“What?” I ask in a daze.

His head is back, his eyes are closed, and his jaw is tight. “Off,” he commands, and I frown out of confusion. “Off, babe,” he growls.

I scurry off of his lap and go to stand near my fridge with my arms crossed over my chest. The wetness from his mouth on the shirt makes it hard to focus as it rubs across my nipples.

“I’ll be back,” he mutters and leaves without even looking at me. I stand there confused for a few moments, not understanding what the hell just happened then look down when Juice rubs against my legs and meows like he’s confused as well.

I pick him up and carry him back to my room, dumping him on the bed before heading to the shower replaying everything that just happened while trying to figure out what I missed. Once I’m dressed, I head for the door when the bell rings. I expect it to be Wes, and my pulse speeds up when I see my mom standing on the other side of the door.

“Shit,” I whisper swinging the door open.

“Hey, Mom.” I smile.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, frowning.

“What? Nothing, I just got out of the shower.”

“You have never been a good liar, honey.” She shakes her head and drops her purse onto the couch. “So what’s going on?” She crosses her arms over her chest and taps her foot.

I’m just about to cave into her Jedi mind tricks and spill about Wes, when the door opens. I watch in slow motion as Capone barks and runs past me. Lifting my head my gaze collides with Wes’. His eyes drop to my mouth and his hand wraps around my waist as he dips me backward, kissing me hard and stealing my breath. “Hi,” He says against my lips before standing me upright.

“That explains a lot,” I hear my mom say, and I pull my stare from Wes and look at her.

“Um.” I look from my mom to Wes.

“Wes Silver.” He sticks out his hand that isn’t wrapped around my waist and shakes my mom’s hand.

“November Mayson, July’s mother.” She smiles, and Wes’ head dips so he can look at me.

“I also have four sisters. June, May, December and April.” I tell him, then press my lips together when I see him smile.

He shakes his head then looks at my mom again. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Ma’am, huh?” Mom looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

“Wes is—”

“Her man,” he cuts me off, stepping fully into the house and shutting the door behind him.

“Her man,” my mom whispers, looking between the two of us.

Her mouth opens, but I cut in before she can say anything else. “Did you need anything else, Mom?”

She blinks like she’s coming out of a daze then looks at me and smiles. “I was planning on having your dad’s birthday get-together this weekend.”

Oh, crap! My dad. I love my dad. My dad loves me. But I know my dad, and there is no way he will approve of Wes. No way.

“You should bring your man.” My mom smiles looking between the two of us.

“Wes will be busy,” I explain then narrow my eyes when hers light up, I can tell she’s loving this.

“Will I?” Wes asks, and I turn to look at him. He raises an eyebrow as he searches my face.

I take a breath and look at my mom. “Can I call you later?” I ask pleading with my eyes and her face softens as she cups my cheek.

“Sure, honey.”

I really do have the best parents. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Well, Wes Silver, it was nice meeting you,” my mom says, picking up her bag.

“You too, Mrs. Mayson,” Wes replies.

My mom glances at me, and I see a look pass through her eyes that I don’t quite understand, but then she turns to look at Wes and smiles again. “Call me November,” she tells him, and when he nods, her eyes come to me and they go soft. “Call me, honey,” she says softly, and I feel my throat contract with emotion and I close the distance between us as I give her a hug. “I’m always here,” she whispers into my ear, and those words offer me a comfort I didn’t even know I needed.

I nod and step away then follow behind her as she leaves, waving at her as she pulls out of the driveway. As soon as she’s out of sight, I head inside, go to the kitchen, grab an onion out of the fridge, a knife and the cutting board, and begin chopping it up.

“You wanna talk about what’s going on up here?” Wes asks, running a hand over my head while pressing into my back, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Nope,” I reply, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. I don’t know why this is causing me so much stress. I have never hid a relationship with anyone from my family or my father, and if I’m honest with myself, the reason I’m afraid of my father meeting Wes is I want my dad to approve of him. Well, maybe not approve. I don’t know that my dad will ever approve of any man I decide to be with.

“Your mom seems nice,” he says, placing a kiss under my ear.

“She is.”

“Were you serious about the names?” he asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

I turn and look over my shoulder at him, my stomach fluttering when I realize just how close he is. “My mom’s mom named her November because she didn’t want to even bother to look for a name for my mom, and it was November when she was born. My dad loves my mom and wanted to turn the memory of her name into something good, so he named all of us girls after the month we were born.”