Unfortunately, going mental doesn’t mean that I can just forget about my current life. I’m just about to head over to Lachlan’s after work for some hot fucking sex, when my mother calls.

It’s a hammer to the gut.

She’s sounding weak. Tired. Sad. Her voice reaches into my head, my heart, and lets the air out.

As much as I’m addicted to Lachlan, to every single fucking thing about him, I love my mom, and I can’t, won’t, push her aside for a man, no matter how good the sex is, no matter how infatuated I am.

I tell my mom that I’ll come over and make dinner for us. She sounds so relieved that I know I’m doing the right thing.

I text Lachlan to fill him in, hoping he didn’t have anything major planned. Last night, even the appetizers and wine surprised me. The last thing I expected from a big, burly, rugby beast was something romantic.

He answers back with an Okay, no worries.

And for some reason it absolutely breaks my heart. I have such little time left with him. I stare at my phone, thinking, while the rest of the office empties out. I want him to text back and suggest we meet up after. Then I realize he might be waiting for me to say that.

Fuck, I’m not used to this. I didn’t really care about how I came across to all the guys I was seeing and screwing before. If they didn’t seem interested anymore, I moved on lickety-split. But Lachlan is a game-changer.

I suck on my lip and bite the bullet.

I ask him what I really want to ask him.

Want to come with me and meet my mom?

I press send and hold my breath, waiting. He’s going to say no. He’s going to be weirded out. He’s going to gracefully untangle himself from my grip. And me, I’m going to pretend it doesn’t hurt, tell him that we’re different, that there are no rules right now. He’s leaving, and that means we can get away with murder until he goes.

I’d love to.

The text across the screen makes my face split in two.

I tell him I’ll come by to get him in five minutes. Then I have a mini-debate over telling my mom that I’m bringing a man over, the first man she’s ever seen me with since Kyle. I decide to keep it a secret—no use in freaking her out beforehand, especially as she’ll get her hopes up that he’s something more than he is. You know, like permanent.

On the other hand, she’s fairly conservative. She may see all his tattoos and his beard and pass out.

We’ll have to play it by ear.

Soon I’m pulling up to Lachlan’s apartment and he’s striding from the doors to my car. I watch him, my mouth hanging open just a little, totally in awe. He must have gotten changed at the last minute because he’s in black dress pants, a black dress shirt, and his hair is slicked to the side, looking utterly presentable. All his tattoos are even covered.

He opens the door and gets in, giving me a quick glance with bright eyes.

“Hi,” he says, putting on his seatbelt.

“Hi,” I say, rather breathlessly. “You look nice.” And by nice, I mean so handsome I want to cry.

He scratches at the back of his neck and side-eyes me through dark lashes. “Wasn’t going to let a chance to impress your mother go to waste.”

But isn’t it going to waste? Still, I bite my lip, totally thrilled that he made the effort. I would have been thrilled either way, since the fact that he agreed to come is fucking crazy in itself.

I stare at him for a moment and he looks right back at me. I mean, he looks at me in that way only he can, and time just kind of locks down on us. It’s heavy and persistent, and I know I’m wondering if he’s going to kiss me. As if that’s a thing we do now, as if there’s a we.

He leans in and I lean in, and it’s all slow motion from here on out. All over a kiss.

But it’s more than a kiss. Everything seems more when it’s with him.

His lips meet mine, mouth opening, sucking on my lower lip for one wet, hot moment before deepening all the way through. I am so amped up and fileted at the same time, one kiss undoing me before we even have a chance to begin.

Somehow I manage to extract myself and drive, though my lips still burn from where he just was, and I’m tempted to run my fingers across them, to keep the friction going.

He adjusts himself in his seat, legs splayed, trying to fit his body in my small front seat, and I’m reminded of after the rugby game, when we were both wet and muddy and coming back to his place for the first time. That feels like ages ago. Of course, back then he wasn’t trying to play down an obvious erection in his dress pants.

“Want to hear some good news?” he says lightly after a few minutes.

“Of course.”

“Ed got adopted,” he says rather proudly.

“Really?”

He nods. “Aye. A local foster-to-adopt program got back to me and said they had someone interested. She and her husband came by to see him this morning and they fell in love. Ed’s gone.”

“Aww,” I tell him, and my heart flutters like a bird in flight. Not just because he was able to home a dog who needed it, but because I can hear the warmth in his voice, like honey, like happiness. “I’m so happy for him. And you.”

He shrugs. “I did what I could do. I’m just glad it paid off.”

“And Emily?”

“She’s at home. Sad little gal, she is. But once I get her to Edinburgh, she’ll be good.”

“I guess she’ll be coming with us to Napa?”

He glances at me, brow creased in concern. “Is that all right?”

“One hundred percent,” I tell him emphatically. “I just hopes she learns to trust me at some point.”

“She will, love,” he says, gazing out the window as we go over the Bay Bridge. “We all come around after a while.”

It’s not long before we’re at my mom’s and I’m pulling the car to the curb.

“Lovely place,” Lachlan says as he gets out of the car, staring up at the house. It doesn’t look like much in the twilight, but he sounds impressed.

“It used to be really nice,” I tell him, my voice hushed as I open the low gate into the yard. “When I grew up here, anyway.”

“It’s still lovely,” he says. He reaches down and grabs my hand and holds onto it, giving it a squeeze. Strength feeds into me from his grip, washing away the sadness and the memories of the after period.

We walk up the front steps, hand in hand, me and my beast, and before I can knock on the door, it opens and my mother pokes her head out.

She peers at me for only a second before her eyes drift over to Lachlan. They widen. She looks him up and down, and I can’t help but mimic her. Because it’s got to be cool to have two ladies giving you the eye at once.

Luckily Lachlan is all charm. He smiles politely and gives her the slightest of nods.

“Mom,” I say to her.

She nearly glares at me. “This is the man? This is the man you bring home?”

I look back at Lachlan and he meets my eyes, a half smile on his lips, his brows raised.

“Well…” I say to her but she wags her finger at me to shut up. At least she isn’t acting as frail as she sounded on the phone.

“This is the man you bring home,” she says again, leaving the door and walking over to Lachlan. He lets go of my hand to offer it to her. “And yet you have never brought him before?”

I laugh in relief. “Sorry, Mom. He’s kind of new.”

“And I’m kind of charmed by you,” Lachlan says, kissing the back of her hand, his eyes smiling. Holy shit. I’ve never seen him be so utterly charismatic before, and from the fullness in my mom’s cheeks, I can tell she’s just as impressed.

“Oh my,” she says, looking at me with a big grin. “Kayla, you have done very, very well.”

“I know,” I tell her. “But Mom, you’re making him uncomfortable.”

“Nonsense,” Lachlan says, throwing his shoulders back, making him look bigger than big and taller than tall next to my tiny mother. “I have no problem hearing how I’ve exceeded expectations.”