Dirty: The Complete Series (Secret Baby Romance Love Story) (57 page)

Chapter Four - Patrick

I checked the time yet again as I tried to
get the knot in my tie right. I was anxious to see Mackenzie in the dress she’d
bought for her parents’ party, but even more than that I had to admit I was a
bit nervous about meeting her family, even if it was just for New Year’s Eve.

“Did you buy that tie for the party?” I
turned to look at Landon, dressed in warm pajamas for the trek to his grandparents’
house. He always spent New Year’s Eve with Joanne’s parents, and normally I was
with him—but this year would be different for us both.

“I did,” I told him. “I bought it to match
Mack’s dress.”

“That’s silly,” Landon said, frowning in
confusion.

“It’s something you’ll understand when you
get older and go to parties with women,” I explained. Mackenzie had sent me a
picture of the dress she’d gotten a couple of days before, and I’d spent the
day before New Year’s Eve scouring menswear sections to find a tie that would
go with it. I’d even gotten her a corsage from the florist who’d had the
peonies she loved; I knew it was a hokey tradition, but I hoped she would
appreciate it.

Mack had told me while we cuddled in bed
the night of our last date that the party wasn’t a situation for a tuxedo, but
that everyone tried to dress at least a little nicely, so I’d found one of my
better suits to wear for the event, and made sure it wasn’t stained before I
even went after the tie to wear with it.

“What are you going to do with Mack at the
party?”

I smiled, checking my reflection in the
mirror to make sure the tie looked right. “We’re just going to listen to music
and dance, and talk to people. It’s not like a kid’s party.”

“That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun,”
Landon said, looking at me doubtfully.

“There will be food and things to drink.
It’s a grown-up party.”

“No games?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. There might
be.”

“It’s going to be weird to not be with you
at ball drop time,” Landon told me. I hesitated and looked at my son.

“I know it’s going to be weird,” I said,
crouching down and getting to my son’s level. “Maybe next year we can all go to
a party together—me, you, your grandparents, and Mack.”

Landon brightened. “Do you think so?”

 
I
grinned. “I hope so!” I tousled Landon’s hair. It occurred to me that according
to the bet we’d made—that I could find Landon a new mom before the New Year—I
only had one day left to win it. “Do you think I can seal the deal with Mack by
tonight and win our bet?”

Landon looked thoughtful. “I really want
double presents,” he said slowly, “but I want to have Mack live with us, too. I
wish she could be my mom.”

My heart twisted inside of me and I felt
happy and sad at the same time.

“Well, it’ll probably take me a little
while to get her to be your mom,” I said, holding Landon’s gaze. “But she’s in
our life now, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep her with us, if she
wants to stay. How does that sound?”

“I hope she stays,” Landon said.

“Let’s get your backpack packed, so I’m
not late to pick her up for the party,” I suggested. Landon darted out of my
room and into the living room to gather up the toys I’d told him he could take
to his grandparents’ house, and I checked myself in the mirror one more time, and
then left the bedroom to supervise the last mad dash of my son’s packing.

I grabbed the corsage and a bottle of
champagne out of the fridge, bundled Landon up into a heavy coat over his
pajamas, and helped him get into his seat in the car. I would have just enough
time to drop him off at my in-laws’ house, pick up Mackenzie, and get to her
parents’ place outside of the city, assuming that traffic hadn’t started up
early.

“Are you going to kiss her at midnight?” I
heard Landon kicking his feet against the seat bottom as we made our way to his
grandparents’ house; traffic wasn’t as bad as it would be in a few hours, but
it was still the same heavy Chicago flow as always.

“Probably,” I said. “Think you’ll be able
to make it all the way to midnight this year?”

“Gramma said that I could have a little
coffee milk to stay up,” Landon informed me; I laughed.

“Well I will call you and let you know if
I got to kiss Mack when the ball drops, how about that?”

“Only if you’ve stopped kissing her,”
Landon said with a giggle. “Otherwise I won’t be able to understand you.” I
snorted, picturing Landon’s idea in my head. It felt good—and right—between
Mack and me again. I was glad that Jess had made me clear the air and make the
big, romantic gesture—I was glad that Mack had happened to see me with Jess so
that we could get things straight between us. I was still nervous about meeting
her parents, since I knew it was a big step, but I was ready for it.

I got to Joanne’s parents’ place as
quickly as traffic would let me, and my heart started beating faster as soon as
I had given Landon a kiss goodbye for the night. I knew I’d be thinking of him
while I was with Mack, but if she couldn’t handle that then it would just mean
that things would have to run their course and the relationship wouldn’t go any
further than it already had; but I thought I could count on her, of everyone I
had ever dated, not to mind that I was thinking of my son while I was with her.
I pulled out of my in-laws’ driveway and sped down the road to make sure that I
could get to Mackenzie’s apartment on time. If I was lucky we might even have
time for a kiss and a hug before we had to get back on the road or risk being
late.

Chapter Five - Mackenzie

By the time I heard Patrick’s knock at my
door I was almost in a frenzy, I was so anxious. I had spent most of the
day—once I’d gotten out of work after lunch—getting ready, and my parents had
called three times to confirm that I was coming and that I was bringing a date.
I’d rushed home from the clinic and immediately started a hot bath while I took
out all the things I’d planned to wear for the evening. My parents liked to see
everyone dress up a bit for New Year’s, but it wasn’t quite a completely formal
occasion; so when I’d known that I was going to be bringing Patrick with me,
I’d taken the time to find the perfect dress, along with a great pair of shoes
to go with it, and a little bit of jewelry.

