Page 77 of The Maxwell Brothers

After he went out in the living room, I darted to the bathroom. I was in panic mode. I glanced from the shower to the bathtub and decided to forgo the shower altogether. It would take me too long, and I?—

No, damn it. Ihadto shower.

I went into the stall and cleaned up very quickly. No way was I going to wash my hair. That always took forever. I’d put it up; no one would ever know.

Stepping out of the shower, I brushed my teeth and clumsily applied foundation.Oh my God. Oh my God. His parents are here.

I knew why this had me so out of sorts. It was because I felt like a kid caught doing something wrong at camp, except we weren't doing anything wrong. Still, something about meeting his parents had me all in knots.

I put on a long green dress and pulled my hair into a messy ponytail. I hoped it would look bohemian to them, because I couldn't unknot my hair without washing it in the morning.

I groaned, dropping my chin to my chest.The day I meet Tate's parents, I’m a total mess.But I couldn't make it any better, so I decided to face the music.

I cracked the door open. The voices were muffled and far away, so I supposed they were in the living room. I hurried down the corridor, my stomach knotting even more.

I am Lexi, hear me roar.

"There she is," a woman exclaimed. I assumed she was his mother. Tate looked a lot like her, with those intense eyes and chocolate-colored hair, but he got his height and build from his dad. He was smiling brilliantly, the way he did when he was around his daughter.

"Lexi, these are my parents, Emmett and Lena. Mom, Dad, meet Lexi."

"Good morning," I said, moving to them and shaking their hands. I self-consciously patted my head, feeling the knots in my hair. Oh my God, I was a mess.

Tate was looking at me with amusement in his eyes.

"We're so sorry for imposing," Lena said, sounding a little formal to me. "We had no idea there was someone here."

"We checked the family calendar. We have this Google log where everyone puts their name if they come here. It was empty," Emmett replied.

Why were they apologizing to me? This was their place. They were the Maxwells, for heaven’s sake.

Oh crap, why did I have to remember that?My nervousness escalated tenfold.

"Yeah, my bad," Tate exclaimed. " I completely forgot about it."

"That's because you haven’t been here in almost a year. Even though you love this place,” Lena said.

Tate shrugged. "I'm here now."

"Well, we’re glad you’re here, son, and we won't keep you two any longer.” Emmett turned to his wife and said, "Lena, let’s head back to the city."

"What? No, no, no," I said hastily, feeling a bit like the intruder. “Why leave? You came here for a getaway?—”

Lena shook her head. "Darling, we just got back from our vacation. We came here to check if everything was okay. I know we have a caretaker, but I don't like leaving this place unattended for too long. And the last time someone was here was months ago."

"Why don't you stay for lunch?" I asked, looking at Tate for confirmation. I couldn’t have them leaving when this wastheirplace.

He nodded. "That's a good idea."

I let out a sigh of relief. I had been afraid I was overstepping by asking his parents to spend some time with us.

"Yes, let’s do that," Lena said. “That way, you and I can talk a bit, Lexi. All I've heard so far is secondhand information from Beatrice."

The tips of my ears felt hot. Theyhadtalked about me. Shouldn’t have been a surprise, of course. My nerves accelerated. Tate seemed to sense my apprehension and stepped in. "Mom, don't scare Lexi away. Let's have lunch."

"Tate! I would never do such a thing.” Looking at me, she added, “I don’t think my son and granddaughter have ever been in better hands, Lexi. You have no complaints from me.”

As we all walked into the kitchen, my fears subsided a bit. And then when she cheerily said, “What shall we have? Put us to good use, Lexi," I knew everything would be all right.