by Parker, Ali
“Me too.”
“I think she is going to be a great addition to the family. Mom will come around. She didn’t exactly welcome Nat with open arms and I think she was skeptical of Hannah as well. It’s just her doing her mom thing. You know she’s a kind woman. She’s just got to put you and Adelaide through the paces.”
I shook my head. “I had a long talk with her. I think she’s going to do better with me.”
“I think she will, and I think that starts now,” he said, nodding his head toward the dining room.
I looked up and saw my mother pulling Adelaide to the side. Deanna looked at me, grimacing before shrugging her shoulders. I watched but couldn’t hear what was being said. Adelaide was turned so I could only see her profile. I couldn’t judge her facial expressions. I didn’t know what my mother was saying but I hoped to hell she wasn’t being rude.
Jack stood next to me. I assumed he stood there to act as a bodyguard—for my mother. When Adelaide turned and faced my mother, giving her a small hug, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“That was close,” Jack muttered.
I slugged his shoulder. “Weren’t you just telling me it was all going to be okay?”
“Yeah, but I was bullshitting,” he said and walked away.
I scoffed, considered throwing my glass at the back of his head before I saw Adelaide headed my way.
“We’re ready to serve dinner,” she said with a smile.
“Okay.”
We’d had the dinner catered. Neither of us was really up for trying to cook a meal for ten plus people. Our cooking skills were okay when it was just the two of us, but when we were hosting a dinner, not so much.
“I’ll go pull off the tops,” she said, moving away.
I grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the crowd and down the hall. “What did my mom say to you?” I asked her.
She grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Come on, what’s the deal? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. We talked, she apologized. She asked about the coffee shop. She wished us luck. We made a coffee date for Monday morning,” she said, her smile genuine.
I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. “Thank God.”
“Were you worried it would be something else?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I honestly didn’t know. I mean, she told me she was going to be cool with everything, but I wasn’t sure about it.”
“Your mom is a good woman. I really do like her and I hope when we get a chance to talk, just the two of us, we can get to know each other a little better. I truly do look up to her. She seems like she has it all together. I know she’s been through a lot and raising you little brats couldn’t have been easy. That says a little something about her character,” she said with a laugh.
“Who said I was a brat?” I retorted.
“You didn’t have to say it. I know you well enough to know you would have been a complete terror at that age. I only hope that if we have children they take after me. I was a perfect angel,” she said with a giggle and walked away.
I couldn’t come up with a witty comeback. She had thrown me for a loop when she mentioned kids. Our kids. That was something that I hadn’t actually thought about, but now that she put the idea in my head, I was seriously going to give it more thought. Our babies would be beautiful, I thought with a smile.
Chapter 75
Adelaide
It was the end of what I was going to call a successful night. Mason stood next to me, his arm brushing against mine as we said goodbye to our guests. His mother confirmed her coffee date and Natasha and Hannah promised to text with plans to meet for lunch soon. I was feeling completely overwhelmed and thrilled at the same time. I had never hosted a dinner. I had never been exposed to a large family gathering. I was calling it a success because no one had stormed out. No one had punched anyone. It was a good night.
Mason closed the door on the last of them and turned around to face me. “You’re amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“It was a good night. I honestly don’t think I have ever actually enjoyed myself with my family before tonight. Before, it was always a chore. I always expected them to turn on me. Tonight, I felt like I was one of them. I mean, I’m still not one of them in one of their buttoned-up suits, but I’m a part of the family. We’re a part of the family,” he clarified.
“I have to get these shoes off,” I groaned, kicking off my heels as I walked toward the kitchen to begin the clean-up process.
“I think it’s better to have family dinners at my mother’s house. Then she does the cleanup,” he murmured.
I laughed. “That’s not nice.”
“You know it’s true. Look at this place,” I groaned.
“It won’t take long with us doing it together. The main dishes are in foil. That’s an easy fix,” I said, tossing one of the empty foil containers into the trash.
“Good point.” He looked around. “You know I have a cleaning lady?”
I nodded my head. “Yes, I do know that and I’m glad you brought that up.”
He stopped moving. “What did you do?”
