Page 48 of Matched By Mistake
“Exactly,” Jericho’s mom agreed. They finished getting the side dishes together and went out to sit down to eat.
Maggie and Jericho weren’t alone in keeping the conversation going. It seemed their moms were just as interested in smoothing things between the families and Maggie almost laughed when her dad turned to Jericho’s and started talking about football. He was a huge Cowboys fan. Turned out Joseph was as well.
And though they hadn’t talked about the past or the rivalry, Maggie felt steps had been taken to move them away from the past and toward the future. A future, she thought as she felt Jericho’s hand on her thigh under the table, that would definitely involve the two of them.
Fourteen
After dinner had been cleared away, they moved to the seating area around the firepit. The weather this time of year wasn’t really cool at night, but it had a nice ambiance. Maggie was surprised at how well the conversation had been going during dinner, and when Jericho served some after-dinner drinks and pulled her onto his lap in an armchair close to the love seat where his parents were sitting, she noticed his mom smiled at them.
She put her arm around his shoulders and looked down into his dark brown eyes. The knowledge that she loved him flooded her and she felt so hopeful that this time she had a man she could count on and trust.
“So Dad, Fernando and Preston have a revolutionary idea for an environmentally friendly way to heat and cool homes,” Jericho said. “I’ve been working on refining their design for them.”
Jericho hugged her close as he said it, and she noticed he held his body in a slightly tense way. She held her breath. Jericho working with her dad had really been something she wasn’t anticipating, but it had for the first time made her truly understand that no matter how standoffish her father was, he did love her. But bringing up that project tonight... Maggie had no idea how her father would react.
Fernando took a sip of his after-dinner drink and looked over at her and Jericho, and she saw a slight smile on his face as he sat back and put his arm around her mom.
“Your son has some good ideas, but we are both struggling with a way to make it at a price point that will actually be affordable,” Fernando said.
She squeezed Jericho’s shoulders. She knew her man was good at what he did. She’d seen the Winters Expo Center and countless other designs he’d shared with her since they’d been spending so much time together. Jericho wasn’t just talented, he was constantly looking for ways to use his knowledge and skills to make things better. It seemed to her he was a man with his eye on the future.
“Winters Industries might be able to help with that,” Joseph said with one of those nods that older men sometimes did to reinforce a point. “Maybe it’s time we stopped working against each other and combined our resources.”
Maggie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew the feud was something that both families had almost relished. She could remember the tension when her and Jericho’s names were announced on the k!smet app. What would Royal do if their favorite feuding families weren’t? But that thought was tongue-in-cheek. She had been sort of hoping for this since she realized how deep her feelings for Jericho were. And that she wanted him in her life.
“I like the sound of that. I’ve seen what the Winterses have to offer by my discussions with Jericho. I’d really enjoy expanding them.”
“Good, I already mentioned the idea to Trey,” Jericho said to his father. “He’s onboard with investing in the product.”
“I’ll need to see more before I can just sign off, but I really don’t see why we can’t figure out something that will work for both of our families,” Joseph said.
“This calls for champagne,” Maggie’s mom said. “We’re going to have a toast and seal the deal.”
“Without lawyers?” Fernando asked.
“Definitely without lawyers,” Gayle said. “You two should shake on it.”
Jericho nodded. “Should we photograph it, Mom, just in case?”
Joseph laughed, shaking his head. “With you two as witnesses I don’t think we’ll need any other proof.”
He held his hand out to Fernando and her father leaned in to shake it. “Might be nice to do business together. Really use our influence on the direction of the industry in this town.”
Maggie got up off Jericho’s lap. “I’ll go get that champagne.”
Camille and her mom helped by getting the champagne flutes. Over the last few years, Maggie had stopped keeping champagne in the house, though it had been her habit. She’d just felt like there was nothing that she’d be celebrating. But when she’d done her grocery shopping this week, she’d put two bottles in the cart just in case.
She smiled as she uncorked the champagne. That was another in a million little things that she’d abandoned when she’d been dumped. Looking back, it seemed like she should have known better than to let Randall steal that much of who she was. But at the time... Well, at the time she hadn’t been able to see anything but the broken dreams and the hurt.
She couldn’t help herself but think, as she watched her parents and Jericho laughing and talking on her patio, that this was something she wouldn’t have anticipated. She thought she’d had a plan for her future all mapped out and one man had destroyed it. Or rather she’d let him destroy it.
Jericho glanced up and quirked one brow at her and she smiled. One man had changed everything. He hadn’t asked her to marry him or tried to pressure her family into investing in anything. He’d just come into her life with his easy smile and hot, rocking body and changed everything.
She filled the glasses and they had a toast. As she let the bubbly wine sit on her tongue for a second before closing her eyes and making a wish before swallowing, she knew what she was wishing for. And the truth was at this moment she had her wish. Things that she’d never knew were important to her suddenly were. Tonight she was in love, and for the first time in a very long time, she believed that there was such a thing as happily-ever-after and Mr. Right.
And she’d found him through a dating app. A part of her was astounded by that. When she opened her eyes, Jericho was watching her, and he didn’t say anything, just walked over to her and pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
Jericho had a late meeting and Maggie had been vague about her plans, but he thought she’d gone to Dallas with some friends, so Jericho was for the first time in a while on his own. Trey was busy doing something with his son, and his brother Marcus had texted to see if he wanted to meet up for a drink, which Jericho agreed to. Marcus was definitely the black sheep of the family, but that was only as far as the business was concerned. Like Jericho, Marcus had found his own path. He was an expert at networking and using social media to get results and more than once Jericho had turned to his brother for help in that area.
