Savage chuckles and kisses the back of my hand. “She’s fine. She’s just nervous, although I have no idea why.”
“Seriously? No idea? You think meeting the Hawke women isn’t just a little bit intimidating?”
Gabe laughs and opens his door. “Well, she’s got you there. I’m just glad I’m here for the show.” He climbs out, leaving Savage and me alone in the car, and me feeling even worse than I did ten seconds ago.
“Why does he have to be such a prick?”
Laughter fills the car and Savage reaches out to pull my head over to him. He kisses my forehead and then my lips. “Relax. It will be fine. Just remember, Skye will bait you. Don’t take it and you’ll be fine.”
I take a deep breath and nod before I pull away and open my door to climb out. By the time I make it around to the other side of the car, Gabe already has Savage’s chair out and Savage has just settled into it.
A bang draws my attention to the front of the house and a woman I can only assume is Mrs. Hawke is practically running down the front walk toward Gabe. He meets her halfway and she throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face against his chest.
“About goddamn time. Have you been avoiding me, boy?”
She pulls back and looks at Gabe, who offers her a smirk before kissing her gently on the cheek.
“Of course not, Ma, I’ve just been busy the last month.”
Ma? I look to Savage and he shrugs his shoulders before closing the car door. “He was here all the time growing up. She’s really the only mother he’s ever had.”
My heart aches a little picturing a little blond boy with no mom, but seeing Mrs. Hawke and Gabe together now, there’s no doubt he received whatever he needed here, if not at home.
Savage and I make our way up the walkway as Gabe extricates himself from Mrs. Hawke’s stranglehold.
“Oh, and you must be Danika!” She steps over to me and embraces me in a tight hug I certainly am not expecting.
Is this normal? The only people I hug are my mom, my sister, and Caroline…and now Savage.
“Uh, hi, nice to meet you, Mrs. Hawke.”
She pulls back and releases me. “Don’t call me Mrs. Hawke. That makes me feel all of my fifty-five years. Call me Antonia.” With a smile, she pushes past me and leans down to hug Savage. “I’m so glad you could make it and managed to convince Danika and Gabe to come.”
“Me, too, Mom.”
Antonia ushers us into the house and the smell of sautéed garlic hits me, making my mouth water instantly. Whatever she’s making smells amazing. I can’t wait to taste it, and get my hands on a glass or three of wine. Savage assured me there would be wine. God knows I need it.
The Hawkes’ living room is filled with overstuffed furniture and knickknacks on bookcases. It’s not exactly what I expected given what Savage’s place looks like, but I suppose with his anal-retentive orderly nature, he could never stand to live in a place like this as an adult.
I’m ushered into a chair and Savage tells me he’ll be right back and disappears into another room with his mother. Not exactly sure what to do, I twist my hands nervously on my lap and look around. My eyes land on a row of pictures along the mantle. I get up and move over to them.
They are a beautiful family. The earliest pictures show Savage’s dad with all the kids and Antonia. They clearly get their dark hair and olive complexions from their mother and the striking eyes from their father. As I move down the row of photos, Sam Hawke disappears and the kids are older and look even more alike.
The three girls look like they could be triplets in some of the later photos, except one is slightly older and, even though I haven’t met any of them, my eyes wander to one of the twins automatically.
Star.
I don’t know why I know it is her. She looks exactly like Skye, but there’s something in her expression, her smile, that is warming and joyful in a way that the other sister’s lacks. Savage doesn’t talk about her much, and I don’t pry. Other than what he told me about the accident and what I managed to pull out of Gabe during our drunken discussion that night at the club, she’s still a mystery and one I may never really figure out.
“So, you must be Danika.” I turn in the direction of the sharp voice and find Skye standing at the end of the couch with a glass of red wine in her hand. She doesn’t smile and I get the distinct impression she’s trying to be intimidating.
Not gonna work on me, honey.
Taking a step toward her, I extend my hand. “Hi, and you’re Skye, right?”
She looks at my hand but doesn’t take it. Instead, she brushes past me to sit in the armchair next to the couch. I drop awkwardly onto the couch and search helplessly for Savage, but he’s nowhere to be found.
Why the hell did he leave me alone? Fucker!
“So, what’s your deal?”