she stared as an attractive middle-aged woman stepped into the kitchen. Her silver hair was cut in a stylish bob, and she was dressed in a simple blouse and jeans. Her face was unlined except for the crinkles that emanated from her eyes, now deep from the wide smile on her face. And, staring into those blue eyes that were undoubtedly part of Kyle’s DNA, Kimberly stayed rooted to the floor.
“I had no idea you had company, Kyle,” his mother said. She stepped forward and extended her hand. “Since my son has forgotten his manners, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Sharon McBride, Kyle’s mother.”
Not having a choice except to step closer and extend her own hand while praying that the length of Kyle’s shirt didn’t show anything untoward, she managed to croak, “It’s nice to meet you. I am… uh…”
Kyle’s mom lifted an eyebrow, and Kimberly knew she needed to offer her name, but suddenly the absurdity of the situation slammed into her and she stumbled over the word.
Thankfully, Kyle wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his body. “This is Kimberly, Mom. Now, would you like to remind me why you’re here this early, scaring the shit out of my girlfriend?”
As soon as the word girlfriend left his lips, Kimberly’s heart beat erratically. Girlfriend? They had not defined what they were and technically had only been on one date, so hearing him so casually label her as a girlfriend to his mom caused her to dig her fingers into his waist. He grunted, shot her a lowered-brow frown, then turned back to his mother. Terrified to see what expression might be on Sharon’s face, Kimberly was stunned to see absolute delight.
Sharon threw her hands up in the air while looking toward the ceiling and shouted, “Hallelujah! Prayers are answered!”
“Jesus Christ,” Kyle muttered again, shaking his head.
His utterance caused his mom to snap her head down and pin him with an expression that could only be described as a ‘mom-look’ with her lifted brow and lips turned downward. “Kyle! Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain—”
“Then don’t shout hallelujah when I introduce you to my girlfriend—”
“You’ve never introduced me to a girlfriend at your house before—”
“Because I haven’t had one in years—”
“Well, then pardon me for being excited that my son is finally growing up!”
“Jes—” Kyle stopped his utterance and growled again.
As hilarious as the mother-son exchange was, Kimberly could still feel the hot rush of embarrassment coloring her face and wondered how to escape up to the bedroom so that she could get dressed.
Sharon turned her attention to the stove. “Oh, how lovely. You were fixing breakfast. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“I was just going to scramble the eggs once he got out of bed… uh…”
Silence hit the room, and she once again wished the floor would open up to swallow her whole.
Kyle’s arm squeezed her shoulders and he smiled. “What Kimberly is trying so desperately to say politely is that she woke up first, was fixing the breakfast, and I just got my lazy ass out of bed.”
No less mortified, she poked him in the waist again, eliciting another grunt.
“Stop poking me,” he said, glaring.
“Then stop embarrassing me!” she whispered. Deciding to finally take charge of the situation, she looked up at Sharon and saw her smiling widely. “Mrs. McBride, I honestly cannot think of anything to say that’s not embarrassing. I’m so sorry to meet you for the first time like this. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go get dressed.” Without giving Kyle or his mom a chance to say anything, she whirled and quick-walked out of sight before racing up the stairs. Throwing off his shirt, she grabbed her bra and then quickly wrapped her dress and tied it. Slipping on her sandals, she felt overdressed for breakfast but grateful to now have clothes on. She battled the desire to stay hidden in his room until his mother left but knew that would be cowardly.
Walking back down the stairs, she discovered Kyle leaning his hip against the counter, a smirk playing about his lips as he sipped a cup of coffee. When his gaze hit her, his pupils flared with lust shooting straight toward her. His lips curved into a full-blown smile, and he lifted an arm, beckoning her to him.
Walking straight to him, she accepted his hug and turned toward Sharon, offering a smile as well.
“Kimberly, dear, I want to apologize for interrupting your morning. I would never have just dropped in if