Love Realized (2 page)

So, to put it simply, it was only immature when her mom called her that. Well, she had always heard that mothers of teenage daughters were expected to battle with them over the littlest things. True to form, they battled just yesterday over the way Gillian yelled too much at Madison’s soccer games. She played soccer for a competitive club team, and there was certainly no way that Gillian could contain her enthusiasm when the team was doing so well. Besides, she knew for a fact that she wasn’t one of those crazy-screaming-for-no-reason-soccer moms that she couldn’t tolerate. She knew this because she had verified this with anyone that she could ask. Talk about being paranoid that your daughter might get upset.

Many other parents, as well as other players, had reassured her that she was not the crazy soccer mom.
This was only the case if you asked her daughter.
God, she hoped she wasn’t like that with her mom.
There really wasn’t anything wrong with her cheering from the sidelines, other than it was just Maddie being a moody teenage girl. Besides, she didn’t think she was doing anything different than when she cheered on the boys’ team, and Jonathan had no problem with that. Just another thing to add to the list she liked to call The-Teenage-Daughter-Hates-Everything-Her-Mother-Does-List.

Unfortunately, Madison recently made the decision to give up her high school soccer career and tried out for cheer instead. Of course, she made the team; she had been doing dance competitions since she was five years old. And while it bummed Gillian out that Madison wasn’t going to be playing soccer at the high school, she quietly did a fist pump, since she was a cheerleader in high school, too. But of course, she kept that bit of information to herself and avoided pointing this out to Maddie. Because
it’s a known fact that the moody teenage girl would definitely change her mind, simply because of that. It was exhausting to step over all the proverbial land mines that her second child placed in front of her. The other battle with her daughter being a cheerleader was Logan acting like the stereotypical father and not wanting his daughter parading around in those short skirts and jumping up and down.

Recalling her conversation with him about Madison making the team made her giggle a bit. Gillian’s reply to his blatant “Hell no” didn’t help her cause at all. Considering her defense was, “Well I was cheerleader,” in which his reply was, “Exactly my point Gillian; I know exactly what I was thinking when I saw you in your cheer uniform each and every time. You think I want all those pimple-faced high school boys thinking that about my daughter … hell no!” And really, her only way to diffuse
the situation was to distract him. Okay, so seduce him was the more appropriate term for it.

She lowered her voice to a seductive whisper and leaned her body against his. She looked up at him through hooded eyelids while her hands rested on his chest and said, “And what exactly was it that you were thinking about when you saw me in
my cheer skirt? Did you like what you saw?” Logan’s low growl, as his lips crashed down on hers, was a firm answer that he liked the thought of her in her cheer skirt. Then she softly whispered in his ear and asked him if he would like to see her in her cheer skirt again sometime; he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. All thoughts of his daughter were surely gone as he proceeded to show Gillian exactly how much he liked the thought of her in her cheer skirt again.

Once that
was taken care of, she was able to focus on other cool aspects of her daughter being on Varsity cheer—first and foremost, when attending the Varsity football games, her daughter would be none-the-wiser that her mom was yelling her support for the school from the stands with all the other parents. The crowds allowed that, and it was another private little victory for Gillian. Small pat on the back for that, considering those are quite rare wherever Madison was concerned.

Rounding out the family, last but not least, the role of little big man belonged to Dylan, who turned eight years old today. She felt her smile get bigger as she watched Dylan playing in the pool with his too long, dark brown hair, which he wanted to grow out. He really needed a haircut, but she felt she could indulge him a little while longer. Dylan was a lot like his older brother
, Jonathan, and certainly idolized everything his brother did. She could only be thankful that he was a great role model; otherwise they would surely have problems.

Dylan also played soccer and had to make sure he wore the same jersey number as Jonathan did or else he wouldn’t play. What else could she say about Dylan other than he loved his Legos, was usually found attached at the hip to his best friend, Ryan, and possessed actual magical powers. That’s right, her son could literally melt his mother’s heart with a smile. He was definitely the perfect conclusion to the family they started so many years ago.

Speaking of good role models …
She caught sight of her oldest as he emerged from the house. “Hey Mom!” Jonathan called toward her as he made his way into the backyard, followed by two of his friends, all wearing their soccer uniforms, having just come from a game. She felt a little guilty for not being able to go to his game, but she knew he understood. She smiled back at him as they made their way over to where she was standing. Jonathan leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, thankfully avoiding hugging her since he definitely smelled like he just came from a game. His friends, Nick and Robby, also leaned in and kissed her, simultaneously, on both cheeks while carefully avoiding the tray she was carrying. They had all been friends since elementary school and had spent plenty of time in her house.

She accepted the kisses and smiled at them. “Hi boys, how was the game? I'm sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mom; I know it’s a rare occurrence for you to miss a game—you’re allowed a free pass every now and then. But you did miss my goal.” Jonathan feigned like he was hurt, but she could see the smile he struggled to hide. “Oh and we won 2-1; it was a tough game.” She congratulated him on the win and ignored his horrible attempt at giving her a hard time and looked to his friends.

“Why don’t you all go in and change out of your gear so you can come and eat. We’re about to put the meat on the grill. But do me a favor, don’t leave all that sweaty gear lying around, we have guests. Last time I couldn’t figure out where the smell was coming from ‘til I found a set of shin guards under the couch.”

“Thanks Mrs. B!” they said in unison as they followed Jonathan into the house to change.

Yes, lucky just wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how fortunate she was to have what she had. Well, maybe she felt that way because she was always the type of person who saw the glass as half full.

