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Chapter eleven

Silas

Grandbabies, grandbabies, and more grandbabies.

I put down my phone on the nightstand beside my bed and wander into my walk-in closet to finish getting dressed. I had time for a quick shower before Cecilia replied, and for a moment, I was worried I had overstepped.

Just last night she told me she wanted to take it slow, and then I honored her wishes by sending her a provocative picture. It was a stupid thing to do, but she doesn’t seem too bothered by it. At least, I hope.

I put on some dark jeans and a black sweatshirt—it’s only my parents and brother, so no need to dress up nicely—then I pull on a pair of socks and my sneakers.

Walking back into my room, I grab my phone and head down to the first floor, picking up my wallet and keys and taking my private elevator to the garage.

I arrive at my parents’ townhouse twenty minutes later and notice my brother’s sports car parked a house down as I make my way into my childhood home.

“Hey guys, your favorite son has arrived!” I yell at no one in particular while I remove my shoes.

“Ha! You mean least favorite! We all know the baby is always the favorite,” my brother calls back from the living room.

I laugh as I make my way into the kitchen, where my mother is cooking up some steaks with mashed potatoes and beans, the smell causing my stomach to growl.

“Hush, you two. You’re both my favorites,” she says, not looking up from the stove.

“That’s not how it works, Ma. You have to choose one,” my brother says back just as I put my arms around her shoulders and kiss the top of my mother’s head.

“Hi, Mom.”

Her hand comes up to rest on my cheek while I continue my hold on her. “My sweet boy, how are you?”

“I’m good, really good.”

She steps back to look at me just as my father walks into the kitchen, slapping a hand to my shoulder.

“Would it have anything to do with this young lady you’ve been seeing?

Or is it because your regular season’s about to start?

” he asks with a chuckle before heading over to my mother and wrapping his arms around her, kissing her passionately.

My parents were high school sweethearts. They knew each other growing up in the same neighborhood but only started dating in high school, and that was the beginning of their story.

Mom was already pregnant with me on their graduation night. They got married the following month, and six months later, I was born. Four years after that, my brother Spencer arrived. Even after thirty years of marriage, they’re still madly in love and show their affection brazenly.

“I’m excited to get back to my routine. With our game coming up in a little over a week, exhibition games and practices have been getting intense.

But you know how much I love and crave that shit.

” I find myself smirking as I continue. “But I’ll be honest that the young lady may be the reason behind my good mood. ”

“Aww, look at him, John. Our boy is in love,” my mother coos with hearts in her eyes while she pats my father’s chest.

I don’t bother correcting her because the truth is, the way I feel about Cecilia in such a short amount of time doesn’t make sense. I’ve never been one to believe in ‘love at first sight’ . But now I’m starting to think I may have been struck by it the moment I laid eyes on her.

“So where is she then? If you’re so ‘in love’ with the girl, why didn’t you bring her with you?”

I turn at the sound of my brother’s voice, just as he air-quotes the words ‘in love’ .

“Don’t talk about her like that, she has a name,” I snarl at him, angered by the way he called her ‘the girl’ like she has no significant value. “And I didn’t invite her because we’ve only been on two dates, and we’re taking things slow.” Although I did think about asking her.

“Ooh, now he’s going all protective alpha for his woman.” My mother pats my father’s chest once more. “He gets that from you.”

Shaking my head at my parents, I watch them as they stare into each other’s eyes with fondness.

As I focus on my mother, it hits me that she’s about the same height as Cecilia, maybe an inch taller at best, while my father beside her stands at five foot eleven like Spencer, and I happen to be the odd man out at six foot four. No one knows where my height came from.

When it comes to looks, Spencer looks like a younger version of my father, with dark, almost black hair, brown eyes, and can’t grow facial hair even if their lives depended on it.

I take after my mother with her green eyes and chestnut brown hair.

When I was a kid, the resemblance was crazy, but now with all my defined masculine features and facial hair, it’s harder to tell.

“But your brother is right,” she continues, turning her attention to my brother, where he leans against the wall by the kitchen entrance.

“You shouldn’t refer to her like that, it’s disrespectful.

She clearly means a lot to Silas, so you will treat her right.

After all, she may turn out to be your future sister-in-law.

” She ends her words with a wink in my direction as she turns back to the food.

