We stepped through the front door. The fire was burning. The music was playing; otherwise, it was quiet. Too quiet. We continued into the open living room and kitchen facing the floor to cathedral ceiling stone fireplace. Encased by mirrored wood railings, the second floor housed the nieces and their giant loft consisting of multiple bunk beds, a giant flat screen, and foosball. A kid’s dream, in my opinion. Three separate wings separated the main living area on the first floor, each with two bedrooms and private baths. There was no shortage of space.
“Bet they’re out back on the deck—hot tub, and a perfect hill for the kids to sled.”
“Asher?” Maggie’s voice echoed through the mudroom.
“Hey, Ma.” She turned the corner unhooking her scarf and removing her coat. She stopped in her tracks. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Talia?” Maggie recovered without hesitation. “Oh my goodness, it’s so great to see you, dear. Wow, it’s been a long time. Did you two just run into each other? Asher, you didn’t mention you and Talia were back in touch.”
“Mrs. Craig, so nice to see you. Actually Asher and I bumped into each other a couple months back and have been spending some time catching up.”
My mother shot me lethal eye daggers for the first time ever. I laughed out loud and was pretty sure Tal elbowed me.
“That’s wonderful. And please call me Maggie—I tried when you were kids, now I insist. Take off your coat, and make yourself comfortable. I’m thrilled you’re joining us, are you staying for the week?” Maggie was dying inside, had to be. First time her son ever brought a woman home, let alone an extended stay, she wanted to bombard her with fifty questions. Or me. Selfishly, it was the exact reason they hadn’t been privy.
“Oh, I wish I could but I have to get back to work.”
“Talia has a dermatology practice out in San Diego,” I interrupted.
Maggie’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly. Guarantee all she heard was San Diego, undoubtedly worrying about the distance. Well, so was I. Then my mother said, “What an accomplishment, sweetie, I can’t wait to hear all about it, but please say you don’t have those god awful hours like our Chase.”
Tal smiled back. “I’m definitely busy, but luckily derm is a far cry from neurosurgery. Fortunately for me, not a lot of emergencies.” She slipped off her new white North Face. Mom in the room or not, I couldn’t help but stare. Her calf high brown riding boots accentuated her long legs, while her dark skinny jeans tugged at her perfect ass. And I might have just learned what a cowlneck was this morning, but it suddenly became my new favorite style. All I wanted to do was suck and nip at the exposed strip of skin along her collarbone. She continued with removing her hat and lifting her hands to throw her hair into a quick, messy ponytail. My focus moved to the smooth tease of skin above her waistband and where it led. I had zero fucking clue what she and Maggie were gabbing about while I was off in TP-La-La land until she poked me.
“Restroom?”
Snapping back from undressing her with my eyes, I pointed her in the direction.
“Where’s everyone, Ma?” I spoke first, not giving her a chance to go there.
“The boys took the babies ice skating down the road, they should be back shortly. Girls are in the hot tub and your father is lying down.”
“How’s he doing this week?” She shrugged her shoulders, defeated, and I felt like shit for being preoccupied lately. “Ma, say the word and I’ll get you whatever help you need. Sorry I missed dinner last month. I need to be around more.”
“Asher, stop it. You do more than enough, too much. We’re fine. Our good days still outnumber our bad ones. Besides, we know you’re a hop, skip and a jump if we need you. But this,” her eyes lifted in the direction Talia left the room, “is more important.” She circled the large island and ran her hands down my cheeks. A small amount of moisture had collected behind her eyes. “I’m going to let your sisters know you’re here before they prune and then go check on Dad.”
She fled the kitchen struggling to hide her emotion. My mother looked tired, really tired. She had enough on her plate and definitely didn’t need to worry about me and my relationships. Fuck, a pang of guilt shot through me. I leaned my elbows against the counter and dragged my hands through my hair. I sighed, knowing moving any further from my family than I was now wasn’t an option. Not now, who knew if ever.
“Everything okay?” Her warm touch brought me back to reality.
I nodded slightly and tucked her against my side and kissed her temple wondering if she’d ever consider moving. My gut twisted. Stupid fucking thought. I might have planted the seed and half joked about it at the airport last week, but I couldn’t ask her to uproot her life or her career. For what? For me, for this? I couldn’t even tell what this was. It was all fucking new to me and just because she was all I thought about twenty-four-seven since she walked back into my life, I couldn’t guarantee her anything. There were no guarantees, period. Being willing to write a new page didn’t mean it was destined to be part of my final book. Or did it? Fuck, maybe this meet the family was a bad idea. Tal pulled back, her eyes concerned.
“Ash? Talk to me.”
Luckily the chatter of my sisters interrupted us and I got a reprieve on talking. I figured the I’m crazy about you and need you within an arm’s reach or my head might explode chat should wait until we weren’t holed up with my entire family for the next two days. Just saying.
“Hey, Mol, Tar—hey, Avery.” I released Tal and hugged my robeclad sisters.
“Oh my god, a little warning, little brother,” Avery whined. “Might have been nice to, I don’t know, have some clothes on when you bring guests home.”
Talia laughed. “No worries, a hot tub sounds wonderful.”
“She’s not a guest.” Molly stole the words right from my mouth. “She’s Talia. It’s been forever, you look amazing and-”
Tara chimed in, “And all grown up. Wow, that made me sound old.” The four women chuckled.
My sisters were off in college by the time we were in high school, but I expected they’d remember her. They didn’t disappoint. “Glad we can skip the introductions.” Tal smiled at me, a sweet smile and my gut relaxed.
“Of course we remember, you and the Colton twins were inseparable,” Tara said. “You guys had that awesome band and Talia had that amazing voice. Do you still sing?”
Tara wasn’t asking me, but since I had recently heard it firsthand, I answered. “Her voice, like her, got even more amazing with age.” Tal’s jaw dropped first, then my sisters’. All of them. “But she thought a medical degree was a more responsible career choice. Go figure.” I smirked at Talia, whose cheeks were now a shade I’d yet to see on her. She huffed and jabbed my arm. Molly, my second mother, was grinning like a fool.
“What kind of doctor are you?” Tara asked.
“Dermatologist.”
“Oh that’s so cool … then you would know…” Within seconds Talia held a glass of wine and the vultures consumed her. I hadn’t popped the top on my beer and the four of them had retreated to the living room, cozied up to the fire chit chatting while Molly gave me a thumbs-up and mouthed ‘she’s gorgeous.’ The entire vibe made me smile, but what put me over the fucking moon was overhearing Talia tell the girls how ‘delicious’ I was for sending her office staff dinner Tuesday night. It was takeout, far from delicious, but if something so small made her happy it was going to be a weekly event. Hell, her staff changed their schedule at the drop of the hat for Tal and made it so her ass was napping on my couch when I got home Friday. I owed them a whole lot more than Chinese.