“Thank you,” JJ said kindly when Wesley delivered the glasses of iced tea along with a full pitcher in the event they needed refills.
No sooner did his father take a seat than they heard voices and laughter coming from the hallway leading to the garage. A second later, Aretha and Julie stepped into the kitchen, their gazes slamming directly into JJ as though they’d been magnetized to do so.
“She’s here,” Baz’s mother said with a beaming smile. “I can’t believe she’s here.”
JJ’s hand landed on Baz’s thigh beneath the table, squeezing gently.
Baz settled his over it and said, “Mom, I’d like you to meet Jessica James. JJ, this is my mother, Julie.”
“Oh, my. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Julie said, stepping back and motioning for Aretha to come over. “This is Aretha, the much younger, much prettier version.”
Aretha lightly slapped Julie on the arm. “That is not true.” She giggled. “Well, maybe the younger part.”
Yes, the younger part was most definitely true. While Baz had grown up with a variety of stepmothers over the years, Aretha was by far the youngest in relation to his age. At thirty-nine, Aretha was only six years older than him, making her thirteen years younger than his mother and twenty-seven years younger than his father.
He wasn’t going to mention that Aretha was only one year older than JJ. He knew age was a point of contention for her, but his father didn’t have a problem with it, clearly.
“I’m sorry,” Julie said as she moved around the table. “I’m gonna hug you.”
JJ laughed but managed to turn in her chair as Baz’s mother approached. She stood to return the hug, smiling widely when Julie held on to her hands as she stepped back, staring with both awe and pride on her pretty face.
“God, she’s beautiful, Baz.”
He’d known this would happen. His parents had been waiting for the day he would bring a woman home. While he hadn’t had the chance to introduce them, he had told his parents everything about JJ. All the good things, anyway. He’d purposely left off the rocky state of their relationship, but only because he didn’t want to sway their opinion of her. They were a protective lot. But they still would’ve loved JJ even if he had told them how things had fallen apart for a while. As far as they were concerned, this was a long time coming, and he couldn’t say they were wrong.
“We got a cake,” Aretha announced, gesturing toward the enormous white box sitting on the counter.
“What’s the occasion?” he asked, glancing between them.
“We don’t need a reason for cake,” Julie said, releasing JJ and moving over to the center island.
“Well, that’s too bad because we’ve got somethin’ to celebrate,” he said softly, waiting until all eyes moved to him.
His mother’s eyes widened in anticipation.
Baz glanced between his mother and father, unable to stop the smile from splitting his entire face.
“Well, come on now, boy. What’re we celebratin’?”
Baz peered at JJ, ensuring she saw all the love he felt for her.
“Are y’all getting married?” Aretha asked hopefully.
JJ snorted.
Baz smirked. “We are.” He quickly looked at his parents. “But not yet.”
Julie’s smile faltered.
“First, we’re gonna have a baby.”
The squeal that split the air was loud enough to damage his hearing.
What made it even better … it came from his father.
Chapter Five
“All things considered, it doesn’t look asbad as I expected it to,” Brantley told Reese as they stood in Tobias Land’s once modernly decorated living room, surveying the damage.
