The Virgin Cowboy Billionaire’s Secret Baby(11)
His parents spoke in hushed tones as he headed into the foyer, but he ignored it. Probably nothing he hadn’t heard before.
He paused at the door, rolled his shoulders to shake off his mother’s venom, and put on a smile that Dara would probably see right through anyway. Then he opened the door.
She had just stepped onto the porch, and their eyes met under the single overhead bulb. She halted. He glanced over his shoulder, then back at her, and rolled his eyes as he shrugged.
“Come on in,” he said.
“Is it safe?”
“Should be. In the event of an emergency, just remember that the nearest exit may be behind you.”
Dara smothered a laugh and came inside.
As he closed the door, she asked in a low, conspiratorial voice, “How’s it going so far?”
“Let’s just say I’m starting to second-guess doing this tonight.”
“That bad?”
“Call it a gut feeling.”
She squeezed his arm. “Well, it isn’t like they can tell us we can’t do this. That ship’s kinda sailed anyway.”
“Thank God for that. I could just do without the dirty looks and drama.”
“Yeah. I know the feeling.” She grimaced. “Because the next time we do this, it’ll be with my family.”
Matt swore under his breath. “Bet they’ll be thrilled too.”
She shrugged. “It’ll be fine. Besides, the only time people get pissed off about a baby on the way is when the parents are teenagers. And even then, they get over it by the time the baby shows up.”
Matt laughed and patted her arm. “Oh, Dara. You’ve been in California way too long, haven’t you?”
“Yeah. Probably. But wishful thinking is—”
“Dara.” Matt’s mother startled both of them as she stepped into the foyer.
Dara extended her hand. “Mrs. Coolidge.”
With anyone else in the world, Mom would have assured her that they could call her Judy now that they weren’t kids anymore. Not Dara. All she got was an icy smile and a stiff handshake.
Look, Mom, he wanted to say. This is the mother of your grandchild.
Hmm. Maybe not until everyone had some food in them.
Speaking of which… He checked his watch. “Dinner’s just about ready, if everyone wants to grab a seat.”
“Do you need a hand?” Dara’s brow pinched. Don’t send me in there alone.
“Sure. Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Mom, Dad, go ahead and—”
They were already on their way into the dining room.
Dara smirked. “This is going to be fun.”
“Uh-huh.”
Dara helped Matt carry plates and bowls into the dining room, and they joined his parents at the table. After Dad said grace, everyone started dishing out the zucchini casserole.
“This turned out very nice,” Mom said. “I’m sure Jana would love the recipe.”
“I’ll e-mail it to her.” He glanced at Dara. “Adam’s wife.”
“Oh. Right.”
“You haven’t seen Adam in a few years, have you?” The undertone of Mom’s voice made Matt’s teeth grind. “He has a lovely family now.”
“I’ve heard.” Dara smiled. “Sounds like he’s quite happy.”
“He is. You know he has three children now?” Her narrowed eyes slid toward Matt.
“Does he?” Dara muffled a cough. “That’s…great to hear.”
Mom’s smile was tight-lipped, and Matt took a drink just to stop himself from clenching his jaw. Dara reached for her drink too. If this was uncomfortable for him, he could only imagine how it felt for her.
“Your mom makes me crazy,” she’d confided in him during their senior year. “She always looks at me like she’s trying to put a hex on me.”
His mother eyed the glass in Dara’s hand. “No wine for you, dear?”
Dara swallowed, and coughed again. “No, none for me. I—” A hint of panic flickered across her face, as if she didn’t have a stock answer at the ready.
“She gets migraines like I do,” Matt cut in. “Wine doesn’t help.”
Dara nodded. “Yeah. Those headaches are a killer.”
“Oh?” Mom asked. “You too? I didn’t know you had problems with them.”
“I didn’t used to. I—” Dara glanced at him again. Help?
“You know how it is.” Matt shrugged. “Work and stress.”
Mom tsked. “What is wrong with your generation? Every time I turn around, I hear about one of you kids getting headaches and having heart attacks.” Into her wineglass, she added, “Didn’t used to be like that.”