Page 20 of Emani's Way

“Hey, baby. You look pretty,” I say against her lips. I lean back without completely letting her go. And with one arm still wrapped around her waist, I put the flowers in front of her face. Emani smiles up at me, and I wink at her.

“Emani! Who is this man?” I hear a woman ask from behind Emani.

Emani’s eyes go wide as if she forgot where she was for a second and I can’t help but smirk.

“I am so sorry. My parents showed up with this guy out of the blue. I’m so sorry,” Emani’s panicked whisper is barely out before the woman invades our little bubble.

I reluctantly let go of Emani’s waist, and take a slight step back. She holds the flowers in front of her like a shield, and I have to wonder why she feels the need to protect herself from her mother. It’s obvious by her reaction the visit wasn’t wanted, but what guy did her parents bring with them?

“Hello, you must be Mrs. Jackson. I’m Maddox Reid. Emani’s boyfriend.”

“Maddox Reid?” I hear a deep, familiar voice.

“You might as well come on in and meet the family,” Emani leads me past her mother, who is eyeing me suspiciously and into the main area of her house.

Emani places the flowers on the counter before leading me into the living room. My smile is wide as I greet one of my father’s golfing buddies and one of his “special” clients.

“Dr. Jackson, how are you? I haven’t seen you around the club lately.”

It’s crazy that I never put two and two together. I’ve known Dr. Jackson for years, but come to think of it, I have never met his family. But to be fair, Jackson is a fairly common name, and Emani never mentioned her parents. Looking at them now, I can see the resemblance between father and daughter. They have the same button nose and honey brown eyes.

“Well, Maddox Reid. I thought that was you, son.” The good doctor gets up, shakes my hand, and pats me on the back.

There’s another man in the room eyeing me like I’m his mortal enemy, and if he doesn’t shift his gaze somewhere else, I’m going to put my foot in his ass in front of the doctor and his wife.

“Honey, who is this?” Mrs. Jackson is frowning so hard that I know it will take all of my charm and a bit of prayer to get her to smile.

“Oh, sweetheart. This is Maddox Reid. Joseph’s son.”

I see the recognition on Mrs. Jackson’s face, but instead of a smile, her frown deepens.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” I thicken up my southern boy accent and kiss the back of her hand for good measure.

I steal a look at Emani, and she’s looking at her father with wide eyes. I guess it is a shock that I know Dr. Jackson, and although we talked, we didn’t exactly discuss our family tree. We were too busy for that. At the thought of our wild night, a smirk covers my face.

When I look back at Mrs. Jackson, she has a scowl so deep it looks permanently etched into her face.Gotdamn! What’d I do to this lady?

I clear my throat and paste my charming smile back on my lips. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to win this woman over. She looks like the type that would have an influence over her daughter. Emani is too sweet not to want her parent’s approval, and I’m definitely in with Dr. Jackson.

“Mr. Reid,” Mrs. Jackson says, removing her hand from mine.

“Please, call me Maddox.” I nod.

“Daddy, I didn’t know you knew Maddox,” Emani cuts in, finally coming out of her stupor, but the confusion is still covering her entire posture. She’s standing ramrod straight like she’s about to meet a General in the armed forces.

“Well, sweetheart, you don’t know everybody I know. However, let’s talk about howyouknow Maddox.” Dr. Jackson raises a thick brow, and I see Emani visibly gulp.

I see her wilt right before my eyes. I don’t like the insecure version of Emani. She shrinks into herself, and the confidence I know is nowhere to be found.

“We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks. You know how our Emani is about being cautious. She didn’t want me to get my hopes up if I wasn’t the complete gentleman I told her I was.”

A little white lie doesn’t hurt anybody. Besides, they don’t need to know shit about how long we’ve been together. I can already see the judgment on her mother’s face and the asshole sneering from across the room.

“Oh, we definitely know how cautious Emani is. Why didn’t you tell us that Maddox was the reason you didn’t return Darrius’s calls?” Dr. Jackson asks.

Darrius huh… well Darrius better watch how he’s looking.I look the man up and down, but when I meet his eyes, he turns away.Bitch.

“Daddy, y’all have never in my life been this interested in who I’m dating. I can’t even believe I’m having this conversation right now. Do you know how embarrassing this is?” Emani looks to her mother and father with exasperation.