She wanted to argue with him, except she felt the same way about her own mother. Yet, one thing was certain… soon, everyone would know she was pregnant.
CHAPTER 16
“They’ll be here any minute!” said Brooke, as she dug in the back of the dining room hutch and pulled out another set of dishes.
From his place at the stove, Cole couldn’t tell any difference between the plates. “What was wrong with the first dishes?”
Banned from the kitchen and dining room, Gus lounged on a ginormous elevated trampoline bed in the family room.
“They were china. Too fancy for what we’re eating.” She refolded each napkin for the umpteenth time.
“Why not use the regular plates in the kitchen cabinet?” The timer dinged, and he retrieved the cornbread from the oven, a perfect golden brown.
“It’s my first time to have my mother-in-law at the house since we got married.” Brooke stared at him like he’d lost his marbles. “I want the table to look special.”
He could’ve told her his mother would be critical, no matter what she did, but he didn’t want to burst her bubble. Maybe he could try to be a buffer and keep her from being hurt. He took off his oven mitts and stole behind her as she reached across the table to rearrange the flower stems in the centerpiece.
As he slid his arms around her waist, she jumped.
“You scared me,” she said, speaking over her shoulder from the circle of his grasp.
“Thank you for going to so much trouble to make Mom happy.” He planted a chaste kiss on her cheek, noting her fresh scent, with a hint of strawberry. He resisted the urge to nuzzle her neck, an act which would violate the touching rules they had discussed at length. With satisfaction, he noted a row of chill bumps had formed on her arms. He shouldn’t enjoy teasing her, but it felt good to know he had the ability.
She peeled his hands away. “I’m not sure that hug is allowable.”
“The rule is, ‘No full-body hugs facing each other.’ If side hugs are okay, back hugs should be fine, too.”
“But your hands—”
“They were on your stomach, one of very few safe zones you left me. Essentially, I can touch your stomach, your hands, your feet, and the top of your head, and that’s it. Well, maybe the tip of your nose.”
“No, the nose is definitely off limits.” A grin snuck onto her face. “I can’t help it. I’m sensitive everywhere.”
“I’m well aware. With all the strict guidelines you set, I’ll have to be creative around my folks, or they’ll be suspicious. Most newlyweds do a little more touching than that.”
She worried her lower lip between her teeth, which made him want to toss the no-mouth-to-mouth-kissing rule out the window. Maybe he should make lip chewing against the rules.
“I guess we can stretch the limits a little bit, while your parents are here,” she said.
He conjured a pained expression. “Stretching the limits is outside my comfort zone, but I’ll go along with it, if that’s what you want…”
“Very funny.” She shoved him so hard he stumbled, laughing, back into the kitchen.
“I put some of your special chocolates in that candy dish. You should have a piece.” Though he’d been told his chocolate purchase had been a bit excessive, she’d already managed to make a significant dent in it.
She opened the lid and squealed with delight. “Dark chocolate! Just what I need!”
One went into her mouth and several into her pockets. Then the door-knocker clanged, and she froze, with a deer-in-the-headlights expression.
“We’re here!” His mom burst in, only her blonde hair visible around the tall paper sack she carried. “We have peaches. Came from the roadside stands on the way here. Sweetest ones you ever tasted.”
“Janet bought enough to share with you and the entire county.” Bill, the only father Cole had ever known, followed behind her, toting two more sacks, brimming with peaches. His blue eyes sparkled with humor. “We would’ve been here an hour ago if your mother hadn’t insisted on stopping at every roadside stand along the way instead of buying peaches at the first place we stopped.”
“We had to wait until we knew we were getting the best peaches at the best price,” she said, setting her sack on the cabinet.
His dad added his sacks to the collection. “Which meant we stopped at seven places and then drove all the way back to the first one.”
“But we saved eight dollars!”
“We probably wasted ten dollars in gas,” his dad whispered, and Cole had to stifle a laugh.
He exchanged a bear hug with his mom, who then turned to Brooke and did the same, cinching her arms so tight Brooke’s eyes bugged out.
“Sorry, Brooke,” his mom said. “I’m a hugger. You might as well get used to it.”
It probably made Brooke even happier the marriage was only temporary.
“Our family’s big on hugs, too,” said Brooke.
“Yes, but Janet’s been known to break bones.” His dad gave Brooke a gentle, one-armed side-squeeze. And both of them went to greet Gus, who was waiting impatiently at the tile border, his tail wagging a hundred miles an hour.
“Dinner’s about ready,” said Cole as he ditched his apron.
“Let me wash my hands.” His mother headed to the kitchen sink. “By the way, I noticed you’re finally using those dishes I bought you a few years ago. It’s about time.”
“Those came from you?” Cole rubbed his chin, hoping his mother wouldn’t notice he hadn’t shaved. “Well, you can thank Brooke for that. She chose the dishes and did all the decorating.”