Authors: K Carr
I gently pushed him away, fixed my jeans and turned back to the food. If I hustled, I could have everything on the stove and in the oven by the time Aunt Cleo came home.
“Matt, the limo isn’t still out front, is it?”
He chewed his lower lip, knowing full well where I was heading with this. “Do you want me to send it away?”
“Please,” I said with a nod, focused on prepping vegetables.
Matt turned on his heels and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me to start lunch while he got rid of that over the top limo parked out front. I wondered if he would send the Escalade away with its terrifying occupants. Shit. Matt had bodyguards. Now he wanted me to have one, too. That was the silliest thing I’d ever heard, but his words on the drive over here echoed in my head.
Would someone try to hurt me to get at him?
The world was full of crazies. I had assumed the people in Matt’s world had too much to lose by acting that way. They were in the spotlight, piquing the media’s interest, the public’s fascination with their extravagant lifestyles. They couldn’t not act right.
But, with enough money, a person could about do anything…get away with anything. It was messed up, truly messed up. Unfortunately, money greased the wheels of our world.
No way. I was not getting a bodyguard. I snorted in derision and continued peeling carrots. When Matt returned a short while later, I was humming to myself. He came over to lounge against the edge of the counter next to me, observing me work without any further attempts to jump my bones. We spent the next few hours in the kitchen, me cooking and Matt stealing kisses as we discussed my job and Nathan’s upcoming wedding. Matt wanted me to accompany him on this ski trip malarkey in Switzerland at the end of January. I wasn’t sure about that. I explained my lack of knowledge when it came to these types of sport and Matt waved it away, stating in a firm voice that he would take care of me. I relented after he agreed to accept liability for any bodily injury I might incur. He seemed more than eager to accept those terms, his exact words were: “I’d actually enjoy waiting on you hand and foot, poppet. Keeping you under bed arrest is a secret dream of mine.”
We heard the front door opening. Matt straightened up as I dried my hands, with a flood of apprehension replacing the relaxed vibe I’d been enjoying the past few hours.
“Are you ready?” I asked holding a hand out for him.
Matt flashed me a confident smile and nodded. “Of course, poppet.”
I could hear my family coming through the front door. I took a deep breath and we walked out the kitchen towards the sitting room.
“Hi!” I said, and all their heads swivelled in our direction.
“I knew I didn’t leave the front door unlocked,” Jamal said with a wide grin.
I dropped Matt’s hand and flew towards the nearest person, arms outstretched. Jenny was the first one to get mauled by kisses. “Missed you, cuz.”
Jamal was the recipient of a deliberately sloppy kiss and a punch on the arm. “Did you miss me, Jamal?”
He snorted and tweaked my ear, hard. I landed another punch.
I hugged Uncle David. He patted me across the back and stepped back to let his eyes run up and down my frame.
“Still too skinny,” he said with reproach before looking over at his wife. “We need to feed this girl up, Cleo.”
“Auntie Cleo,” I breathed out, stepping into her outstretched arms. I was home. We hugged tightly for what seemed like forever, then she pulled away, gaze going behind me to where Matt stood. I held a hand out to him and he made his way over.
“Everyone, this is Matthew,” I said brightly. There was no need to add the ‘my boyfriend’ part. I nudged him forward. “Matthew, this is my Aunt Cleo and Uncle David.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Matt said, with a warm smile on his face as he shook my uncle’s hand first, then he turned to my aunt. “Madi’s told me so much about you, and please call me Matt.”
I checked the urge to choke. Slick, he was slick, and stretching the truth a bit. I was less than forthcoming when talking about my family.
“It’s nice to meet you, Matt,” Aunt Cleo said as they shook hands. I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding, relief blossoming inside me. So far so good.
“And those two are my cousins.” I finished the introductions. “Jamal and Jenny.”
“Hello,” Matt said in their direction. They both murmured hello back, eyeing my man with open curiosity. There was a pregnant pause between the six of us, and I was not about to let that shit fester.
