Page 77 of The Penalty

“Yes, of course, I want you there. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because I’m basically meeting your family. That’s a big deal,” she says.

“I met your family,” I counter.

“That was different. That was before. . .”

I sigh. “I wish I could introduce you to them as my girlfriend. If things were less complicated, I would. But tonight, you’re going as Kylie’s friend. Eventually, when I tell them about us, I want them to know who you are, ok? This is the perfect time for them to meet you.”

She still looks skeptical. “Ok.”

“The hard part is going to be for me keeping my hands off you all night.”

She laughs. “I’m sure you can handle one night.”

“I don’t know. Have you seen your ass in those jeans?” I tease and then playfully smack her ass.

“Come on, let’s get going.”

On our way to my parents’ house, I get a text from Kylie. I hand my phone to McKenzie. “Hey, can you read that to me?”

She takes my phone and unlocks it. Yes, she knows my passcode because I have nothing to hide from her.

“Um, she said Grandma and Grandpa asked Mom to stay for dinner when she dropped me off. Just wanted to let you know she’ll be here.”

I sigh. Great. Shae and I are friends or at least as friendly as we can be as exes, but I’d rather not have dinner with her, especially with my new girlfriend there as well.

“I really shouldn’t be going now,” McKenzie says from the passenger seat.

“What? Why? Just because Shae is going to be there?”

“Yes! It’s going to be so awkward.”

“Why?”

“It’s just. . .”

“Tell me,” I press

“You had a baby with her,” she says quietly.

“Listen, I love Kylie more than anything in the world. But having a child when I was one too was an accident. I was young and stupid. Neither one of us was ready to be parents.”

“But still. You guys have a history.”

I reach out and squeeze her thigh. “There’s a reason Shae and I aren’t together anymore. We weren’t good for each other. We both know that now. You’re the woman I want to be with. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“And maybe one day, I’ll have another baby with a woman I’m truly in love with.” I mean her, but I don’t want to come out and say, “Hey, I’ve been thinking about what it would be like if we had a baby.” I don’t want to scare her off, but I love the idea of watching her stomach grow with my baby inside. I think I’d appreciate it a whole lot more now than I did when I was younger.

She looks at me with wide eyes. “Really? You want more kids?”

“Well, yeah. I think so. Do you want kids?”

“Yeah, I do. One day.”

“One day is good enough for me. But listen, please don’t stress out about dinner tonight, ok? Let’s just be normal. Like we would if we were home. Kylie hasn’t caught on yet, so I’m sure no one else will.”