A Lie for a Lie (All In, #1)(68)

“I believe you. I’m just trying to reconcile my semi and the fact that your boobs aren’t my toys and they’re meant for Kody. It’s a weird thing to try to wrap my head around.”

I laugh again and groan. “Please don’t be funny—my stomach hurts too much for that.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be serious from here on out.” His phone buzzes, and he checks it, thumb typing a message in response.

“Who’s messaging you at six in the morning?” A sudden spike of irrational jealousy hits me. He’s been here almost every night since I introduced him to Kody, and we woke up spooning the other day. Sure, he might be ogling my boob—but he’s a man, and they don’t have boobs, so of course they’re fascinated by them. Just like women are fascinated by the penis and all the interesting things it does.

“Your mom. She and I have been messaging back and forth all night.”

“Oh my God. Did you tell her I was sick?”

RJ looks up from his phone. “Well, yeah, I wasn’t going to lie to her. She wanted me to wake you so she could talk to you, and there was no way in hell I was going to do that, so I told her you were sick.”

“She must have flipped her lid.” I can’t even begin to imagine how she would’ve reacted to him denying her.

“She was concerned about your well-being, like any mother would be.”

His tone tells me more than his words. “So you—what? Told her you’d text her hourly updates?”

“Every couple of hours,” he mutters.

I almost want to laugh. I can just picture my mom bargaining with him for updates. “It’s the middle of the night there—why is she still up? Maybe you should give me the phone. I should call her.”

“She’s packing right now.” RJ makes a weird face, sort of a cringe and an oh shit look.

“Packing? Are they going somewhere?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “Uh, well—”

Of course this is the exact moment Kody decides he wants to switch boobs. I set him on my shoulder and pat his back, waiting until he burps before I go ahead and make the switch.

Once he’s latched and I’m sure he’s not doing a keg stand on my boob, I refocus my attention on RJ. “Uh, well, what?”

“I might have invited your parents to come for a visit.”

I scoff and wave that off. “My mother will never get on a plane.”

“She’s planning to, for you.”

“Are you serious?” My high pitch startles Kody, and I shush him, stroking his hair, which helps tone down the anxiety a little.

“I wanted to reassure her that I wasn’t some douchebag looking to screw her daughter over. I figured the best way to do that was to show them exactly how much I care about you and Kody.”

“So you decided to fly them out here?”

“Yes.”

“Where are they going to stay? I don’t even have a spare room or a pullout couch.”

“I can set them up in a hotel if you’d like, or we can make alternate arrangements.”

“Alternate arrangements?”

“I have lots of space in my house. You could all stay there. I can even stay in a hotel if that would make you more comfortable.”

I can’t believe he’s managed to convince my mother to come out here—on a plane. Once again my heart does that fluttery thing, and this time I allow that feeling to spread instead of trying to keep it contained. I can see in his expression and actions that he’s serious about making this work. He wouldn’t have spent the night taking care of us or offered to fly my parents out to visit if he wasn’t. Since he’s come back into my life, our lives, he’s proven time and time again that he sincerely wants both of us. Last night was a true testament to how committed he is. Little by little he’s erasing his lie and earning my trust with everything he does.

“I would never kick you out of your own house—that’s just silly. It would actually be great for my parents to see us together.”

“Like a family?” RJ looks so hopeful.

I nod as I smooth my palm over Kody’s silky hair. “Thank you for taking care of us last night. It means a lot, RJ—and for convincing my parents to get on a plane and come visit. I’m warning you, though, they can be a lot to handle.”

“I think I’ve got your mom covered.”

“Yeah, well, she’s the easier of the two to win over.” But I’m hoping that when they see the way he cares for me and Kody—and how much I care about him—they’ll come around. That he’s willing to face them and the choices that have brought us to this point tells me everything I need to know.





CHAPTER 24





HOUSEGUESTS


Rook

It’s been a very, very long time since I met the parents of a woman I was dating. Like, all the way back to high school. And this isn’t just a regular meet-the-parents scenario, because the reality is I’m not a regular guy. Being a professional hockey player in Chicago is like being Britney Spears in Vegas. It’s not the low-key image I painted of myself when I first met Lainey, and that lie is going to be a huge issue with her parents. Which I can understand.

Lainey seems to want to pack the entire contents of Kody’s bedroom, so I finally admit that I’ve already converted one of my bedrooms into a nursery and she just needs the basics.