It was eight in the evening the following Thursday and Nick and I were standing in front of a white two-story house somewhere in London. I tried to appear calm, carefree even, but deep inside, my heart was pounding inside my chest.
What does a girl do during her first meeting with the family of the guy she’s dating?
I felt Nick’s hand cover mine.
“You look nervous,” he said.
“Because I am.”
He laughed. “Relax. You’ll be fine. They’ll like you. And if they don’t, I honestly don’t give a damn. But it’s impossible not to like you. You’re Ken Clarke. You always end up stealing the hearts of the people you meet, which is becoming a problem for me now, to be honest.”
“Problem?” I asked.
He smiled at me sheepishly. Then he stepped forward and put his arms around my waist. “Yes. I recently found out that I’m an extremely jealous and possessive guy. The other day, at Rhythemes, I wanted to rip out the throats of the guys who were eyeing you with interest.”
“I thought you were extremely confident of yourself, Nicholas Atkins.” I laughed.
“I thought so too. But you…” He paused for a moment. “I don’t think anyone will ever be worthy of you. I just consider myself lucky to be the one holding you right now.”
He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. After one kiss, I pulled away from him, keeping a foot distance between us. “We’re at your parents’ house. Behave yourself.”
“We should have just checked in to a hotel,” he murmured. “I never felt like this was my house anyway.”
“Your family looked well-off,” I said. It was true. The two-story house looked massive on the outside and there was a landscaped front yard after the tall steel gates.
“My stepfather is,” he said. “Me? I got my degree using my wits. First, I had to get a partial scholarship, which would have been full if I wasn’t considered part of this family. The other half of my college fees, I paid off by winning poker games.”
“Your mother didn’t support your education?”
“They wanted to. I just didn’t want to be a burden. I didn’t want my stepdad to pay for the education of a kid he didn’t sire.”
I stared back at him and smiled, shaking my head. “Nick, your principles in life never cease to amaze me.”
He was about to say something when the front door opened.
We were greeted by a beautiful girl with long, platinum blonde hair, big brown eyes, and the widest smile. She was wearing a pink floral dress and hot pink heeled sandals.
“Nicky!” She threw her arms around Nick.
I remembered Nick has a stepsister. This must be her.
Nick stood frozen in his place, as if he wasn’t expecting this type of welcome at all. The girl tiptoed and kissed his jaw. “I missed you.”
What the hell?! I stood frozen in my place, holding my breath. That was so weird! Sisters, even stepsisters, don’t act like that toward their brothers.
Then another girl with wavy, dark brown hair and striking gray eyes stepped out of the house.
“Hey, break it up, you two!” she said, pulling the other girl away.
Nick awkwardly pushed the blonde girl away from him. Then he gave the brunette a murderous look and asked, “What is she doing here?”
“Nicky, I was just crashing for a few days—” the blonde started saying.
Nick turned to her and gave her a cold look. “I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to my sister.” Then he turned back to the brunette again. “What is she doing here?”
The brunette girl frowned at him. “Must you be so rude? You’re acting just as bad as Blaze was.”
“Maybe because Blaze always had a sense to see people for what they really are,” Nick bit back at his sister.
“Nick, if this is uncomfortable, I will leave—” the blonde started saying.
“No one is leaving the house,” an older lady said behind the two girls. When she stepped out, I saw how elegantly beautiful she was and how she looked like a female version of Nick. Doubtless, this was Nick’s mom. She was the first one to notice me standing behind Nick. “We have a visitor. Behave, kids.” She turned to me. “Hi. I’m Martha Maguire. Nicholas’ mom.” She held her hand out to me.
It took me a second to compose myself. I shook her hand and said, “I’m Mackenzie Clarke. Nick’s… f-friend.”
Friend?
I looked at Nick. He was staring at me with an eyebrow raised and a frown on his face. I smiled at him apologetically. What should I call myself? His girlfriend? Well, that wasn’t my fault, right? He should have called me that first so at least I wasn’t confused about what we really are to each other.
