reservation for six." Her voice is polite, but she's not the carefree Court that I've become accustomed to since this started.

"I saw your parents' name on the list." She smiles, her eyes going back to me. She runs her eyes over me yet again, and it pisses me off.

"This is my boyfriend, Merrick," Courtney introduces, and she leans into me further, and I smile. She's doing exactly what she should have done with Tammy. Make it known that I'm hers. I'm fucking proud of her in this moment. I pull her a little closer, hoping she understands the meaning without me saying the words. I'll tell her, though, as soon as this Becca girl isn't around.

I shove my free hand into my pocket, giving this Becca girl the not-so-subtle reminder that all I need is standing beside me. "Good to meet you," I say.

Her face falls. "You too."

"Babe, do you want to wait on the family, or do you want to sit?"

Courtney looks up at me, and the appreciation in her eyes gives me this feeling inside my chest. It's one I can't explain, but it feels a lot like a squeezing sensation. "Let's sit."

My answer is to press a kiss to her forehead. "We'd like to go ahead and be seated," I tell Becca. Not that she didn't hear us, but she needs to understand that the woman in my arms runs the show, and I only have eyes for her. It's not a hardship to be the man who gets to play this out with her. In fact, this is the most fun I've had with a woman—ever.

Becca grabs menus and cutlery and asks us to follow her. I drop my arms from around Courtney's waist and lace my fingers with hers, allowing her to walk ahead of me, putting her between me and Becca.

We reach the table, and I move to pull Courtney's chair out for her. She tilts her head back and smiles, and without thinking, I lean in and kiss her before pulling the chair out next to hers and taking a seat.

"Right," Becca says, her tone not as cheerful as it once was. "I'll bring the others back when they get here."

"Thank you," Courtney says politely.

"Who was that?" I ask. I'm leaning in close and whispering the words in her ear. It looks intimate, and I guess it is, but no one would know we're gossiping about the hostess.

"My cousin. Well, cousin by marriage. Her mom married my uncle." I can tell from her tone they're not exactly the best of friends.

"She's a joy," I tease.

"She thinks you're a joy," she says, her face twisting in annoyance.

Again, I lean into her, placing my lips next to her ear. "I'm proud of you, Court. You showed her who you are to me without confrontation." This time, I kiss just below her ear, and I'm rewarded with a slight shiver that courses through her.

When I pull back, she's watching me. Her eyes are sparkling, and it takes everything I have to keep from leaning in and pressing my lips to hers. Her smile changes as her eyes go over my shoulder, and I know her family is close.

"You and me, baby," I whisper, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm in this with you, Court. For however long we're here, we're not pretending." I wink, and she smiles, while her cheeks turn the most beautiful light shade of pink. I assume it's due to my easy affection that her family can see.

Good. Let them see how incredible she is. Surely, they already know. Courtney tells me they're good people. She assures me her mom is just a helicopter mom. She claims her mother loves her hard and wants her to be happy. I can relate to that. I know how to love hard. I'm refusing to pass judgment until I can see for myself. Either way, I might be here to meet them, but I'm here for her. I won't let them walk all over her. My girl might not want to stand up for herself, and that's okay. In those cases, she has me.

"Hey!" Her mom beams as she comes to Courtney and gives her an awkward hug while she's sitting. She releases her daughter and does the same to me. "It's so nice to see you again," she says, releasing me, and taking the seat her husband has held out for her.

"Dan." Her father pushes his hand across the table, and I shake it. "My wife,"—he nods toward Courtney's mom—"Tina."

"Merrick. It's nice to see you." I turn to Tina. "You as well."

Her reply is a blinding smile.

"You too." Dan smiles kindly.

"Is Chloe still coming?" Courtney asks.

"Yes. She called and said they hit some traffic coming from Atlanta, but they're close."

Courtney nods. "We just got here ourselves."

"Glad you weren't waiting long. Someone had to change their outfit three times," Dan says, looking over at his wife.

Tina shrugs. "It's not every day you have your daughter's boyfriend out for dinner for the first time."

I can't help but chuckle at her admission. Before I can comment, a couple approaches, and with the woman's similarities, I can only assume this is Chloe and her fiancé, Rodney.

She takes the open seat next to Courtney, while Rodney takes the seat across from her next to her mother. Chloe leans forward and smiles at me.

"Hi, I'm Chloe." She waves.

"Merrick." I wave back. I then turn to Rodney. "Merrick." I reach out to shake his hand.

"Rodney. Sorry we're late. Traffic was awful."

"We haven't been here long," I assure him.

"Have you ordered yet?" Chloe asks. "I'm starving."

