Chapter Ten - The Daredevils

I sadly turn the hot water off and hop out to dry myself while wishing I could stay in there for longer. While I was dropping Aria off at school today Theo texted me asking if we can have lunch together. It's been a few days since we last saw each other and my classes don't start until four o'clock today so I agreed.

After moisturizing my body, I quickly blow dry my hair and pull it into a ponytail. Slapping some makeup on I get dressed into my black jeans, a grey sweater with a scarf and my boots. Making sure I have what I need for my classes later I swing my bag onto my shoulder before checking if the windows and back door are locked.

I drive to the city center and find a parking spot near the place Theo suggested to meet up at. As soon as I get out I feel arms wrap around my waist and my lips lift into a smile knowing who it is. Grabbing my purse, I turn and grin at Theo who's staring at me with a small smile of his own.

"Hey." He whispers before his lips come crashing down on mine in a sweet yet passionate kiss.

"What a lovely greeting." I tease after we pull away.

"Only the best for my sunshine." He winks before intertwining our hands as I lock the door. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"My cousin is having an engagement party and I'm invited. I was wondering if you would be my date? Her fiancé is from Dallas so they're going to have it here because of family." He explains before glancing at me nervously. "Some children can go too so I can ask if Aria can come along. They'll have a separate playroom for them so they don't get bored."

"Of course, I would love to." I smile reassuringly but my nerves kick in within seconds. "I'm assuming all your family will be there?"

"Yeah everyone's invited but don't worry I already know they're going to love you." He grins boyishly with a playful nudge to my side.

"How are you so sure?"

"You have one Jackson wrapped around your finger don't you? The rest will follow." He teases and I swat his arm with a surprised laugh.

"Shut up! I do not!"

His loud and rich laughter echoes in the air before he kisses my red cheeks. We make our way down the street chatting about how the past few days have been. But just as he points out the restaurant to me an unfamiliar couple stops before us.

The brown haired, green eyed man has an impressive build with a perfect tan to match. I instantly recognize the similarities he has to Theo and assume they're related. The blonde haired, brown eyed woman beside him is stunning with a curvy figure. But a devilish smirk adorns her full lips as she stares at Theo.

"Oh hey!" Theo grins before stepping forward to hug them both. "Roman, Elena this is Charlotte. Charlotte this is my brother Roman and his wife Elena."

"It's nice to meet you both." I smile nervously as I shake their hands.

"Has Theo Jackson finally got himself a girlfriend?" Elena sings with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Ooh –"

Theo slaps his hand over her mouth with a playful glare. "I'll babysit the kids tomorrow if you shut up right now."

He lets go when she nods before turning to her husband with a smug look. "See? Easy!"

Roman only smirks in response whereas Theo's jaw drops when he realizes he was tricked. I can't help but chuckle as Elena embraces me in a tight hug. I instantly like her warm yet cheeky personality.

"It's lovely to meet you Charlotte." She grins with a sly wink before stepping back and looping her arm around Roman's. "Where are you guys off to?"

"Just to lunch, what about you?" Theo answers as he wraps his arm around my waist.

"Same. We finally got the kids to sleep and left them with mom and dad to go out for a bit." Roman explains and I suddenly notice how tired both look.

"How old are they?"

"Eight-month-old triplets. That's why we look like shit." Elena gestures to her face with a playful roll of her eyes.

"Don't worry, it gets a little better when they're toddlers. I have a daughter myself." I chuckle thinking back to how I felt when Aria was born.

"Well, I'll need all the advice I can get so please share." She smiles before checking the time. "Do you mind if we join you guys?"

"Of course, we were heading to that restaurant over there." I point before looking to Theo to see if it was okay. He nods with a grateful smile before facing them.

"Let's go!" Elena grins before taking Roman's hand and walking down the street.

Me and Theo follow behind them quietly. I smile when I hear Roman and Elena arguing about something but it's mostly him just being protective. They're very cute together and Elena compliments Roman's reserved personality quite nicely with her bold self.

I really hope I made a good first impression, I think to myself. I can't help but wonder about meeting the rest of his family. The thought of them not liking me makes me so nervous because I really like Theo and don't want anything to mess this up.

"Anyone ever tell you that you become really quiet when nervous?" I jump slightly when Theo leans down to whisper in my ear.

"Well...they're your family. I want to impress them." I mutter weakly as I meet his gaze.

"They already like you sunshine so there's no need to worry." He smiles and gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. But it drops when I assume he sees that I'm still nervous. "Hey...trust me. I know Roman isn't expressive but Elena is. She's also very vocal and cold when she doesn't like someone. Roman is usually quiet and reserved around anyone other than her and family so don't mind him."

"Okay, I'm sorry I just –"

"Don't be, it's completely normal. I'm sure I'd be the same when meeting your family." He smiles reassuringly and I feel the pad of his thumb caress my hand gently.

