Chapter 20

Jack was about to leave his office when the phone on his desk rang.

"Hello, son. It's your father speaking. Your mother is very disappointed with you. Did we have to hear from someone else that you got married?" 'And here it goes…'  Jack thought.

"Well, hello to you too, father. What you heard is right…" he was cut off by his father's strict voice.

"I am disappointed too, boy. Is this how we thought you?" 'It's exactly what you thought me,' Jack thought but said nothing, "We expect you for lunch this Sunday. Bring that girl so we can meet her." he never waited for Jack's reply, he cut the call when he said what he had to say.

Jack sighed. The good mood that held him since early morning was now gone. His father, like always, managed to make him feel like a failure with just a couple of words. It was always like that, ever since he was a kid. Nothing he ever did was good enough in his father's eyes.  When he was a child playing around the house, when he was a straight-A student in high school, student of the generation in college, even when he bought the almost bankrupt company and rose it to become worldwide famous, or when he made his first million… every time in his father's eyes he could see a glint of disappointment and a look that said 'it's not good enough'. His mother wasn't better. He can't even remember when was the last time she hugged him or praised him, when she was there for him, when she acted like a mother… it's not like he needed it, not now. He got over his childhood traumas a long time ago. He didn't need them anymore... but it was still an unpleasant memory.

And now he will have to introduce Maggie to them, his sweet, innocent, caring Maggie. Even the mere thought of her made him smile.

He had to admit it to himself, he couldn't suppress it anymore. He was head over heels in love with her. It hit him like a ton of bricks, the realization that he loved her. For sure, it was the first time in his life he felt like this, the first time when he felt like he wanted more from life, from a girl… the first time when he felt like he wanted to be a family with someone.

And he will do everything to make her feel the same for him. He is going to be the best version of himself for her.

Thinking about all this, Jack left instructions to his PA and went straight home.

The first room he checked was the kitchen, but Maggie wasn't there. Nor was there the smell of food that he expected. He went upstairs checking the living room just in case, but she wasn't there either. He went to her room and knocked gently twice, but there was no answer either.

'Where was she?' he wondered but decided to check on his son first, then to find out where's Maggie.

Jack opened the door of the nursery and was stunned by the sight he saw. Maggie was fast asleep in a rocking chair, her arms were securely wrapped around Eric's little body that was lying on her chest. He stood there by the door, unmoving for what seemed like an eternity, just watching them.

It was everything he hoped it would be. Maggie looked like she was right where she was supposed to be, where she belonged. She looked natural holding his son in her arms so protectively even in her sleep that for a second Jack regretted she wasn't his real mother. Then, he would have everything.

Jack watched them for a few more minutes and then silently left the room. He wasn't used to this many emotions, it all swirled inside him from all the joy he was feeling.

He went down to the living room and called Edit. He hasn't seen her anywhere in the house. At first, she didn't answer, but when he called her the second time, Edit picked up and explained that she had an emergency, a fire broke in the neighborhood, and her house was endangered. Maggie offered to stay with the baby, so she rushed over there. Jack made her promise to call him if she needs anything. He decided to make something for lunch since obviously, Maggie didn't. Although he didn't mind it. What she did for his son was more important.

Jack remembered how much Maggie enjoyed the cheese-stuffed pizza last night, so he decided to make some pasta with cheese sauce. He is going to bring some wine from the basement too. He contemplated himself whether he should light some candles and thus make a little romantic dinner for them, but decided against it. He shouldn't push his luck.

The night already started to fall when Maggie came into the kitchen, her hair disheveled, and her eyes sleepy and confused.

"Oh, shoot!" she mumbled as soon as she saw Jack, "I promised you lunch, and then I fell asleep," the tone of her voice was apologetic.

"Hey, no need to be sorry, I made us pasta, and I put a bottle of wine in the fridge."

"Oh." His words stopped her in her track, "You can cook?"

"Don't sound so surprised. I have lived alone since I was nineteen. I can make some basic dishes." He chuckled.

"I'll just go freshen up quickly," Maggie excused herself and went upstairs. She was still a little drowsy from the sleep, and her back was stiff. Eric woke her up by pulling on her hair. She warmed up the formula in the warmed and gave it to him, and as soon as he burped, she placed him back in the crib. And now Jack… she didn't know what to think.

Until Maggie returned, Jack warmed up the pasta, and he poured wine in the glasses and was waiting for her at the table.

"So, your mother will be here in the city hospital around noon. I was thinking that I could drive you there and meet your mother too…" he said between his bites, testing her a bit.

"Yeah. I guess we have to do that too." Jack was surprised by how much he could hardly wait to meet the woman who brought Maggie to this world.

"What did you do today?" he questioned, wanted to hear about what she did, and to delay talking about his parents and the upcoming lunch.

Maggie told him where she went and about the things she bought and what she planned to do with her free time, and he listened to her carefully.

"We will have a busy schedule in the next month or so. We are invited to dinner at Robert's next week, and there is The Annual Business Gala two weeks from now. I will be organizing a party at my company too, and there are a few company parties we will have to attend. And we also have lunch at my parents' house on Sunday." He informed her reluctantly.

"Why do you sound like it's the worst thing in the world?" she asked, not knowing what to think of it. It can't be that bad, can it?

"You have to be warned, Maggie… they won't like you. And it's not about you particularly; every other girl would have the same treatment. They will ask you inappropriate questions, and they will try to make you feel bad about yourself like you are not worth to be my wife." He saw that he made her uncomfortable with what he just said, she gulped her wine nervously, "But you have to believe me, there is not a person in this world that I would rather have here than you. No matter what anyone says." this made her blush profusely. Jack liked her cheeks flushed like this, she obviously wasn't used to compliments. Even better, he thought, even better.