Saxon(24)

Chapter Fifteen

Tenielle

There is only one person who has a key, and that was meant to be for emergencies.

Fuck my life.

I grab a strawberry covered tea towel and cover my breasts just in time for my mother to walk right into the kitchen.

Her gasp echoes around the room. “Tenielle Crawford!”

“Ummm hi Mum,” I mutter, clearing my throat. The woman clearly doesn’t believe in boundaries. She’s also the only woman in the world who can embarrass me this much.

“Is that a new tattoo on your stomach?” she asks in an outraged tone. Really? I think we have bigger problems at the moment.

“I’m just going to get dressed,” I tell her, a flush working up my neck. “Oh and Mum this is Saxon.”

Saxon clears his throat. “Nice to meet you Mrs. Crawford.”

“Is that right? Is that why you hadn’t met me until now?” my mother snaps.

She’s such a charmer.

Saxon throws me an uncomfortable look, begging for me to save him.

“Actually he wanted to meet you,” I tell her. “It was me who wanted to keep our relationship private.”

“Private? I’m your mother!” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. I sigh and hold my hand up for them to give me a minute, then run into my room and quickly get dressed, not wanting to leave Saxon with my mother for any second longer than necessary. When I return Saxon is sitting opposite my mother at my dining table, talking quietly. They turn silent when they see me approaching, watching me as I take a seat next to Saxon.

“That key was for emergencies,” I tell her, censure filling my tone. “I think you should give it back Mum. What you did today was crossing a line.”

“Layla—”

“I’m not Layla, Mum,” I tell her with an exaggerated sigh.

“I know that,” she replies. “I don’t like finding out who my daughter is dating from other people who saw it in some magazine.”

“Okay and I get that,” I say, trying to choose my words carefully. This was my mother after all, and I don’t like seeing her upset. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but it’s a new thing. And I was going to tell you when I was ready.”

She makes an hmmph noise then turns to Saxon. “You’re a handsome man.”

Saxon is wearing just a pair of jeans, his chest is bare. I see my mother taking in his chiselled abs and her eyes flaring in approval.

Just kill me now.

He grins cheekily. “Thank you. And I see where Tenielle gets her stunning looks from.”

My mum blushes.

She blushes!

I roll my eyes as she replies, “Tenielle does take after me, yes. What are you two doing for lunch? Shall I cook something for you?”

“Mum that’s not necessary,” I say.

She gives me a pointed look. “Are you going to cook a huge lunch for him? I think not. And he’s a growing man, he deserves a good meal.”

Saxon tries to hide his smile and fails.

I sigh as my mother gets up and starts searching through my cupboards, looking for ingredients to cook for Saxon. “Maybe we should invite Layla over too? And your father and Ryder.”

Here we go.

She doesn’t wait for a reply, just pulls out her phone and starts calling people over. Saxon looks amused as all get out, while I just want to go back to bed.

“Do you need any help?” he asks my mother, going to stand next to her.

That traitor.

My mother beams at him like he just asked her if she wanted a million dollars. “Aren’t you a sweet boy. Maybe you could run to the shops to pick up some groceries?”

Great, my mother is asking a famous rock star to do a grocery run for her.

“Of course,” Saxon says, standing up.

“I’ll write you a list,” my mother says, pulling out a pen and paper from her handbag. Saxon walks into my room and comes back out wearing a shirt and shoes. He puts a cap on his head to hide his hair and grabs his keys from the table.

“Do you want anything babe?” he asks me, grinning.

Alcohol?

Drugs maybe?

“Chocolate please, and lots of it,” I tell him, earning me a laugh. He comes towards me and kisses me on my mouth. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

“If you want to run away and don’t come back I’ll understand,” I whisper to him, earning me a laugh.

When he leaves my mother turns to me with a look of disapproval. “Chocolate? Not a good idea. You need to watch your figure.”

I sigh dramatically and bang my head on the table.

*****

As my last family member leaves, I close the door and lock it behind me, then lean back against the door.

“I think I’m going to need to build up my chilli tolerance if I’m going to be dining with your family again,” Saxon announces.

I laugh at the look on his face. “I think you handled it very well.”

My mother cooked a Sri Lankan meal and it did indeed have a fair amount of spice in it, which is standard for her cooking.

“Well thank you for saving me with the ice-cream, because my mouth was on fire,” he admits.

I grin at him. “I always have your back, don’t worry. And there’s no point in drinking water because it doesn’t help.”