Temporarily Yours (Shillings Agency #1)(20)
Author: Diane Alberts

“All right. Here we go.”

He weaved his fingers through hers and led her inside. As soon as their feet crossed the threshold of the restaurant, her mother pounced on them with open arms. She must have been watching for their arrival. Buried in layers of red curly hair, and the familiar scent of Chanel perfume, her mother hugged Kayla tightly. She returned the embrace with the hand that wasn’t still entwined with Cooper’s.

For some reason, she didn’t want to let go of him yet. “Hi, Mom.”

“Sweetheart, we missed you at Christmas.” Pulling back, she gazed at Cooper over Kayla’s head, her mouth curved in a smile. “But now that I’ve met your infamous boyfriend, I can totally see why you stayed home. I would have, too.”

Kayla’s cheeks heated. Leave it to her mother to speak her mind without any censure. Very un-Southern of her. “Mom, this is Cooper Shillings. Cooper, my mother, Holly. I’m sure my dad will be along soon, too.”

“Mrs. Moriarity, I’m happy to finally get to meet you.” Cooper shook her hand. “I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.”

Her mom beamed up at him, holding his hand with both of hers. “And I’ve heard almost nothing about you.” She quickly cut her eyes at Kayla, but her warm expression was firmly in place when she returned her gaze to Cooper. “I’m so pleased to meet you and so happy you could clear time in your schedule to join Kayla. Will you be staying for the whole weekend and the wedding?”

After her mother released his hand, he replied, “I do believe so, yes. I report for my new job on Monday, but I’ll be here until then. Refresh my memory, what day is the wedding?”

“Saturday,” Kayla offered quickly. Then she smiled at her mom, her heart racing. Already they were running into issues. He should have known when the wedding was, if he was really her boyfriend. “I hadn’t told him since he wasn’t coming originally. Besides, you know how men are with weddings.”

“Right,” Cooper agreed, taking Kayla’s hand, his fingers flexing. “So, yes, I’ll be here for the wedding, as long as the last minute addition doesn’t cause any problems for you. I know you’ve been busy making everything perfect for this weekend. Kayla told me how hard you work to make everyone happy, and you always succeed.”

“Aw, well aren’t you sweet?” Her mom melted. Literally melted into a puddle. “Of course I don’t mind adding another person, dear. I’m thrilled to have you here.”

“Excellent,” he said, smiling.

“Come, let’s introduce you to everyone else.” Her mother met Cooper’s eyes and offered a sympathetic expression. “But first Kayla’s father is waiting to meet you, too. I apologize in advance.”

Cooper shot Kayla an unreadable look as Kayla’s mom headed across the room, towing a nervous looking Cooper behind her. “Should I be scared?” he whispered.

Kayla grimaced and nodded.

Her sister, Susan, rushed up to the group. Her brown hair was pulled back in an impeccable bun, and her blue eyes were latched on Cooper with surprise. “It’s true? You brought your boyfriend with you! I thought you made him up to get Mom off your back.”

“I’m right here,” her mom said, not even bothering to act offended.

“I know, but even you have to admit it was dodgy that she wouldn’t even tell us her boyfriend’s name.” She turned to Cooper. “Said she wanted everything about him to be a surprise for when we met him. Go figure.”

“Well, I uh,” Kayla fumbled, “I did.”

“I see that now. But I also know how Mom is about digging into our personal life.”

“Again, Susan. I’m right here,” her mom interjected. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with my desire to see my children happily married. It’s only natural. But now that we have Cooper—”

“Mom!” Kayla closed her eyes in mortification. Thank God this relationship wasn’t real, or this conversation would be even more awkward than it already was. “Stop it.”

“What? Marriage is something that every new couple should discuss up front.” Her mom smiled at Cooper. “It’s good to know where you stand early on, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Absolutely, Mrs. Moriarity.” He threw his hand over her shoulders. “Marriage is a very serious topic that one should never take lightly, and it’s something we’ve discussed several times. We both know where we stand.”

She smiled even bigger. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Stop torturing them, Mom.” Susan hugged Kayla tightly, and Kayla held her close. When the hug ended, Susan motioned her fiancé, Max, over. “Cooper, it’s great to meet you.”

Cooper stepped forward, both dimples in full force just like Kayla had asked for. “It’s lovely to meet you, too, Susan. Kayla and I are so happy for you and Max.”

Kayla nodded. “So happy. I can’t wait to see your dress, too. I mean, the picture you emailed was nice but I’m sure it’s even more beautiful in person.”

“I’ll show it to you tomorrow when you come to dinner,” Susan promised, grinning at them both. “Oh, here’s Max.”

“Kayla, you’re here!” Max hugged Kayla, then turned to Cooper. His blond hair was longer than she remembered, and he was clean-shaven. He was a little shorter than Cooper, but not much, and he wore a black suit. He looked happily in love. “Hello, I’m Max.”

“Cooper Shillings.” Cooper shook his hand, inclining his head. “I’m the boyfriend who everyone thought was fake, apparently.”

Max laughed. “Well, welcome to the family. Glad to see you’re real.”

“Thank you for having me.”

Her mother clapped her hands and sighed, looking way too happy to have both the sisters and their men here together. “Susan and Max, you two have to mingle, since it’s your wedding party. Off you go now.”

Kayla kept Susan close. “But we just saw each other.”

“You’ll see each other again,” her mom said primly.

Susan smiled at Kayla and smoothed her satin dress. The red was quite a lovely color on her. “We’ll have more time tomorrow. There’s a reason we took the day off before the wedding to relax.” She counted off on her fingers. “Rehearsal dinner tonight, small family gathering at home tomorrow. A bit unorthodox, given that most rehearsal dinners are the night before. But it’s my day and this is the way I wanted it.”