"No. We were just saying hello," Tina replies as our server approaches the table. We order our drinks and he goes off to fill our order.

"Merrick, what is it you do?" Dan asks.

"I'm a heavy equipment operator."

He nods. "Good profession to be in."

"I enjoy it. I'm always at a new job site, and being outside is a plus. I don't think I could handle being in an office all day. No offense to those who do," I quickly add.

He laughs. "None taken."

Conversation is easy. Rodney tells me about the time his dad rented a backhoe for some work at their place, and it took them both far too long to figure it out. We're all laughing at that when the server delivers our drinks and takes our orders.

"Chloe, how are the wedding plans?" Courtney asks.

Chloe tells us how everything is finished, other than the final dress fitting and tux fitting. She's calm and cool, and she reminds me so much of my sisters-in-law when it came to their weddings. None of them were bridezillas. I've heard some horror stories, but I've yet to witness it for myself. There've been a lot of weddings in our family too.

Our meals are served and conversation flows. I keep waiting for her mother to drill us with questions about how we met, and all that, but they never come. It's a nice dinner, with good people and good conversation. I was prepared for the worst and got the best possible outcome.

Tonight also tells me that this lack of self-esteem in my girl is also something that's in her head. Her family seems great—loving and attentive. Maybe it's a show for me? Only time will tell, I guess. Regardless, I'm glad I'm here and able to give Courtney a break from the pressure of finding someone.

"I'm going to run to the restroom before we leave," Courtney tells me. Her eyes are bright, and the happiness of how well the night has gone shines back at me. Unable to help myself, I lean in and press a kiss on her cheek.

"Okay, baby. I'll be here."

She blushes but stands to leave.

"I'll come with you. Babe, I'll be right back," Chloe tells Rodney, and he nods.

"She's so happy," Tina says with tears in her eyes.

"We both are," I reply.

Tina nods. "I'm sure you've heard stories. I've been... hard on her, I guess you could say. Courtney is so special, and I want her to find someone to share her life with. I want both of my babies to be happy and in love." Dan wraps his arm around her, while she blinks back emotion. "Thank you, Merrick, for giving her that."

I nod. For the first time since this charade started, I'm experiencing the guilt that Courtney has been feeling. I also have a better understanding of her mother. She means well. I truly believe that. She might not have the best delivery, but she means well.

"She's... amazing." It's the best reply I can come up with. Lame at best, but it's all I can manage. It must be enough because her parents, and even Rodney, grin at me, accepting my reply.

The server brings the bill, and before I can grab it, Dan has it in his hands. I pull out my wallet, and he waves me off. "You two can take care of the tip." He motions to Rodney and me.

We both laugh as we each toss a twenty-dollar bill on the table. We were a big group, and we've occupied this table for far longer than we should have. The server has earned it for that alone.

Courtney and Chloe come back from the bathroom, all smiles. "Ready?" she asks me.

I nod, standing, and taking her hand in mine. As a group, we leave the restaurant and gather outside. Courtney hugs her family, and then I do the same to her mom and sister before shaking her father's and Rodney's hands.

With the promise of getting together again, I lead Courtney to my truck. Pulling open the door, I step back, allowing her room to climb inside, but instead, she turns to face me. "Merrick." She's smiling as tears shimmer in her eyes. I'm hoping they're happy tears. She steps toward me and wraps her arms around my waist. Her head rests against my chest, right over my heart as I return her embrace. "Thank you." She pulls back enough to peer up at me. "Tonight was so much better than I ever could have imagined. Thank you."

At this moment, I don't think about where we are or who's watching. My sole focus is the beautiful woman in my arms. She licks her lips, and my eyes follow the action. I move slowly, giving her time to turn her head, but she doesn't. Instead, she keeps those big brown eyes locked on me. My lips touch hers. It's a quick soft press, but it's just as potent as if we were in the heat of a passionate make-out session. Immediately, I pull back. My lips are tingling, and my heart is hammering in my chest. It's beating so hard, she has to be able to hear it. Her eyes are glassy, but it's her smile, that radiant smile that lights up her face I can't stop staring at.

"Ready to go home?"

She nods and steps out of my embrace. I miss the warmth of her body pressed to mine. It's as if she were made for me with how well her body fits against me. Once she's in the truck, I wait for her to buckle up, before leaning in and dropping a kiss on her cheek. I can't help myself. Closing the door, I race around to slide behind the wheel. Reaching over, I lace my fingers with hers and point the truck toward her place.

I told her to pretend we weren't pretending. I never thought it would feel as real as it does. I tell myself it's the moment. Meeting her family, that's all it is. The situation we were in tonight.

That's all it is.