Mother Faker

Since my siblings and I moved out of our parents’ home, our family has only one rule: when everyone is in town, we have Sunday dinner together. It’s a rare feat since baseball and hockey seasons are long and overlap. Even if every one of us had a game today though, our mother still would have summoned us, because her pride and joy is home from Paris.

As the only girl in the family, my sister Sienna has always been the center of attention. Unlike the rest of us, sports don’t interest her, but she still shocked the hell out of us all when she chose to go into fashion design instead of stepping into a role with the family business. She’s worked her way through the fashion world, and now she’s the face of a brand-new television series filming in Paris.

“Oh, my favorite! Someone must have missed me,” my sister teases when I enter the kitchen carrying a bottle of red wine.

She and my mother are picking on the appetizers they’ve yet to bring out into the living room. I lean down and kiss my sister on the cheek. Her espresso locks which are cut into a bob bounce when she turns and offers me her other cheek and I can’t help but chuckle. “So French now.”

She beams and her green eyes dance. “It’s literally my favorite place in the world.”

I scowl. “There’s no better place than Boston.” Moving past her, I offer my mother a kiss on the cheek as well, then dig out the corkscrew and pour a glass of wine for each of us.

“What’s new with you, brother? Harass any more of the youth in your favorite city?”

Laughter echoes off the walls as Brooks and Aiden enter the kitchen. Brooks’s long hair is pulled back in a man bun, and his green eyes light up when he spots my sister. In two quick steps, he’s got her off her feet and spinning in the air. The cacophony gets louder when Gavin and my father appear as well.

“So this is where the appetizers are hiding?” Gavin grumbles, spearing one of my mother’s famous meatballs with a fork.

Clearing my throat, I step into the center of the space. “Since Sienna so kindly asked what was new with me, and since everyone’s here, I might as well break the news to you all at the same time.”

With my heart beating against my sternum, I pull in a deep breath and scan the faces of my suddenly silent family members. I didn’t intend to announce it this way, but I didn’t have the balls to do it in the office this week. I kind of expected Liv would change her mind. But it’s been six days and she hasn’t called it off so here goes nothing.

I clear my throat, even as it tightens further. “I got married.”

Gavin chokes on his meatball, and Aiden slaps him on the back.

“Don’t you have to be dating someone to get married?” Gavin gasps, his eyes watering.

I hand him a glass of wine, and he gulps it down fast.

“We’ve kept it a secret.”

“You were just saying Dad wanted you to settle down,” Aiden pipes in. “Why didn’t you say something then?”

Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I lean against the counter and dig deep for the ability to sell this to the people who know me best. “Because I didn’t want any of you to think I did it to fix this PR nightmare.”

“Who is it?” Sienna asks.

I meet Gavin’s eyes and then look to my father. “Olivia.”

“Olivia who?” my mother asks, her face a mix of confusion and elation.

Brooks barks out a laugh. “Beckett’s Olivia.”

A smirk spreads on Gavin’s cocky face. “You married Liv?”

Heart squeezing so hard I’m worried it’ll explode, I narrow my eyes on him. “Yes.”

My father rubs his forehead, then drops his hand to his side. “Isn’t Liv already married?”

“Divorced,” Gavin says, though his attention remains on me. “Beckett and I were just discussing it.”

“You weren’t seeing her while she was still married, right?” My mother wrings her hands, all the joy flushed out by fear. “You think what they’re saying about you now is bad? If they get wind that there was an affair…”

I sigh. “I did not have an affair. Liv and I are in love. We’re moving in together, and that’s that.”

Gavin presses closer to me. “You’re moving her kids into your penthouse?”

It’s no secret that I like things a certain way. Always have. No one touches my things, and I prefer it that way.

The thought of kids running around my immaculate penthouse has me reaching for the bottle of Hanson whiskey on the counter and pouring two fingers.

Fuck.

Liv and I haven’t worked out these kinds of details yet, but every eye in the room is locked on me, waiting for my response.

“We, uh, plan to stay at her place while we look for a house that’ll work for all of us. Don’t want to take them from the home they’re comfortable with just to stay somewhere temporarily.”

“Naturally.” Gavin nods. “Hey, Mom, aren’t you and Dad looking for a place to stay while the renovations are being done here?”

What the hell?

“Oh, yes. But I haven’t found anything that’ll work for us and has enough security. Beckett, you wouldn’t mind if we stayed at your place, would you?”

I gulp the last of my whiskey, my blood heating and sweat prickling at my hairline. Shit.

“Of course he wouldn’t mind,” Gavin says, throwing an arm over my shoulders. “He’s moving in with the love of his life, Olivia, and her three kids.”

My stomach drops. Dammit. Liv is going to kill me.