Brooke’s cheeks pinked up, but she kept her composure. “Your plates are beautiful, Ms. Miller.”
“Please, call me Janet. Ms. Miller sounds like a little old lady in a nursing home… the kind who tucks tissues in the sleeves of her sweater.”
“A serious waste of a great hiding place,” Brooke said, without blinking an eye. “I’ll be storing chocolate in my sleeves.”
His mother laughed so hard, she choked, and Cole couldn’t help being proud of Brooke. She was holding her own, and that wasn’t easy to do with his mom around. Though he had to admit, his mother hadn’t complained about a single thing since she’d arrived. Come to think of it, most of her recent complaints involved Cole being too busy for his family. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as she used to be.
He motioned his parents to the table and turned the burner off under the greens. As Brooke helped him put the serving dishes on the table, his mother cleared her throat, the way she always did when she was going to make an announcement.
“Now that you’re married, I hope you won’t wait too terribly long to start a family.” She raised her eyebrows at Cole, peering over the pair of reading glasses perched on her nose. “None of us are getting any younger, you know.”
Nope. She’s as bad as ever.
“We haven’t decided yet.” Brooke jumped in before he could reprimand his mom. “But we might try to adopt. It’s so awesome to give a kid the gift of a loving forever-home, like you did.”
For the first time in his life, Cole witnessed his mother in a state of speechlessness. Tears welled in her eyes, and his dad leaned over and placed an affectionate arm around her shoulders.
“Thank you for saying that,” his dad finally spoke in a strangled voice. “It means a lot to your mom... to both of us… to hear it.”
Cole ought to say something, but his tongue felt like a chunk of wood.
Again, Brooke came to the rescue. “I’d like to say thank you for the way you raised Cole. He knows what’s really important in life, and I’m sure he learned it from you.”
Cole’s mom sniffed. “Now I wish I had one of those tissues up my sleeve.” She gave a sheepish chuckle.
“I’d offer you one, but this is all I have.” Brooke extended her hand, a piece of gourmet dark chocolate on her palm.
In the laughter that followed, Cole realized marriage had other advantages besides sex and procreation. A wife like Brooke could make dealing with his family much less stressful… even pleasant. Of course, he and Brooke weren’t going to stay married long, so he would have to look for a woman with a similar personality. He refused to think about the fact that he’d never met a woman like Brooke before.
Meanwhile, he owed Brooke big time for making his mother so happy. In fact, his mom had been cheerful for the rest of dinner and hadn’t uttered a negative word during the entire hour-long drive around the property. Too bad his parents were going to be around that evening, or he could’ve paid her back with a phenomenal foot massage. They’d both agreed that the nightly massages—innocent as they were—felt too intimate for company.
After a friendly game of spades, during which Brooke revealed an intense competitive streak, they all retired to the family room to read and watch television. When he saw Brooke battling to keep her eyes open, he suddenly remembered she was pregnant. She had to be exhausted! She’d been up since six a.m.
“I think Brooke and I need to hit the hay,” he said, standing and stretching his arms over his head. “We’ve both had a long day.”
Brooke shot him a look of gratitude and accepted the hand he offered. She said her goodnights and started toward her bedroom, while Cole went to turn out the kitchen lights.
“Where are you going?” Cole’s mom asked, looking up from her e-book. “Aren’t you sleeping in the master bedroom?”
Brooke stopped in mid-step, while Cole’s mind raced for an explanation. How could they have forgotten his parents would expect them to sleep together? Should he break down and tell his parents the truth about the marriage?
Brooke turned to face his mother, her cheeks flushed. “I stayed here before we got married, and all my clothes are still in the front guest bedroom. We haven’t had time to move them.”
His mother beamed her approval. “Call me old fashioned, but I think that’s admirable. I know most young people don’t think anything about living together before they get married. I wouldn’t have said anything, but I’m glad to know you waited until you tied the knot.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Cole said. “And if possible, I don’t ever want to hear my mother talk about sex again.”
She threw her head back and cackled in laughter, his dad joining in. Meanwhile, Brooke went down the hallway and reappeared, suitcase in hand. With her face so white he feared she might pass out, she made her way toward the master bedroom, and Cole followed her inside.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she said, standing at the foot of the massive custom-made bed, clutching her overnight bag against her like a lifejacket. “But I hate lying.”
“You didn’t lie… not really. Everything you told Mom was true.”
“You know what I mean.” Her posture was fence-post rigid.
“I do.” He sat on the edge of the bed and dropped his face into his hands. “But I’ve never seen Mom this happy before. I hate to tell her the truth before we absolutely have to.”
“I get it.”
He looked up in time to see her entire body wilt. She dropped her bag and moved to sit beside him.
“I dread telling my mom, too,” she said. “But I won’t be able to hide this much longer.”
Her hands moved to rest on her tummy, and she let out a weary sigh.
“Listen, I won’t make this awkward,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
She looked over her shoulder at the bed. “This thing is the size of the US. Why don’t you sleep on the west coast, and I’ll sleep on the east?”
“Okay. But fair warning… I move around a lot, so I’ll probably end up in Kansas.”
“You may be taking your life in your hands. Nathan refused to cuddle with me because he said I kick in my sleep. Five years of marriage and it never got any better.”
Cole chuckled. “Maybe I should wear protection to bed.”
“Not a bad idea.” She stood and walked toward the bathroom, picking up her bag on the way. “But remember the rules. You have to keep that chest covered up.”