“I’ve started on lunch, Auntie Cleo,” I gushed, drawing her attention from Matt back to me.
She smiled at me, beckoning me closer. “Let me have a look at you. Your uncle’s right. You’re nothing but skin and bones,” she chastised.
I gave her a feeble smile. Did no one appreciate the slender frame that was a requisite of my career? I couldn’t help my naturally slim body. God knows Aunt Cleo had tried to feed me up over the years.
Matt was wearing that pleasant smile of his as he watched me within the circle of my family.
“Dad,” Jenny said, wandering over to the large windows. “Those shifty looking people are still in that Escalade. Do you want me to call the cops? Why are they parked in front of the Johnsons’s anyway? I’m sure they don’t know them.”
Uncle David followed his daughter, frowning out the window. “Give it some time. If they don’t move, I’ll go have a word.”
Jamal rolled his eyes at Uncle David’s back and started heading for the kitchen. I exchanged a sheepish look with Matt. He looked embarrassed. I opened my mouth to explain and he mouthed “Don’t” to me.
“It’s good to be home,” I said, hugging Aunt Cleo. “I’ve missed you guys so much.”
She laughed, the throaty sound making me laugh, too. “Let’s go see what mess you’ve made in my kitchen.”
I grinned at Matt. This would be a great Thanksgiving…
<><><>
Matt tried his best to keep the friendly smile on his face, but it was difficult. Madi’s family was different to what he was used to, and her cousins lacked the usual reserve he expected from someone who barely knew him. Jenny had asked him, without an iota of shame, why he couldn’t find someone his own age and whether he was Madi’s sugar daddy. A sharp look from Cleo had stopped her dead with that line of questioning though. She was only twenty-four but, still, such questions were frowned upon in his social circle. Matt looked across the table at Madi’s aunt. The woman who’d raised his poppet made him uneasy. The hard stares she’d been sending his way when Madi and her cousins weren’t looking made him uncomfortable. It didn’t help her husband was fully aware of it and seemed to be silently amused at his wife’s behaviour. The family resemblance between Madi’s cousins and their parents was strong. Jamal, a couple of inches shorter than Matt, had the same bulky build of his father. The same broad nose that flared a bit at the end. The same suspicious shine to their eyes whenever Madi turned his way with a tender smile, or when she touched his arm while speaking. Matt couldn’t hold it against them. As the men of this household, it was expected. Matt himself pitied the poor lads who would face the Bradley men when Terror and Trouble brought them home to meet the family. Of course, those lads would be from suitable families so the suspicious looks would not be as fierce as the ones he was currently getting. Bloody hell. You would think he was some evil corrupter of the innocent. His smile wavered as his conscience mocked him. He had in a strange way corrupted Madi’s innocence by taking her virginity. Bollocks. Did they know she had been a virgin?
“I can’t believe you said that to Mr Brown, Jenny,” Madi exclaimed, rolling her eyes at her younger cousin before looking at her aunt. “I hope you made her apologize, Auntie Cleo.”
“She did, and I made her volunteer at the nursing home two blocks over for good measure. No child of mine is going to shame our name.”
Madi laughed at Jenny’s petulant scowl, and Matt took a moment to peruse the young woman. She was a touch taller than his poppet, but in possession of a body like her mother. Bigger breasts and wider hips, with an arse that had Matt looking away when she had come back downstairs after changing into skin-tight jeans and t-shirt. Matt wasn’t quite sure what to think of her as yet. She was more outspoken than Madi and fully aware of her good looks, unlike Madi, whose unassuming nature seemed to magnify the sheer beauty that she was and made her all the more enticing. Jenny’s hair, like her mother’s, was different too, he noted. The texture much coarser, but worn natural with pride. Matt was definitely learning to appreciate the allure of a black’s woman hair. But, the way she smirked at him as she ate left him feeling slightly uncertain as to how friendly he should be with her.
Then there was Cleo. Aunt Cleo. Matt knew without a doubt the older woman did not like him. It was the manner in which she would phrase her comments when addressing him. It was subtle but Matt was used to picking up on hidden nuances in conversations. Endless board meetings with cutthroat businessmen had honed this talent over the years.
