Page 25 of Playboy Husband

“Michael?” Harrison said, leaning over like he just couldn’t help himself. “No, I’m talking about Carter. The way he makes it feel like you’re right there at the game with him? Legendary.”

Maisie’s smile turned proud. “He really does love what he does. He works so hard, but his first name is Michael. Michael Carter Morgan. He thought Carter sounded cooler for TV.”

“I didn’t know that. Does he talk shop with you?” Harrison asked excitedly, completely skipping past her brother’s name or any questions about who he actually was, interested solely in his career. “Does he give you the inside scoop? Predictions?”

“Not really,” Maisie said. “When we talk, he usually just wants to ask what our mom wants for her birthday or find out whether I’m keeping up with laundry.”

Jameson leaned back in his chair and smirked. “It looks like we’ve finally found someone Harrison likes more than Callum.”

“Hey,” I muttered, but I couldn’t help the grin that spread on my face. “It’s not my fault none of our ancestors have gone into the sports industry. Hell, I would’ve loved to be a broadcaster. I would’ve been great at it, too.”

Jameson rolled his eyes at me before he focused on Maisie. “What about you? I heard you used to be a diver. Have you stuck around the sports industry yourself?”

“No, I’m a teacher. Math. At a charter school just outside the city.”

“A teacher,” Mom said warmly. “How wonderful, and math? You must be a genius.”

Maisie’s cheeks flushed the prettiest rosy hue of pink I’d ever seen.

I imagined it had to be the same color she would blush after a particularly satisfying orgasm.

Internally, I groaned and tried to dislodge the thought.

I’d been so good about keeping my mind out of the gutter recently, but shit, I really was attracted to this girl.

While I tried to remind myself that she was going to be my wife and that I had to keep myself under control—at least for now, until she was ready to not lock herself in a bathroom after just a kiss—their conversation kept flowing.

Sterling’s voice broke into my thoughts, quiet but surprisingly kind. “Do you get to see your parents much? It must be hard, with them still in Michigan.”

Mom nodded her agreement and glanced at Brody. “They must miss him something awful.”

“We don’t see them as much as we’d like,” Maisie admitted. “My dad is a teacher too, so it’s hard for him to get away outside of breaks. My mom is actually flying out here in a few days, though. Just for a visit. I can’t wait.”

My fork paused halfway to my mouth. Her mom is coming? Is it because of us?

She must’ve already told her what was happening, and the thought stirred something in me. If Maisie was inviting her mom, maybe I needed to step up my plans for a ceremony. A courthouse wedding suddenly felt too small and too impersonal, not nearly nice enough.

“Family support is everything,” CC said warmly, reaching out to brush Maisie’s arm. “That’ll be so special, having her here. You must invite her to dinner, darling. We’d love to meet her.”

“Special?” Jameson snorted. “The poor woman will be pulling her hair out five minutes into dinner. The first Westwood family dinner is more like a trial by fire. We should spare her.”

Maisie blushed again, and my thoughts rapidly flew right back into the gutter, but I forced myself to remain present in the conversation when she smiled. “Well, so far, I’m surviving.”

“Oh, no, darling. You’re thriving,” CC corrected. “It feels like you’ve been with us every week for years.”

Sterling added dryly, “You’re doing better than most of us did at our first dinner back here, facing the interrogations about what we’re doing with our lives.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jameson said. “I charmed everyone instantly when I got back from college. I had my shit together.”

Mom rolled her eyes, but Maisie laughed, and the sound was soft and genuine this time, her nerves obviously slipping away.

I leaned back, just watching her fit in, answering Harrison’s rapid-fire questions, fielding CC’s curiosity, taking Sterling’s gentle prompts without shrinking, and laughing at Jameson’s jokes like she’d been sitting at this table for years.

Possibly for the first time ever, I really felt a strange sense that having her here with us was right. I’d heard Sterling and Jameson talk about it, but I hadn’t really understood what they meant until right this minute. We’d all brought women home before, but usually, it was a disaster.