I had made sure that everything went
together perfectly and put all the pieces where I could get to them and then
I’d slipped into the hot bath, soaking in the fragrant water for almost an hour
with a conditioning treatment in my hair. I’d pulled the plug and took a
shower, rinsing the treatment out and scrubbing myself from head to toe. I
wasn’t always as good about shaving in the winter as I was in the summer. I
wore jeans or tights and long sleeves almost all the time, and until I’d met
Patrick a few weeks before, I hadn’t been dating anyone. But I wanted to be as
flawless as possible for the party, so I went over everything with the razor
twice and made sure I was silky smooth everywhere.

Once I finished in the shower I wrapped
myself up in my thickest, fluffiest robe and slathered lotion everywhere that
would show with my dress. I blow-dried my hair and took a minute to gulp down a
cup of coffee and eat some toast to keep my stomach from going sour, and then I
was back to getting ready for the big night. I did my makeup more carefully
than I had in weeks, and pulled my hair back into a style I’d looked up while I
had a lull at work.

By the time I hurried to the door at the
sound of Patrick’s knocking, I was as flawless from head to toe as I could
possibly be: perfumed, made up, my hair done, and in a dress that fit me just
perfectly. I’d be a little bit cold going to and from the car, but I had a long
coat to wear and it wouldn’t be too long before I was in the warmth again.

It was all worth it when I opened the door
and saw Patrick’s reaction. For a moment he stood in my doorway, staring at me
in obvious amazement, speechless. I took in the sight of him in the suit he’d
chosen, and I realized that he’d either found or bought a tie that would go
perfectly with my shimmery blue-and-green dress; it was the same colors, but
without the sparkle. Then I noticed that he had a box from a florist shop in
his hand.

“You got me a corsage?”

Patrick shook his head quickly, the
surprise disappearing from his face as he smiled. “I know it’s corny, but I
thought you might like it
because
it’s corny,” he admitted. I blushed, and Patrick opened up the box to reveal
the corsage: it was a white rose in full bloom, with ferns and baby’s breath
tied to it.

“Pin it on me,” I said, tingling all over.
Patrick took it out of the box and carefully pinned it to the front of my
dress, and I took advantage of how close he was to kiss him quickly, barely
remembering not to press myself against him or else I would crush the flowers.

“I bought a bottle of champagne to bring
with us, too,” Patrick told me, taking my hand in his. “Are you ready to head
out?”

 
I
kissed him again and nodded. “Let me just grab my purse really quick and then
we can go.” I locked the door behind me and pulled my coat tight as we walked
down the hall and then made our way to where the SUV waited outside. I was so
excited—and so nervous at the same time—that for a minute or two all I could do
was shiver in silence, waiting for the heat to come up in the car as Patrick
pulled out of the parking structure attached to my building and got onto the
road.

I’d told him that we needed to be there by
seven o’clock sharp; technically the party wouldn’t start until seven-thirty,
but I wanted to have a chance to introduce my parents and siblings to Patrick
before everyone started to arrive. “Landon didn’t think the party sounded too
exciting,” Patrick told me, adding with a grin, “Of course any party without a
ball pit or a clown would be boring to him.”

I laughed. “There’s going to be lots going
on,” I told Patrick, settling in the seat as the heat started to kick on in
earnest and the chill melted away from me. “My parents have had years to come
up with a bunch of silly traditions that they
have
to do on New Year’s Eve.”

“Traditions are great!” Patrick pulled
onto the highway, headed out of the city. “What kind of silly traditions are we
talking about here?”

“Everyone has to put their resolution down
on paper and put it in a fishbowl,” I told him, shaking my head as I remembered
when my parents had first come up with that particular tradition when I was
about ten years old. “Then, before midnight, they read out the different
resolutions and everyone has to guess which one belongs to who.”

“That sounds like fun,” Patrick said,
smiling. “Good way for new people to get to know each other.”

“They also do this thing where they do
joke awards for the people attending the party,” I said. “Like, most likely to
get arrested in the New Year or most likely to have a new kid, things like
that.”

“Does everyone get a ballot?”

I smiled. “I’ll help you fill yours out,”
I told him. Patrick got up to cruising speed and reached over to take my hand.

“There is one thing I want your help with
tonight,” he told me, bringing my hand up to his face and kissing my palm; it
was just enough contact to send a jolt of heat through my body.

“What’s that?” I asked, once I was able to
breathe again.

“I want to call Landon just after
midnight. Do you want to be in on the call? I think it’d be really special for
him.” Patrick glanced at me quickly. “Normally I’m with him—and my in-laws—for
New Year’s Eve, and this is the first year since he was born that I haven’t
been there.”

“You should have told me!”

I felt a flicker of guilt for taking Patrick
away from a tradition with his son.

“He can spend this year with just them,”
Patrick said firmly. “And assuming we’re still together this time next year, we
can work out what we’ll do for the night all together. But would you want to be
in on the call?”

“Of course!” I smiled. “If he’s still up
that late, I’d love to tell him Happy New Year’.”

“I assume I’m going to be your New Year’s
kiss, right?”

I laughed and made a face at Patrick. “Of
course. Why else would I have asked you to come with me to the party?”

“Landon very specifically said he wanted
me to call after I’d finished kissing you—I wanted to make sure that was on the
schedule too.” I felt my cheeks warming up, but I was too happy to be
completely embarrassed at the question.

“As soon as we’re done kissing, then,” I
said. “I can show you where it’ll be quiet enough to actually hear him.”

We made small talk the rest of the way to
my parents’ place, and I felt myself getting more and more excited. Everyone in
my family was going to meet Patrick, and I couldn’t imagine any of them not
falling completely in love with him the way that I had. I wanted to see the
looks on my siblings’ faces, the way my parents would approve of him
immediately. I couldn’t wait for midnight to come, when I could give Patrick
the first kiss of the New Year, and then we could call Landon together.