He knew me well. “I told her we would only need her once a week.”
He groaned, pouting as he looked at me. “Why?” he whined.
“Because I am perfectly capable of cleaning toilets, loading dishes into a dishwasher and running a mop now and again. I don’t like the idea of someone in our business, touching our things and changing the sheets on the bed,” I said with a grimace.
“She’s a housekeeper—that’s what she does,” he groaned.
“Yes, but not here. Put the money toward something else. I like the idea of being the one to take care of you. I want to be the one washing your clothes—and thank you, by the way, for buying that washer and dryer. I really didn’t know you didn’t have one,” I said, wincing when I thought back to that very awkward conversation.
“It’s fine. I’m sure I needed one,” he said shrugging his shoulder.
“Yes, you did. I could have brought my old one, but I really assumed you had a set here,” I told him.
“It’s fine. Really. I think that’s the first big step in a relationship—picking out appliances.”
“I think tonight went really well,” I said, still in a little bit of disbelief about how well things had gone. I never would have thought I could host a dinner party for multi-millionaires and not make a complete ass of myself.
He stopped what he was doing and pulled me into his arms. “It went very well. Everyone was happy, and everyone was thrilled with you. My mom hugged you. That was a big deal.”
I laughed. “It did take me by surprise, but I liked it.”
“I think I’m ready to take the next step. You passed the sniff test,” he said with a wink.
“I’m really hoping that isn’t a literal test. I don’t think I want to be smelled.” I laughed nervously.
I wasn’t sure what the next step was for him, but I was pretty certain there was only one left to take. That was a huge step and it terrified me. I wanted to be with him, but holy hell, we’d only lived together a week. It seemed a little soon to be taking the next step already. No one would ever accuse Mason of taking things slow.
“You’re ignoring what I said.”
“Hmm? What?” I replied, trying to sound nonchalant.
“I said, I’m ready for the next step.”
My hope of ignoring the comment evaporated. “What next step?”
“A proposal,” he said matter-of-factly.
My head was swimming. I wanted to blame the wine I had consumed, but that wasn’t entirely to blame. His words triggered some kind of chemical reaction in my brain. A response that made me feel like I was drowning a bit.
“A proposal?” I squeaked.
“Yes, doesn’t that seem like the natural next step?” he asked.
I felt nauseous. I tried to remind myself of our talk; the one where I would tell him what was on my mind. I was sup
posed to tell him when I was freaked out. I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell him not to propose. That would kill him. He’d throw me out and I would be homeless.
“Um, I, well, I suppose that is a step,” I answered, dodging the question.
He took a step back and dropped down to his knees in front of me. The world tilted. I felt faint and dizzy and I could almost swear the lights were dimming. I couldn’t breathe. My heart was pounding so hard it stole the air from my lungs. I wanted to cry, and it wasn’t a cry of happiness. I knew what he was going to do, and I knew what I had to say. A vision of my life flashed before my eyes and it wasn’t a pretty one. Everything was going to fall apart, but I knew I was not ready to be engaged and I sure as hell wasn’t ready to be married.
He threw his head back and burst into laughter, getting to his feet and tossing the napkin that had been on the floor into the trash. “I’m kidding.”
“Kidding?” I whispered.
“Yes, I’m kidding. I’m not ready to pop the question just yet, but it isn’t completely off the table,” he said, reaching up to put his fingers under my chin.
I felt like my knees had gone weak. I slumped against him. “I’m going to make you pay for that.”
“When I ask you to marry me, it is going to be a surprise. I’m going to sweep you off your feet and make you swoon,” he promised.
I walked to the sink, sprayed off a few dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. “I can’t believe you did that to me.”
“I love to tease you. You’re an easy target.”
I frowned, spinning around and spraying him with the water. “You’re so damn big, you’re an easy target!” I shouted, soaking his blue shirt.
He held up a hand, laughing as he lunged for me. It took very little effort for him to wrestle the sprayer from me and get me right in the face before spraying my dress. I squealed and tried to get away. He grabbed my arm, holding me in place as he continued to soak me.
