Malia’s expression melts from the laughter at my teasing, and her lips drop into a little O. I’m tempted to kiss her, really seal this for Mom, but suddenly it feels like going too far. I settle for kissing her forehead instead, resting my lips there for longer than I need to. Malia leans into me, sighing with contentment.
After a moment, Malia pulls us back to the task at hand: rejoining the party with my mom, who’s glancing back and forth between us.
Mom takes Malia’s arm and holds it for a moment as we reenter the restaurant. “Like you said, tonight is Carlie’s night, but I’m really looking forward to finding a moment tomorrow when I can get to know you, Malia.” She pulls Malia into a hug before gliding off toward the head table where Dad, Carlie,and Law are standing, talking to a handful of people gathered around.
“Who’s next to convince?” Malia says with a chuckle. “I think we’ve won over your mom. Want to make out real quick to seal things for your brothers-in-law?” She arches an eyebrow.
A laugh bursts from me. I slide an arm around her waist and pull her close, taking a quick breath of her vanilla-scented hair and adding that little tidbit to my inventory of all the things I know about Malia now that I’ve met her in person. “Those guys aren’t trying to set me up, so I’ll spare you for now.”
“If you’re sure,” she says, and she does a good job of sounding like she’s actually put out that I’m not kissing her. It makes me chuckle again.
“As a consolation, how about we go find some extra dessert?” I suggest.
Malia leans her head on my shoulder. “That’s a plan I can for sure get behind.”
CHAPTER 8
MALIA
The dinner wraps up in the next half hour thanks to Ava insisting that Carlie needs to get home to get to bed since she has to be up at five a.m. for hair and makeup.
It went by fast, considering, and I don’t want my night with Caleb to be over yet.
“There’s going to be more people around tomorrow,” Caleb says as we pull away from the restaurant. “And more people willing to be nosy. I can’t wait for you to meet my grandma, but I’m also pretty sure she’s going to sniff us out. Nobody fools her.”
I snicker. “Where was she tonight?”
“Mom said she was more tired than normal and wanted to save her energy for tomorrow.” Caleb stares out the windshield as he says it.
“It sucks watching them get older, right?” I say quietly.
He turns to me and nods. “Yeah. I know G always has my back. When everyone thought my relationship with Ivy was going way too fast—and it was—G was the one who defended me. Who told me if my heart said Ivy was the one, it didn’t matter.”
“G?” I question instead of asking what his heart said about Ivy.
He laughs. “When we were in high school, Jenna and Carlie thought our grandma needed a fun nickname like their friend who called their grandma ‘Nana.’”
“And when does her next rap album release?” I ask.
He laughs, and I find comfort in the sound. It’s a sound I’ve heard a million times. Caleb has always been so chill when he games. Some of the guys on our team get tense or short when things are going wrong or when someone makes a mistake, but Caleb always laughs at himself when he messes up and steps in to make things more comfortable if someone else is getting tight.
When we reach his apartment so I can drop him off, he doesn’t get out right away. “So … want to come up?” he asks. Then his cheeks get really red. “I thought we could do some surveillance. InShadow Heroes,” he adds quickly. “I have some Vincenzo’s pepperoni pizza.”
It’s well known among my team that this is my go-to gaming snack, but it still makes me smile, and then bite my lip, to know that he has it at his house. “That sounds fun.”
Caleb smiles, his cheeks still a little pink, and puts my Range Rover in drive again, pulling it around the back of the apartment building and parking in front of the garage assigned to his apartment.
As we walk from the parking space to a side door, Caleb reaches for my hand and then quickly pulls back. “Sorry,” he says and runs a hand down his face. “We’ve been doing it all night, and it was just …” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but I do in my head.Natural. My hand was already moving to take his.
I take in all the details of Caleb’s apartment as soon as we enter. It’s smaller than my house, but the main area is big and open. To my surprise, the living room area is just a couch, a couple chairs, and a rustic-looking coffee table. No TV or computer in sight.
“One of the bedrooms is my gaming room.” Caleb’s voice snaps my attention to him, and I realize he’s been watching me. “Mom always had a comment when she came over, so it was easier.” He shakes his head.
I nod. My condo has a landing on the second floor where my setup is. Out of the way.
“We should have gone by your place so you could change,” Caleb says, eyeing my dress.
“It’s fine.” I wave him off.