My father kisses my mother’s temple and walks over to the adjoining dining room, dragging out a chair and plopping himself down. “Now, Son, why don’t you tell us more about your girl while we wait for your mother to finish up dinner.”

I fold myself into the chair to his right, my brother bringing us each a beer as he sits in the chair opposite of me.

I take a long drag of my beer before speaking, unsure of what to say or where to start.

There’s so much I could say about her, but I fear how pathetic I’ll sound if I let it all slip out.

I place my beer back on the table as I trace the condensation with my finger along the bottle. “Her name is Cecilia Rose, she’s twenty-four and works for Wilson Events. She actually lives in my building just a few floors down from me.”

There, the basics are out. But by the look on my father’s face, that isn’t what he wanted to know. I take another drink from my bottle and sigh. Here we go.

“She’s beautiful, but not like those made-up chicks. She’s real, and fuck, she takes my breath away. She’s smart and so serene, I just feel at peace when I’m around her, and yet she also makes me nervous as hell. And I’m never nervous, so that says a lot.” I scoff at myself in disbelief.

“You know, she was dealt a shitty hand growing up. She literally has no family left, just her. And yet, my Minnie still shines brightly, like her world is perfect.” Just thinking of the loss she’s been through, knowing she’s all alone in this big ugly world, makes my chest tighten.

“Minnie?” my dad asks as he focuses on my features, reading me like a book.

I chuckle at his question. “Yeah, it’s my nickname for her. She reminds me of a little mouse. Plus, she’s super tiny, so Minnie Mouse felt appropriate.”

“How short?” That’s my brother. I know him, this guy isn’t serious about anything. He’ll definitely get a good laugh out of this.

I pick up my bottle for the last time, bringing it to my lips as I say, “A little shorter than Ma.” And I drink the remainder of it in one go.

It’s quiet for a moment, but then it happens. My brother spits out his beer, howling with laughter for what feels like eternity .

No one says a word, but I don’t miss Dad’s deep sigh of resignation and Mom’s subtle ‘tsk’ from the stove.

All I can do is glare at Spencer. It’s okay for me to joke about our height difference, but I won’t accept it from anyone else, not even my brother. No one makes fun of my girl.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. That was rude, but you have to admit, it’s pretty hilarious. The sex must really be something to watch.” Spencer laughs harder at his own comment.

Anger fumes out of my ears, and my jaw clenches so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t crack under the pressure. It’s taking all my self-control not to leap over the table and strangle him.

“Spence, I’m warning you, watch your mouth, because I’m seconds away from punching you in the face,” I tell him through gritted teeth.

Mom chooses that moment to walk in with the steaks, placing them in the center of the table. She looks my way with sympathy in her eyes. “Please don’t hit your brother, Silas.”

She’s seen us get into way more fights than any mother should see coming from her children. My brother tends to like picking and probing at people until they snap. And I snap easily. Well, I used to.

“Yeah, Sy. Stop being such a bully,” my brother says in a taunting way.

“Fucking troublemaker.” I shake my head with a small smile lining my lips.

That’s the thing about me and Spence, we’ll fight to the point where it can get physical. But the moment it’s done, we go back to loving each other, no grudges held.

Once the table is set and everyone is seated, we begin to feast. We chit-chat about any topic that’s brought up, but the whole time I can feel my mother’s eyes tracking my every movement. When I look her way, she smiles, but I can tell she’s holding her tongue.

“What is it, Mom?”

“You really like her, don’t you?”

My smile grows the more I think about the answer to that specific question. “Yeah, I really do.”

She beams at me with adoration. “Grandbabies...?” she asks tentatively, her voice lowering like she’s afraid she might spook me. And normally, that question does. But not today.

My parents have always been excited at the idea of me settling down.

I’ll be thirty in three months, and they were starting to worry that I would never grant them their wish to be grandparents.

God knows there’s no good reason to expect that from Spencer.

He’ll never be one to settle; the man sleeps with anything that moves.

I know what she’s asking. Not if we’re having a child, but whether I see a possibility of a future—including children with Cecilia. The answer is yes, without hesitation.

I meant what I said when I spoke about it with Clay and Greyson. I can feel it down to my soul. That woman will be my wife.

I reach my hand over the table and grab hers, giving a slight squeeze.

“Yeah, Mom. Grandbabies.”