I rubbed my thumbs against her sides. “Do you mind it?”
“I don’t think so,” she replied, a pink tinge creeping along her cheeks. “Not from you, at least. Addie might have a fit if Olivia keeps calling me that, though.”
“Now that Addie is in the picture, I doubt Olivia would be caught dead calling anyone else a term of endearment. She’s loyal as hell, even if she is a pain in my ass.”
“Then they’re a match made in heaven, because Addie’s a pain in mine,” Eden said with a laugh.
I grinned and, before I could think better of it, asked, “Your parents let you spend time with your cousins even though Addie is gay?”
“She’s bi, but believe me, we went to great lengths to keep them from ever finding that out. Aunt Jocelyn is my mom’s sister. They grew up Lutheran or something, very low-key. My mom didn’t start her descent into the hellfire and damnation side of religion until she met my dad, and Jocelyn never gave up hope that she’d be able to pull her back from it.”
“But that didn’t happen, I take it?”
Eden sighed. “No. And once I left home, my mom cut all contact with Jocelyn. She blamed her for leading me astray. Aunt Jocelyn would have tried to shield me from that, but wewere in the house while they were on the phone and my mom’s screaming was so loud, we could all hear it.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.”
“Me too. When I was a kid, I didn’t question how they convinced my parents to let me visit so often, but as I got older, I realized they created this perfect display that they put on for Mom and Dad. All of them, including Addie and Rob, would pretend we were attending church twice a week while I was with them. Everybody dressed a particular way when I was dropped off or picked up. Jocelyn was determined not to give them any reason to keep me away.”
“And your parents bought it?” I asked.
“Yes. Maybe? Sometimes I think they just pretended to accept it all at face value because it got me out of their hair,” she replied, shrugging.
“Baby,” I whispered.
“Nope. No. We’re not going there, Milo. It’s over, I never hear from them. It doesn’t matter anymore. And you’re only allowed to call me baby when you’re being sweet, not when you’re pitying the sad little girl I once was.”
“I’m always sweet, am I not?”
She smirked, then it blossomed into another beautiful smile. “We’ll see how sweet you are when I’m kicking your ass in front of your family on Sunday.”
Chapter Fourteen
Eden
Pickingoutclotheswasnot usually a hardship for me. I dressed for style or for comfort, but almost everything I owned fell into both categories. Except, maybe, for a couple pairs of shoes I reserved for occasions when I wanted to look hot but knew I wouldn’t be on my feet very long.
Dressing for an evening with Milo’s family had me stumped.
He insisted it was low-key, just a relaxing night with his brothers, his nephew, and his sister-in-law. We’d be eating pizza, playing video games, and lounging around Maverick’s living room. All I’d managed to do so far was pull on a pair of charcoal gray leggings.
I was still staring blindly into my closet when my doorbell rang.
“Shit, shit, double shit!” I yelped, grabbing a tunic-length green sweater and yanking it over my head as I ran toward the door. “I’m coming!”
When I threw open the door, Milo’s gaze roamed over my features, immediately spotting the panic that threatened to choke me. Instead of waiting for me to throw on my coat and join him on the porch, he gently nudged me back into the apartment with one hand on my belly.
“I couldn’t decide what to wear,” I whispered.
“Eden,” he murmured, stroking his fingers along my jaw. “Take a breath.”
Caught in the soft look in his eyes, I drew oxygen into my lungs and exhaled on a sigh.
“You look perfect, but this is just us hanging with my brothers. Carter will probably have pizza sauce all over his shirt by the time we finish eating. Maverick will most likely be in sweatpants because he spends his weekdays in suits and ties. You have nothing to worry about. There’s no one to impress, okay?”
That edge of panic receded a bit, more due to his touch than the reassurance itself. I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand, sighing softly when his thumb swept across my cheek.
“Right. Okay. I just need my coat.”