“Pleasure having you with us, Mackenzie. Come inside, welcome to our home.” She put an arm around me and then led me inside the house.
The massive house had a winding staircase and a tall ceiling adorned with crystal chandeliers. The carved trimmings were painted in a gold color, giving the house a classic, elegant look and feel.
At the top of the staircase stood a guy with dark brown, almost black hair and striking gray eyes. He was eyeing me curiously.
“Blaze, come down here and greet our guest.”
The guy walked down the stairs lazily, his eyes never leaving me as though he was studying me for a pop quiz. He stood in front of me and it felt awkward looking at him. He was almost as tall as Nick, and he looked twice as mischievous and thrice as dangerous as Nick was.
“Blaze Maguire,” he said, extending his hand to me.
I shook his hand and let it go quickly. But just as I was about to pull my hand back, he held on to it tighter and then he brought it to his lips and gave it a kiss.
I heard Nick snarl behind me. I was sure Blaze heard it, too, which made the corner of his lips curve into a secret smile. It looked as if he enjoyed taunting his brother.
I pulled my hand away immediately.
Blaze walked past me to greet Nick. “Welcome back, bro.”
Blaze hugged Nick. Nick had a hard look on his face, but he tried his best to appear civil for his mother’s sake. However, he couldn’t help whispering, “Do that again, I swear I’ll pull your tongue out.”
It was supposed to be a whisper, but we all heard the threat Nick gave his stepbrother. Nick looked like he didn’t care that he sounded so violent in front of his family.
Instead of being offended, though, Blaze just laughed. Then he turned to the brunette and said, “The weekend just became interesting. Tell me how this circus turns out, little sister. And don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.” Then he turned to Nick’s mom. “Mother, may I be excused? I have a gig tonight and I cannot stay for dinner.”
Nick’s mom shook her head and waved him off. “All right, go. If your father was here, he wouldn’t allow you to spend a lot of time with your band.”
“That’s why I asked you. You’re the only one who doesn’t say no to me in this house.” Then he gave Nick’s mom a quick kiss on the cheek before he went out the door.
Nick’s mother turned to us and said, “Dinner’s ready.”
I was about to turn to Nick, but I saw the blonde girl come up to him, taking him by the arm. He was about to resist, but his mother gave him a warning look. Then his mother took my arm in hers and led me to the dining room.
I walked beside Nick’s Mom while taking long, quiet breaths to calm myself.
Who the fuck was that girl?
“You’d have to forgive Blaze. He keeps to himself most of the time. And he’s always been playful. He likes to tease his siblings. Nick and Blaze get along one minute and then bite each other’s heads off the next. But I’m not worried. I’ve never seen two people more loyal to each other than they are.”
There was a feast on the long table; obviously they have spent hours preparing for Nick’s homecoming.
Nick advanced toward us and pulled out a chair for his mother and me. Then he sat beside me.
Nick’s stepsister sat opposite me, and hesitantly, the blonde chick sat opposite Nick.
Nick’s stepsister was eyeing me curiously. When I met her eyes, she smiled and said, “I’m Beatrice, by the way. This is Margot.”
I smiled at them politely. “Mackenzie.”
I felt Nick’s hand creep from under the table. It found mine and gave it a squeeze. I looked at him. He had a gentle look on his face and he smiled at me apologetically.
“Nick, Margot is staying in the guest room. I didn’t realize you’ll be bringing a friend over,” Beatrice said.
“Yeah, none of you answered my question. What is she doing here?” The tone of his voice was firm and somber.
“My apartment was flooded. They needed a couple of days to fix it. I… I had no place to stay. Bee was kind enough to offer your guestroom.”
“And that’s what we do, Nicholas, in case you’ve forgotten. Our house is always open to people who needed us. Especially old friends.”
Nick didn’t say anything. He focused his attention to the food in front of us. We ate in silence for the next five minutes. No one wanted to say anything, or no one knew what to say at all.
Shit! This was so awkward!
Who the hell was this girl?