Now, however, it felt like the ground beneath me had steadied.

When we were finally done eating, Sadie and Laney immediately turned to Brody, luring him outside with CC tagging along. All three women fussed over him like he’d been part of the family forever.

Maisie went too, a little hesitant at first but already laughing at something Laney had said as they went out to the patio. I stood to follow, but I barely got two steps before Sterling, Jameson, and Harrison closed ranks around me like wolves who had scented blood.

“So,” Jameson drawled. “This is really happening? You’re actually marrying her?”

I gave him a narrow-eyed look. “Yeah, that the plan. Thanks for telling everyone, by the way. Way to steal my thunder.”

Harrison shook his head in disbelief. “She’s awesome, Cal. I love her. She even laughed at my jokes.”

“She didn’t laugh at your jokes,” Jameson cut in. “She was laughing at mine.”

“She answered all my questions thoroughly and patiently,” Sterling remarked. “She’s definitely better than I expected from a woman you found in the newspaper.”

I snorted. “Wow. High praise, and I didn’t find her in a newspaper. I met her at college, remember? That ad I put in the paper just brought her back to me.”

Jameson smirked. “Seriously, though. How’d you manage to get her to say yes? Blackmail? Bribery? Did you promise her a house if she stuck it out for six months?”

“Maybe he offered her free season tickets,” Harrison suggested. “That would get me to consider it.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to push through them. “You’re all hilarious.”

“No, but really,” Jameson said, grinning like the devil himself. “I mean, she knows you, right? Like, really knows you? The snoring, the fact that you leave your socks all over, that you—”

“Goodnight,” I cut him off, shoving past them all and fighting my way through. “Go bug someone else.”

Their laughter followed me as I slipped out the side door toward the garden. I was halfway to the patio when I nearly collided with my father. Harlan had a glass of bourbon in hand, watching me with that unreadable expression he wore so well.

For a second, I braced for impact, but instead, he simply nodded. “She’s a fine woman. Educated. Well spoken. Driven. You did well bringing her here tonight.”

Something in my chest tightened. “Does that mean you approve?”

“Of course,” he said as if it had been a given. “Maisie will be a credit to this family. The boy is a breath of fresh air, too. It’s been too long since we’ve had a child running through this house.”

I didn’t know what to say. Approval from my father wasn’t something I ever expected to get or even to care about again, but hearing it now, about Maisie, hit differently. Nodding as relief swept through my insides, I finally excused myself to go find them.

By the time I made it outside, laughter was echoing across the back garden. Brody was darting across the lawn, hot on the heels of Jameson’s dog, Hooch, and some of the puppies he and Sadie were forever fostering.

His sneakers kicked up divots of grass as Sadie cheered him on from the steps. Maisie stood nearby with Laney and CC, her hair catching the glow of the porch lights as she smiled at something one of them said.

I’d just started toward her when Sterling appeared at my side. As quiet as ever, his hands were tucked into his pockets. His eyes followed Brody’s chase across the yard. “You know, no one’s ever going to realize he’s your stepson. The two of you look so much alike.”

I let out a laugh, though the thought caught strangely in my brain. “Do we? I actually thought he looked more like you.”

“Nah.” Sterling shrugged, watching Brody a little more closely.

“You’ve got the same eye shape and the same grin.

It’s uncanny, really.” He gave my shoulder a quick pat.

“I need to get Laney home before she collapses. She’s finally not feeling so darn sick all the time, but now, she’s got all this energy until suddenly it runs out. Have a good one, Cal.”

He took off toward her, but I stayed rooted where I was, watching Brody collapse into the grass with the puppies piling over him in a tangle of limbs and tails. Sterling’s words echoed in my head, sticking harder than they should have.

We did look alike. More than a little, if I was being honest. I’d noticed it before, but it was suddenly taking up an enormous amount of space in my brain.

It’s funny how life works, bringing Brody and me together when we look so much alike, but we’re not related at all. Just crazy, really.