Logan, however, her husband of sixteen years, never sees things the same as her. To him, the glass was always half empty. She liked to think that that was what made them so compatible. She was the positive to his negative. Her optimism was the direct contrast to his “worst case scenario” attitude, and in lots of situations, she could apply just a little direction to his overwhelming thoughts and bring him back to level ground. Heck, in some cases, his attitude, coupled with his ability to speak his mind freely, had her diffusing situations in his wake. For instance, when they were out to dinner and the poor waitress got a full dose of Logan-the-ass because he had a bad day. Of course, this always prompted Gillian to give an apologetic look and place a few extra bucks on the table. While she understood and accepted his surly attitude at times because she loved him, she also knew that the girl behind the counter at a coffee shop didn’t have to, and why should she?

No, Logan Baxter had never been accused of being anything less than intense, and with great intensity such as his, he often left her in awe. Unfortunately, Gillian was not the only one Logan had in awe over him. He was definitely
attractive with his light brown hair, eyes that reminded her of blue jeans and nicely tanned skin from all the Southern California activities they took part in. Sadly, and as could be expected, combine his good looks with his inability to realize he had all he needed, there were definitely skeletons in the closet of their marriage. Fortunately, though, they had moved past it, locked up those skeletons, and things were good between them. Oh sure, from time to time those skeletons tried to fight their way out of said closet, but Gillian had made sure it stayed locked up good and tight.

Gillian caught sight of Logan standing by the new backyard bar situated by the pool, which he proudly built with Jonathan
, just for this party. “What better event could there be to finish a bar for than an eight year old’s birthday party,” was Logan’s argument when she questioned why he was doing that instead of what she directly needed accomplished. Statements like that only had her rolling her eyes and walking away, but she was still smiling, though.

She
recalled the look on his face when Logan fed her that line of crap, which was promptly followed by Jonathan rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He stood behind his father, where only Gillian could see him, and directly acknowledged to his mother that he knew his father was a total smartass and completely full of shit. The replay of the memory just made the smile spread across her face again.

As if he heard her thoughts, Logan looked up at her
, and one side of his mouth quirked up into a devilish half smile, while he arched an eyebrow giving her that “how you doing” flirtatious look she loved. And yes, it made her blush and giggle slightly.
That’s right, she’s a giggler.
It always amazed her how he could do that to her. She loved it and got equally irritated by it because she knew there were times he got away with far more than he should have.

There she was standing amongst her party guests
, blushing and smiling like a fool when she had things to be doing. Attempting to focus on her role of hostess, she turned toward the house when a voice rumbled in her ear.

“What’s that smile for, sexy?” Her smile got even bigger. Now the day was perfect; Jake was here. Always falling into the playful banter with one of her oldest and dearest friends was second nature for Gillian. Jake Michaels was always a flirt with her; it stretched all the way back to high school, and it was just part of their relationship. Of course
, it was also easy to do since he was as sweet and sexy as they come.

Tall, dark
, and handsome was certainly a phrase that could easily be used to describe Jake, with his chocolate brown hair and light brown eyes that resembled topaz. And let’s not forget the broad shoulders and chest that sported the perfect proportions for his six-foot two-inch frame. Seriously, she had no idea how she ended up with all these good-looking men in her life? Hell, when they all were indulging in pool time, it looked like freaking spring break, with
real
adult males instead of those still trying to grow chest hair.

Jake leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, which she offered up gladly because
he was easily one of her favorite people. “Just relishing in the joy of all these handsome men in my life,” she said with a wink.

“Well then it’s a good thing I got here, so you really have something to smile about.” Both of them laughed as Jake winked back. Gillian loved that she still had Jake in her life, even after all these years; they always had a good time together.

“Hey, I found some party guests at the front door, and I brought them in for you since they said they rang the doorbell. Hope that’s okay; he says he works with you.”

“Oh, thanks, I didn’t even think about people who aren’t used to just walking into my house like the rest of you guys do,” she said as she nudged him with her hip.

“Well if I announced myself, then you may not let me come over, and then how will I get to have dinner with one of the hottest moms I know.”

Gillian couldn’t contain her giggle
. “Damn Jake, you sure know how to make a girl’s day. Now go check in with the birthday boy, he was looking for his “favorite uncle” earlier. Of course, that always gets under my brother’s skin when he hears Dylan say that.”

Jake laughed out loud at that. “Which is exactly why I have trained Dylan to call me that, just to get under Sean’s skin
… it’s so much fun. How about Ryan, has he been good?”

“He is always good for his favorite aunt. Both boys have been in the pool for hours … the two of them should be sprouting gills
any minute now.”

Ryan was Jake’s son, from a brief marriage to a woman who couldn’t be bothered with settling down with just one man. They divorced when Ryan was only one, after Jake walked in on her with another man. She then followed this man to Florida and didn’t have any problems with
granting Jake full custody of Ryan. Jake loved his son and didn’t want him to be subjected to a woman who couldn’t seem to focus on anyone but herself.

“Hey, we have matching titles: you, the favorite aunt
, and me, the favorite uncle. It’s a wonder the rest of these yahoos ever get paid any attention at all.” Jake smacked her on the ass and walked away to search for Dylan and Ryan while yelling toward the pool, “Has anyone seen the birthday boy? His favorite uncle is here!” Gillian just laughed as she turned around to look where her brother, Sean, was sitting with his wife, knowing that Jake only did that to rile him up. Boys will be boys, regardless of their age.

Turning toward the house, she spotted Adam, her co-worker, standing by the gated entryway to the pool area with
who she assumed was his wife, bent forward talking to their daughter. Gillian quickly tried to recall what her name was, but failed, and hoped he would introduce her
.
When Adam spotted her, he smiled and waved. He looked a little too excited to be there, but she knew that since they had moved to the area recently, they were probably short on friends. Gillian smiled back at him and started to head in his direction, wanting to say hello and welcome them before bringing the burgers and dogs she was carrying over to the grill.