I’m the one nodding now. “What if he forbids her to see me. I don’t think he likes me.”
Mase laughs. “Of course he doesn’t. He can see what you’re like and as a man he gets it. I don’t think he likes me very much either, but that’s where I have the advantage because he had to accept me and Livy when he came back into her life.”
“Thanks. Don’t tell Liv I said this, but I think he sees Anita as a little girl still. His little girl.”
“I think you’re probably right, but the girls are here now, so let’s play nicely.”
Anita climbs in next to me and waves towards the door, almost ignoring my presence. Liv and Mase wave too, and when I look, I see the parents standing to wave us off, to wave the girls off. Anita’s mum is wearing a big grin and looks genuinely friendly and warm at the sight of us going out together. Then I shift my gaze to Nigel who is glaring at me with a huge scowl for good measure. Maybe it’s too soon to go public with Anita.
The sound of Liv’s phone going off distracts everyone as Mase pulls away from the house.
She laughs. “Your dad has messaged to say he wants to meet up next week.”
Mase shrugs but neither me nor Liv are taken in by his innocent reaction. “All of us?”
“I’m surprised you don’t already know,” she accuses but there is still humour in her voice. “He wants, and I quote,to discuss security around the baby.”
I hold back a snigger as I realise, like a little boy in the playground that Anita’s dad isn’t going to scare or intimidate me because not only is my dad bigger, but my dad could snap her dad in a dozen different ways.
Anita is looking between me, Mase and Liv. “Security around the baby?” She’s confused.
“He’s very security conscious,” I tell her.
She nods but is still a little clueless. Mase laughs.
“Mason…” Liv’s tone is serious. “I won’t be fucking tagged or chipped.”
I can hold my laughter in no longer and Mase joins in with me.
Liv glares between the two of us while Anita looks at me with a look of total horror and confusion.
“Cupcake,” I say, pulling her hand into mine. “I’ll explain later.”
She nods and moves closer towards me while Liv continues to stare at Mase, repeating her objections.
Anita
I have no clue what the hell has just gone on between Mase, Olivia, Declan and Mr Harding senior who isn’t even here. To be honest, I’m not really that bothered by it either because I am far too preoccupied with the frosty atmosphere between me and my dad.
When I told them I was going out with Liv to visit her mother-in-law, he was suspicious, although my mum said several times,how lovely. When he found out that not only Mason, but Declan was going too and it was a bit of a family get together, his suspicion heightened to the point that the hour before I left the house felt like an interrogation. He actually followed me around the house to continue discussing why I was going.
When I didn’t commit to anything beyond Liv suggesting that Mrs Harding, although she’s no longer Mrs Harding I realise as she is no longer married to Dec and Mase’s dad, might be in line for some catering, he turned his comments and questions to Declan. He doesn’t like Dec, that much is clear, but then, I guess he doesn’t need to, not really. Before I left, he had gone so far as to suggest that Dec was likely to ply me with alcohol and take advantage of me before moving on to his next victim. That is the term my dad used,victim.I assumed that someone like Dec would be a father’s worst nightmare, but when I was with him the one thing I never felt like was a victim.
“You’ll love Charlotte, she is so sweet and is absolutely besotted with her boys.” Liv laughs with the last two words.
“And why wouldn’t she be? She’s our mother, and we, well at least I am, I am a blessing.” Mase sounds slightly affronted at Liv’s laughter at his mother’s apparent adoration of him and his brother, but mainly him.
“Hey, I am a blessing too, and was a far more attractive baby than you.”
Liv rolls her eyes at Dec who is deadly serious in his own belief of how attractive a baby he had been.
“I look forward to meeting her, regardless of who was the most attractive,” I say, genuinely looking forward to meeting the woman who had managed to raise these two attractive, strong willed and very confident men again, not that our brief introduction and my sister’s engagement party and then her wedding counted as meeting properly.
“Well, now is your chance, Cupcake,” Dec says, pointing out of his window.
I am agog at the sight of the huge house and grounds we are pulling up in front of.
“This is your home?” I whisper for no reason beyond the fact that I am in a state of shock at this mansion I have been invited to. I know Mase is rich but assumed that was from his business rather than him having been born into it. That thinking has always been confirmed in my mind by the knowledge that whilst Dec wasn’t living hand to mouth, his brother had invested money in the club to allow Dec to run his own business.
