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My mother and father looked at each other, then back to me.
“I’m sorry…are you our eighteen-year-old daughter or a forty-something woman who’s traveled back in time?” my father asked.
I shrugged. “I know what love is. I’ve seen it all around me growing up. I can’t tell you that I’m already in love with Beck, that it was love at first sight like Bradly and Mackenzie. What I can tell you is that he makes me smile when I’m with him. I care about him, and I don’t want to see him get hurt, and I know he doesn’t want to see me get hurt. I don’t know what’s going to happen when he goes back to Texas. But I know that I have two loving parents who will be there for me, however it works out.”
My mother stood and walked over to me, drawing me to her for a hug. “When did my little girl grow up to be such a smart woman?”
A small sob escaped as I hugged her back. My father stood and wrapped his arms around us both.
When he let go, they both stepped back. Mom drew in a long breath and exhaled as my father simply nodded. Then his eyes turned dark, and he said, “If he ends up hurting you, long-lost Shaw son or not, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
Laughing, I dabbed at the corners of my eyes before I blew out a breath. “Now that we got that talk out of the way, do Beck and I really have to drive all the way into town and pretend we’re going out to eat?”
My mother’s mouth fell open. “How did you know?”
I raised a single brow. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Mom.”
When the doorbell rang, I quickly made my way to it, beating my mother by half a second.
“I’ve got it,” I said, thankful I didn’t slip on the floor in my mad dash.
Opening the door, my heart stumbled over itself at the sight before me. Beck was dressed in a suit—a black suit with a tie the same color as his blue eyes. He wore dress shoes and his hair had been cut. It was buzzed around the back and a bit longer on top. He hadn’t shaved, so he was rocking a five o’clock shadow that looked hot as hell.
I opened my mouth a couple times before words finally came out. “You look…wow.”
Beck grinned as he let his eyes move slowly over my body. “You look absolutely gorgeous, Avery. You take my breath away.”
“Mmm,” I heard my father say. “He’s smooth.”
Frowning, Beck looked over my head to see my father and mother standing several feet away. I opened the door wider and motioned for him inside.
“Come on in, it’s freezing out there.”
Beck did, and as he faced me, he started to lean in to kiss me—but stopped himself.
“Oh, go ahead and kiss her,” my father sighed. “We already know.”
I nearly laughed when Beck’s eyes went wide as saucers. “I’m sorry? You already know what?”
My father cleared his throat. “That you were here this morning but, according to this one,” he jerked his thumb to me, “nothing happened. Is that true?”
I was pretty sure I saw a bead of sweat appear on Beck’s brow. “It is, sir. Nothing happened.”
Then it was my mother’s turn. She folded her arms over her chest and regarded Beck. “Of course, you were interrupted by us getting home early.”
“That’s right!” my father barked, pointing at Beck and making him jump back.
“Daddy. Uncle Ty…?” I warned.
He cleared his throat again. “Avery’s explained to us that you’re both…what did you say?”
“We’re just taking things day by day. Now, can we move on?”
“Oh, I should have asked you earlier, sweetheart,” my mother said, taking my arm and moving only inches away from my father and Beck. “Are you on birth control? Did he use a condom?”
“God above!” my father shouted, then covered his ears with his hands as he headed into the house, toward the family room. “I did not just hear that, Merit! It’s Karma. Karma!”
“Shit,” Beck whispered, looking back at the front door as if he was about to bolt.
“Mom…seriously?” Turning to Beck, I yelled, “Stop!”
“I’m just going to go wait out in the rental. I think your dad might be going to get a gun.”
My mother laughed. “Don’t be silly. He’d be walking to our bedroom to the gun safe, not to the family room where the alcohol’s located.”
Beck seemed to relax…a little.
Dad walked back in carrying a bottle and what looked like shot glasses. He stopped in front of Beck and handed him a glass, handed one to my mother, and kept two for himself before he poured for the three of them.
“Why do you get two shots?” I asked.
Glaring at me, my father said, “Would you rather I get the kind of shots that go in a rifle?”