I swatted at him, getting him to release me and racing around the corner of the bar in an attempt to escape. He pulled the hose as far as it would go and sprayed a stream of warm water over the counter. I screamed, shielding my face as I ran into the living room.
He put the sprayer down, grabbing the towel and wiping his face. “You are a naughty girl.”
I grinned, still standing out of reach of the water. “Does that mean you’re going to spank me?” I teased.
He slowly nodded his head. “Yes.”
A shiver of excitement ran down my spine. “You sprayed me twice as much as I sprayed you,” I reminded him.
He winked. “I guess that means I get twice as many spankings.”
“You know, you don’t have to take too long in deciding,” I told him.
He threw the towel at me. I grabbed it, wiping my arms and face before reaching behind me and unzipping the dress, letting it fall to the floor. I had long passed being shy.
“Take too long deciding what?” he asked with a quizzical expression.
“What ring to propose with,” I answered.
He laughed. “Oh?”
“Yeah, you’ve got me kind of hooked on this fast track thing,” I told him.
“Hmm, I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
“Yes, you will. You wouldn’t want to make a girl wait, would you?” I asked coyly.
He grinned. “I might. I like to tease and titillate. You never fail to disappoint when you’ve been made to wait for something you want.”
“Mason Bancroft, this is not something to joke about,” I scolded.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“I’ll tell your mom,” I retorted.
I knew it was a ridiculous comeback, but it was all I had in the moment.
“Oh no, don’t tell my mom,” he teased.
“You know what I mean. She will absolutely get on your ass about making an honest woman out of me.”
He nodded his head. “She would.”
I sauntered towards him, making a big show of swinging my hips. I watched his eyes roam over my body, scantily clad in the red-hot bra and panties I had bought the other day with the intention of surprising him.
“I like red,” he grunted.
“I know you do,” I told him, reaching out to run a finger down his wet shirt.
“Adelaide, I’m going to ask you to marry me one of these days and when I do it, you’re going to be knocked on your ass. You’re going to cry and wail and be one of those women who squeals and jumps up and down,” he promised.
“You damn well better. You’re a big talker, you better follow through,” I warned.
“I will.”
He reached for me, grabbing my hips and yanking me against him as his mouth slammed over mine. His kiss was intense. I grabbed his head, holding him against me, the dishes forgotten as lust for the man I loved pushed out all other thoughts. I could only think of him.
“Want to go to bed?” I asked him breathlessly.
“The bedroom is a long way away,” he replied.
“The kitchen is a mess,” I gasped.
“The dining table is clear,” he growled, walking me backwards toward the table.
I already knew I was going to let him do what he wanted with me. I was only thankful the family had already been served. I loved being able to have moments like this with him whenever we wanted. I loved the freedom to love any way we saw fit. We didn’t have to be anyone for anybody. We were Adelaide and Mason. Other people’s perception of us didn’t matter. We loved each other, and, in his love, I felt invincible. I could do anything, be anything and he would always love me.
I was only sorry my dad would never meet him. My dad could have rested much easier knowing I would be taken care of. He would have been able to pass peacefully with the assurance I would have a man who loved me and would always support me.
“I love you,” I told him, looking into his eyes as he sat me on the table.
“I love you. I’m going to love you forever. I’m going to bend over backwards to make you happy. I’m going to be a better person. I want to be a man that makes you proud and I want to have a million babies with you,” he said, kissing my neck.
I shoved him back hard. “Stop right there, big boy. This body will not have a million babies.”
“Two?” he said, wrinkling his nose.
I laughed. “Let’s talk after I see the size of the ring.”
He burst into laughter. “I’ll show you the size of something else and then we can talk about kids.”
I giggled, loving how playful we could be while also being completely serious. Passion and humor were a very good combination. I looked forward to many more nights spent laughing while he gave me great pleasure.
The End
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About the Author
Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.
She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.
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The Parker’s Wicked Playground
My First Love Affair
A B
ancroft Billionaire Brothers Novel #3
Copyright © 2019 by Ali Parker
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
First Edition.
Cover Designer: Ryn Katryn Digital Art
Editor: Karen Simmering and Laura LaTulipe
