I opened the door, stepping into the chaos.Ayla was playing a card game with Morgan on the floor.Hudson and Angela sat on the couch watching them.And there was laughter coming from the kitchen.
"Pick your poison."
She nodded toward the kitchen."We should greet your parents first.They're the ones who invited me."
She wanted to tackle my parents head-on, and I should admire that about her, but I wanted to hide out in the living room and hope no one noticed us."Okay."
With a wave to everyone in the living room, I took her hand and led her into the kitchen.
Everyone quieted when we walked in.Mom stood at the counter with Dad, staring at us expectedly.
"Mom, Dad, this is Belle Beckett.Belle, this is Matt and Maria Sterling."
She held out her free hand while still holding mine."It's so nice to meet you.Thank you for inviting me to dinner."
They shook her hand.Then Mom said, "We're delighted that Maverick brought someone home."
I groaned."You make it sound like I don't ever date."
Mom just raised her brow, and then to Belle, she said, "It's nice to meet the woman who caught his attention."
"Oh, I don't know about that—" Belle began, her cheeks flushing pink.
"You caught my attention in high school," I said not wanting her to think that she hadn't.Or that this wasn't special.Because it was.
"Aw.That's so sweet," Aspen said, her gaze flitting from me to Belle."I want to hear all about it."
"Did you two date in high school?I don't believe you talked about your dating life then," Mom said.
"We flirted.But I messed everything up," I said, hoping to keep it to that.
"That sounds about right," Ford said from his spot, leaning against the cabinet.
Cooper was quiet, just taking everything in.
Mom frowned."I doubt it was that bad.I raised you to be considerate to women."
"You would be ashamed of the way I acted.But I've made up for it now, and I hope that Belle can forgive me."
"That was a long time ago.I'm sure we've all done things that we regret," Belle said.
Mom shot me a look as if she wasn't going to let this go.She'd want to know how I screwed up.And then she'd probably blame herself for not raising me right.I wanted to be the man she was proud of.
Mom shook her head."The important thing is that you're here now.And hopefully, Maverick doesn't act like an idiot again."
Everyone else laughed, but I wasn't amused.The prospect of me screwing up again had my stomach in knots.I couldn't lose Belle now.Not after everything was going so well.I was fairly sure I was falling for her, and there was no distancing myself from that.
