I don’t know if it’s the word honey, the small smile on her lips, or the look in her eyes. All I know is my chest tightens and the urge to kick my parents out and spend the day inside her almost overwhelms me. I get off the bed and adjust my cock, and her eyes drop to it. “Go on before my parents really do start to wonder what we’re doing in here.” When she licks her bottom lip I groan. “Go baby, then meet me in the kitchen when you’re ready.”

“Okay.” She swallows hard then turns and disappears into the bathroom.

I pull in a few deep breaths, getting myself under control before I open the door to the bedroom and head for the kitchen. My mom is standing in front of the open fridge, and Dad’s sitting on a stool at the island, sipping from a cup of coffee.

As soon as my mom sees me, her eyes fill with panic. “You have nothing in your fridge to make for breakfast.”

“Mom—”

“Don’t Mom me, Cobi,” she cuts me off, shutting the fridge door. “What kind of man has a woman staying with him and nothing to cook for her?”

“I have a box of pancake mix in the pantry.”

“Oh.” She goes to the pantry and opens it up, and when she finds the box of mix, relief fills her features.

“Mom, are you nervous?”

“Of course not.” She huffs. “Why in the world would I be nervous? I have nothing to be nervous about,” she rambles, and Dad chuckles.

I go to where she’s now dumping an excessive amount of mix into a bowl and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “It’s going to be fine. Hadley is going to love you.”

She looks up at me and blows out a breath. “I’ve never met one of your girlfriends before. Up until a couple days ago, I was wondering if you were….” I frown at her, and her eyes slide away briefly. “Well, if you were, I would have been okay with that too, just so you know.”

“I’m not, but I’m glad to know you’re open to that, since your daughter is.”

“Really?” Her eyes search mine. “That’s why she’s not dating either.” She looks so relieved that I almost feel bad for my lie.

“Stop fucking with your mom,” Dad mutters, and I look at him to see he’s chuckling. I smile right before I grunt when Mom hits me in the stomach hard.

“God, I do not know how I deal with you guys.” She pulls away from me and goes back to dumping more mix in the bowl. “The two of you are just alike, and both of you do my head in.”

“Mom, there are only four of us eating. I think that’s plenty,” I say, as she empties the entire new box into the bowl. When she slams the empty box down on the counter and looks at me, I feel my lips twitch but hold up my hand in front of me. “Ignore me. Make whatever you like.”

“I will.” She huffs again then her eyes go past my shoulder. Her face fills with surprise and softness.

I turn, knowing Hadley is there, then hold out my hand to her when I see she’s nervously nibbling on her bottom lip. Once she places her soft, delicate hand in mine, I turn her to face my parents while I tuck her under my arm. “Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Hadley. Hadley, my parents, Liz and Trevor Mayson.”

“Mrs. and Mr. Mayson,” she says quietly. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Call me Liz,” Mom says, coming forward and pulling Hadley away from me to give her a hug. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

“You too,” Hadley replies when Mom lets her go.

“Call me Trevor, honey.” Dad gets up and comes around to kiss Hadley’s cheek. When he pulls away, he looks at me and winks before going back to his coffee.

“I’m making pancakes!” Mom exclaims a little too loudly while spinning around and going to the stove.

Placing my mouth near Hadley’s ear, I whisper, “Mom’s a little nervous about meeting you.”

“Really?” She looks up at me in surprise.

“Yeah, she’s never met any of the women I’ve dated, so this is new for her too.”

“What?” Her eyes widen. “Never?”

I shrug. “Why would I introduce them to someone, when I knew it wasn’t really going anywhere?”

“Ugh.” She presses her lips together, and then her nose scrunches up. When she relaxes her lips, she announces, “I think we should probably never talk about this again.”

I hear my dad laugh and look at him.

“What?” He shrugs one shoulder. “I’m just enjoying my coffee.”

I shake my head at him then look at Hadley. “Want some coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

“Take a seat. I’ll fix you a cup.”

“Thanks.”

I give her waist a squeeze and place my lips to her temple before I let her go.

“So, Hadley, tell me about you.” Dad looks at her when she takes a seat next to him.

“Really, there’s not much to tell.” Her eyes go to him. “I grew up here. I went to college in Nashville, so I lived there for years and only recently moved back to town.”

“I didn’t know that,” I say, and her eyes meet mine.

“Yeah, I rented a small apartment there. The rent was cheap and my landlord was great. I would probably still be there, but the owners put the house on the market a few months ago. When that happened, I knew it was time to move closer to my job. It’s nice not having to commute every day, since that added another two hours onto my workday.”

“Cobi says you’re a social worker,” Mom says quietly, and Hadley nods. “That’s a noble profession, kind of like Cobi being a police officer.”

“His job is much more important than mine.” Hadley smiles at Mom then me.

“I don’t think so, baby. Most of the time, I’m dealing with adults who have already chosen their path. You’re helping kids direct theirs. Your job is one of the most important in the world, second to being a parent.” As I finish speaking, her face is softer than I’ve ever seen it and her eyes are wet.

“I’ll be right back,” Mom says quietly before disappearing around the corner toward the half bath in the hall with her head down. Dad gets up and follows, but he gives me a look, letting me know that she’ll be okay, before he goes.

“You’re a good man, Cobi.” My eyes leave my dad’s back and meet Hadley’s. “A really good man.” She leans across the counter and grabs hold of my tee with a fist at my chest. When she pulls me forward, I give in to her demand and kiss her. I know she only means to touch her mouth to mine, but I deepen the kiss and touch my tongue to hers. After she drags her mouth from mine, we stare at each other until I hear my parents coming out of the bathroom. When they emerge, I can tell my mom’s been crying. It’s not a surprise; she’s always been that way.

“Are you okay, Mrs.— I mean Liz?” Hadley asks, and Mom gives her a shaky smile.

“One thing you’ll learn pretty quickly, sweetheart, is these Mayson men know how to use their words to piss you off one minute and melt your heart the next.”

“I can see that.” Hadley grins at my mom.

“Though, the pissing you off business happens more often than the heart melting,” Mom adds.

“That so?” Dad asks, and Mom shrugs at him. “My mind must be failing me, ‘cause you didn’t seem pissed last night or this morning.”

“Oh my,” Hadley whispers.

“Trevor!” Mom snaps.

“Christ, Dad, seriously?” I growl.

“What?” Dad casually takes another sip of coffee.

“Babe, you should probably learn now that my parents do not care about PDA or anything else like that, especially my dad.”

“Sure don’t,” he agrees, giving Mom a wink.

“Can we just pretend we are a normal family for one breakfast?” Mom asks.

“Sheesh, you guys are making a bad impression on Hadley,” I tease.

“I’m okay, really. It’s nice to get a little glimpse of why Cobi is the way he is,” Hadley murmurs.

“How exactly am I?”