No, Cleo currently didn’t like him one bit, but that was irrelevant. By the time they flew back to England, she would be wrapped around his finger and praising her niece on her choice of men.
The other issue that was putting a strain on his smile was the interaction around the table. It seemed whenever the conversation dwelled on Madi’s life for too long, either one of her cousins would turn the topic in their direction. Madi simply went along with it. Matt realised she didn’t skip a beat; she would become interested in whatever they were saying, letting the focus fall on them and happy to shower them with supportive compliments. It irked him. She was the owner of a ballet company, in a foreign country, and bloody successful at it. Why was that being treated like nothing more than a passing fancy?
And the understated teasing the two siblings tossed her way. She would laugh with them and make a witty retort, but Matt didn’t like it.
It didn’t matter if he was uncomfortable with it though, all that mattered was the way Madi would smile at them, eager for unspoken approval as she constantly kept him involved in the conversation around the table.
“I betcha this is the first time Matt’s ever been seated on his own at a table with five black people having lunch,” Jamal said baldly. “As you can see, we don’t all have guns and try to mug you.”
Jenny covered her mouth with her hand, stifling her laugh.
“Jamal.” Madi glared at her older cousin, then swung a pleading gaze to her aunt. “Auntie Cleo.”
“Jamal,” Cleo warned. “That was rude. I didn’t raise you to act that way. It doesn’t matter if he’s probably never been around black folks, he’s here now and our guest. Behave yourself.”
Matt deliberately widened his grin, not overlooking the fact Cleo confirmed her son’s comment in a roundabout way. He touched Madi’s hand that rested lightly on the table before looking at them. “And I’m sure this is a first for you, too. Having lunch with an Englishman, that is. As you can see, we don’t all have horrendous teeth and constantly harp on about the weather; that being said, it’s unseasonably warm in New York for this time of year, don’t you think?” Flashing his perfectly straight white teeth, Matt eyed Jamal with amusement.
David’s booming laughter immediately rang out and Madi started to choke. At first, Matt thought she was trying to control her laughter but, after a quick sideways glance at her, it became apparent she was actually choking.
“Bloody hell, poppet.” Matt thumped her on the back as she grabbed her glass of water. “Are you okay?”
After glugging down some water she nodded, eyes streaming and a trickle of moisture running down her chin. Matt picked up a napkin and began dabbing at the water on her chin and the resulting moisture around her eyes from the choking episode.
“I’m fine, Matt,” she croaked, stopping him from his ministrations. Matt cupped one side of her face with his hand and kissed her lightly across the mouth, relieved she was indeed okay. Madi pulled back as if stung, giving him incredulous eyes. Matt arched an eyebrow at her, silently daring her to make an issue out of that fleeting show of affection he had given her in front of everyone. She narrowed her doe eyes at him, the action a silent promise of pending retaliation and Matt winked at her. God. He loved her.
David cleared his throat, breaking the silent communication between Matt and his poppet. When Matt glanced at him, the burly black man’s gaze had changed from suspicious to downright threatening. Maybe he shouldn’t have kissed her in front of them. They were her de facto parents, and no father is completely comfortable with his daughter’s boyfriend. It seemed that behaviour extended to Madi and her uncle. He felt the need to point out she was twenty-seven not sixteen but, wisely, bit his tongue while smiling pleasantly at the man.
“So,” Madi started in a cheery voice. It was slightly raspy though, and Matt hoped she didn’t have a subsequent coughing fit. “Who’s coming for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Auntie Cleo?”
Matt let their conversation wash over him, contributing when required, answering their questions when asked, and letting Madi openly hold his hand on top of the tablecloth. Hand holding she was fine with. Matt wondered what she would do if he tried to kiss her again. Probably smack him, then let her aunt smack him. Jenny kept staring at their entwined hands while peeking at her mother. Jamal had a smirk on his face as he exchanged glances with his father. And Madi kept smiling at them.