"Luckily, you won't ever have to deal with them." I bite my lip as I look up at the restaurant's name. The familiar pang of hurt blooms within my heart and I quickly push that feeling back.

"I meant your grandmother sunshine." He murmurs which makes me look up at him in surprise. "Rest assured I'll probably be worse than you when that day comes around."

I chuckle and nod before following him inside. The four of us grab a table before a waitress comes over with the menus. I catch her wandering eyes as she stares at both Roman and Theo who are blissfully unaware.

But I struggle to hold in my laugh when I catch Elena being a goof as she makes dreamy eyes and puckers her lips in Roman's direction when nobody else is looking. She rolls her eyes then winks at me with a playful smile. I'm aware that the Jackson boys are very talked about in the city but Elena's actions confirm just how many woman lust after them. She seems like she's had to deal with it one too many times.

After we order what we want and are given our drinks I lean back in my seat with a relaxed sigh. Theo drapes his arm across the back of my seat before taking a piece of my hair and twirling it around his finger aimlessly as he talks to Roman.

"So how old is your daughter?" Elena asks curiously as she takes a sip of her drink.

"Aria is six years old." I smile fondly as I think about my little munchkin.

"And how did you and Theo meet?" Roman asks which causes me and Theo to grin at each other.

"I saw Char when she came to pick up Aria from the horse-riding classes I teach. But she didn't see me. We met a few days later in the city when Aria recognized me." Theo explains just as our food arrives.

"You have a slight British accent. Are you from there?"

"No, I moved here a few months ago because I got a job as a studio arts lecturer in the University of Dallas. It's starting to slightly fade though because sometimes my students get this confused look on their faces when I use British words." I answer Elena with a laugh and she joins in. "Do you guys live in Dallas too? I didn't see you around when Theo brought me to the ranch."

"I work in Houston in the crime department for the police. Elena got a job there too since I already had my own place. But we're looking to move into a bigger place because of the kids." Roman explains before stealing some chips off Elena's plate.

"We would've moved by now if someone would just agree to living on the outskirts." Elena grumbles with narrowed eyes at her husband.

"I don't like the houses you're picking there." Roman responds with a nonchalant shrug.

"Well, the feelings are mutual buddy. You don't exactly have the best taste."

"I ended up with you didn't I?" He arches a brow with a smug grin.

Elena stares at him angrily but I catch the flicker of amusement in her eyes. "Fuck you."

"You already did baby."

Me and Theo can't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. The couple blink at us in surprise before blushing and I assume they forgot we were even there for a second. Elena shakes her head before digging into her food again with a sigh.

"We're still looking basically." She deadpans sarcastically. "Anyways, Theo you're bringing Charlie to the party right?"

"Yeah, she's coming with me." He replies while slipping a few olives onto my plate knowing how much I like them. I smile at him in appreciation to which he winks in response.

"Do you want to go shopping together Charlotte? I have yet to find a dress that looks flattering on me." She says dramatically and I catch Roman shaking his head at her.

"Sure, when are you free? I have two hours before I need to go to class if you want to go today. Otherwise, we can meet up tomorrow if you're free?"

"Today please. I don't know if I'll have time tomorrow." She jokes and I agree with a laugh.

We finish the rest of our food before Elena comes with me to go to the mall. Roman and Theo leave to go to his office to hang out for a bit before they need to check out new machinery for the ranch. We hop in the car and I wince when the music starts playing loudly from where I had left off.

"I love this song!" Elena grins widely and does a little dance as she puts on her seatbelt.

We spend the entire drive singing at the top of our lungs. Turns out we have the same taste in music and I find out that we have many other things in common the more we chat. She also shows me pictures of her adorable babies once we reach the mall.

She had two boys first who are Federico and Jeremiah, and the third child is a cute little girl who they named Alessia. Elena's Italian so she picked Federico and Alessia as names whereas Roman really liked the name Jeremiah and chose that.

"And how are you feeling with everything? Are you healing okay?" I ask her as we get out of the car and start walking into the mall.

She stares at me in surprise before clearing her throat. "I'm good but it took a long time for my body to heal after the C-section. I'm a very restless person so it was quite frustrating not being able to do much."

"You seem surprised that I asked." I chuckle as we head into a store.

"I guess I haven't had someone else ask me that in a while. I have my two sister in laws, Marissa and Madelyn. On top of that I have Ella and Zoe who are Ryder and Hunter's wives. I know they don't mind but I always feel guilty for asking them things." She explains with a look of frustration and nervousness.

"You feel like this should come to you naturally and you should know things without needing so much advice?"

"Yes!" Her jaw drops as she stares at me. "Wait...you felt this way too with Aria?"

