“Damn straight,” he agreed before tilting my head back and claiming my mouth in another deep kiss that led to another round of sex before we fell asleep. It was the best Thanksgiving ever, and I was more than happy to make this a new tradition.
14
Corby
Pulling through the gates of Emmeline’s home filled me with nervous energy. Emme had been in a tense standoff with her mother over the past couple of weeks over me attending the fancy birthday party her parents were throwing for her. Shit had gone down when she hadn’t gone back home until the day after Thanksgiving, and her mom had tried grounding her. Luckily, her dad had a rare day off work because of the holiday and had backed Emme up. Although he hadn’t been happy that his daughter spent the night with her boyfriend, he’d pointed out to her mom that Emme had let them know where she was and the whole thing would’ve gone down differently if she’d just let me come to dinner in the first place.
The fight had only made Emme’s mom dislike me even more, which was ironic as fuck since we still hadn’t met. Emme was going to introduce me to both of her parents tonight, and we’d be surrounded by a shit ton of people judging by how many cars were parked in front of their house already. Driving past them, I clicked the button on the remote Emme had given me yesterday and the garage door farthest away from the house slid open. After parking the Jeep, I climbed out and reached inside for the brightly wrapped present I had gotten for Emme with a good chunk of the allowance William had been giving me since I’d moved in. Other than gas, I didn’t have many expenses, so I’d barely touched the money. Which had been a good thing because I’d spent more than I planned on Emme’s present. I hadn’t expected signed romance novels to be so expensive but finding the perfect gift for a girl who could buy anything had made it money well spent. I’d been able to get a full series of ten hardcover special editions personalized by her favorite author, and I had no doubt she was going to love them.
I fired off a quick text to Emme to let her know I was here, and the door leading to the house was flung open about a minute later. “I’m so glad to see you. The party ended up being way bigger than I expected. I think my mom invited everyone she knows in Black Mountain and at least half of the student population, including kids who’ve never said a word to me.”
I stopped myself from asking if my invitation had gotten lost in the mail. Emme didn’t need my sarcasm, and I wasn’t surprised that her mom hadn’t bothered to invite me. I was her daughter’s boyfriend, but that didn’t matter to her as much as having the right last name or over six figures in my bank account. I wouldn’t let her elitist attitude ruin my girl’s big day, though. So I pasted a grin on my face and wiggled my present in the air. “I know you’re not a fan of crowds, but at least you’ll get plenty of gifts.”
“The only presents I care about are the ones you, Emily, Sarah, and my dad got for me. Everyone else could leave right now for all I care.” She grabbed the brightly wrapped package out of my hands and pressed it close to her chest. “I guess your teammates can stay, too. They’re not too bad.”
My smile became genuine over her reluctant admission. I’d seen for myself how well she got along with the guys. “I’m sure they'll be on their best behavior.”
“Yeah, because they don’t want to piss you off.” That was fine by me as long as they looked out for her. She shook my present and tilted her head to the side. “Hmm, it’s heavy but there isn’t a rattling sound.”
“Go ahead and open it,” I suggested, more than willing to stay in the garage for hours if it made her happy.
“Thanks.” She beamed a smile at me and ripped into the wrapping paper. When the spines of the books were revealed, her lips parted on a gasp. “Oh, my gosh. They’re so pretty.”
I didn’t know anyone else who would gush over books the same way. “That’s not even the best part.”
I pulled one of the hardcovers from the stack and flipped the cover open to show her the inscription. When she saw the note from the author, she shrieked with joy and threw herself into my arms. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“I’m glad you like your present, baby.”
“Like isn’t strong enough to explain how I feel about your gift.” She stroked her finger over the author’s signature. “You had to have put a lot of thought into it.”
“Not really.” I shrugged and took the books from her since they were heavy. “You read her last release the same day it came out and then again like a week later. I didn’t have to guess how much you liked her books, and when I looked her up online, she had just posted a form to order these editions the day before. The perfect present basically dropped in my lap.”
“Only because you pay attention when I’m talking,” she insisted. “I’ve been reading her books for five years, and neither of my parents would’ve ever thought to get me something like this.”
Our private moment was interrupted when an older man opened the door and stepped into the garage. His eyes widened when he saw us. “Sorry, Miss Cushing.”
“No worries, Edwin.” She introduced me to her family’s driver, and we shook hands. “Corby and I were just headed inside to the party, so we’ll get out of your way.”
I followed her inside and set the books inside a cabinet in the small room off the kitchen. Then we worked our way through the crowds of people before ending up in a corner with Emily, Sarah, and Chuck. We hung out for about thirty minutes before the girls wandered off in search of something to eat.
“What’s Caswell doing here?”
My head jerked up at Chuck’s question, and I scanned the room until I spotted the douche who liked my girl but didn’t have the balls to do anything about it. “No fucking clue, but he’d better not do anything to mess up Emme’s night.”
“I have your back if anything happens,” Chuck promised.
I searched the room for my girlfriend and realized Atticus was staring right at her. “That little prick.”
Emme’s step faltered when she noticed him, and I started to make my way across the room to her. She broke apart from the girls and headed toward her mother, who she had briefly introduced to me earlier. She’d barely said hello before excusing herself to go check on something—a handy excuse to get away from me as quickly as possible.
The woman was an ice queen while her daughter was full of warmth and kindness. But Emme looked fit to be tied, so I hurried to join her. If she was going to confront her mother, I would be at her side while she did it.
“What in the world is Atticus Caswell doing here, Mother?” Emme hissed as I joined them, lacing my fingers through hers.
Mrs. Cushing lifted her hand in a careless gesture. “I don’t understand what the issue is. I invited many of your classmates.”
“But you know how he embarrassed me when I was a freshman.” There wasn’t a hint of recognition in Mrs. Cushing’s eyes. Her lack of reaction made it appear she had no idea what her daughter was talking about, which was fucking sad. The woman should never have become a parent, but then I wouldn’t have Emme so I couldn’t be too pissed. “When he told everyone except for me that he liked me and then slept with another girl at a party, remember?”