"I did and it's completely normal. Nobody automatically knows how to be a parent. It's a learning process and you figure things out as your child or children grow. It doesn't mean that you're a bad mother Elena." I explain gently as we start looking through the racks for dresses.

"I-It doesn't?" Her voice trembles and she seems to realize because she quickly curses and looks away.

"Absolutely not." I hug her and rub her back soothingly. "It's okay to feel overwhelmed and have bad days. Most of the time it's lonely too. Don't be hesitant to talk to your sister in laws, Ella and Zoe or even me. Mothers understand more than anything and we never mind okay?"

"Okay." She breathes shakily before pulling back. "God I'm sorry for getting emotional. I'm not usually like this. Fucking hell, I only just met you today too!"

We burst into a fit of giggles when she face palms herself. Turning back to the clothing racks we pull out different dresses as I reply. "It's fine, I get it. Here I'll give you my number so you can text me anytime."

"Thank you so much!" She grins happily as we exchange numbers. "Do you mind if I ask you what happened between you and Aria's father? I'm assuming he's not involved since you're dating Theo. You don't have to answer though if you're not comfortable!"

"It's fine and yes he's out of the picture. He didn't want the commitment after I became pregnant with Aria." I explain as I grab another dress to try on.

"Got a name?"

I turn to look at a deadly looking Elena. Her fists are clenched tightly and her warm brown eyes are narrowed due to the anger flickering through them. The sight warms my heart and I smile as I shake my head.

"It's in the past Elena."

"How about I bury it six feet under just to really be sure?" She cocks her hip with an arched brow.

"No." I laugh as I hold out a dress for her. "I was going to break up with him anyways since he became overly possessive and controlling. Definitely dodged a bullet there."

"Ugh you're no fun." She pouts before letting it go and examining the dress. "But really...I'm sorry you had to go through that. If you ever want to talk I'm here to listen...provided that you can ignore my random outbursts of anger and threats."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." I laugh before we head to the changing rooms.

She makes sure to comment on every dress that she doesn't like and I end up doing the same. But her comments are more outrageous and I'm sure the other women in the changing rooms can hear me laughing uncontrollably.

I finally decide on a knee-length dark green dress. I especially love the metallic gold shift to it every time the light hits the material. It's held up by thin spaghetti straps and a v-neckline that isn't too revealing. I step out of the room and show Elena who immediately approves. Taking it off I hand the other dresses to the sales assistant nearby before waiting for Elena.

I hear her grumbling under her breath before she finally exits dressed in a shimmering gold dress. It looks gorgeous on her and shows off her curves, ending just a little bit lower than her knees. The straight neckline is higher than usual and rests over her collarbones. I gesture for her to turn around and see that it's backless with thin straps crisscrossing across her skin.

"This is it. You look so pretty!" I squeal excitedly only to frown when she scrunches her nose up in thought.

"You think so? Don't you think it's a bit too much?" She bites her lip as she stares at herself in the mirror.

"I think it's nice and perfect for a cocktail party. It's not like there's a plunging neckline or anything. You should get it." I encourage and cheer when she agrees.

She rolls her eyes playfully and agrees before going back in to change. After we've paid for the dresses and find ourselves some heels and clutches we decide to leave. We chat in the car and she rambles on about how happy she is that everyone's going to be at the engagement party.

"Don't be nervous about meeting everyone. They're going to love you, I'm sure of it!" She grins as I drive towards the ranch.

"I'll try not to be. Theo's already reassured me but I think the nerves may kick in again on the night." I joke and she snorts unladylike.

"Don't worry, they're all lovely and so friendly. Michelle, their mother, will be ecstatic that Theo's finally dating someone."

"He didn't date anyone before?" I ask in a surprised tone.

"He said he's been on a few dates like two years ago. Ever since things became busy with the ranch and he got his company running he's never been interested...until a certain someone came into his life!" She teases and I blush fiercely with a small smile. "How's that going by the way?"

"Really good. He's so sweet and thoughtful, always there for Aria too which I appreciate so much. I feel like the luckiest girl." I grin as I park outside the gates to the ranch.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that and if he ever does something stupid remember that I'm only a phone call away!" She winks cheekily before leaning over to hug me. "I'll see you around, probably on the night of the party."

"Thanks Elena, I'll see you then." I chuckle and wave as she hops out of the car and grabs her things.

I sigh happily as I reverse and start my drive towards the university. I'm so happy that I clicked with Elena instantly and she seems like so much fun too. With her reassurance alongside Theo's, I'm sure I'll be just fine when meeting the rest of the family. 

Update schedule is: once a week whenever I find time!

Vote if you are enjoying this story!

Chapter 11 is already up on Inkitt! Click the link in my bio or announcement post to read my book faster!

1. Download the app

2. Follow my profile

3. Put my book in your reading list!

- R.W. ♡