Page 92 of 12 Months of Mayhem

Their teen daughter Kadey appeared next, jabbing him with her finger in his ribs. “He’s working on his dad bod,” she teased, darting out of reach just as Hawk attempted to hook her into a headlock.

She raced around behind me, grinning at him from a protective distance.

He smirked and pointed a finger at her. “For someone who has a birthday coming up, that’s an awfully smart mouth you’ve got there, kid.”

Kadey stuck her tongue out in response, and I couldn’t help but laugh, shaking my head at their antics. “All right, all right. Can we dial it back to, I don’t know, slightly less chaotic?”

Missy’s eyes lit up, a devilish smile spreading across her face as she ignored me entirely. “Ooooh,” she sing-songed, leaning her hip against the counter. “Shay mentioned your boyfriend was joining us today. Is that why you’re all flustered?”

I froze, every word after “boyfriend” blurring into a low buzz as my heart slammed against my ribs. I hadn’t mentioned this fact to my father or any of the boys yet, but I could imagine the heat in my cheeks was immediate and damning.

Dad snorted and shook his head. “That’s gonna be a no from me.”

“Dad…” I warned, trying to regain some semblance of control over the conversation, but it was too late. Hawk leaned back in his chair, smirking like he’d just won the lottery.

“Does this boyfriend have a name?” Hawk asked, chuckling as Missy swatted at him.

“Or maybe a death wish?” my father added under his breath.

“Ignore them,” Missy said loudly, hitting each with a narrowed warning glare. “Shay said he’s lovely, so I can’t wait to meet him.”

My heart beat a little faster, already feeling the uncomfortable tension in the air. Adrian was going to be the first man I’d ever brought home to meet my family, and this situation right here, was the exact reason why no one else had ever made the cut. The truth was, we’d been dating for a couple of months, and while we were taking things slow—at my request—I figured I had to pull the pin at some point and see what the hell happened.

With my family, it was all about earning their respect, but he had to be given the opportunity to do that if I was going to figure out if this relationship was going anywhere.

“Right. We’re sure he’s lovely,” Hawk scoffed, shaking his head like it was a curse word.

“Hawk, shut up,” Missy warned, swatting at him.

I sighed, wiping my hands on a dish towel and holding my hands out. “Okay, look… I get it’s been sprung on you guys, and we all know he doesn’t fit the mold we have here, but he has been very kind to me, so if we could just suck it up for one day, please?”

He’s been very kind to me.

Fucking hell, what a way to sell it.

This morning, I woke up confident in my decision to finally have Adrian meet the most important people in my life. Sure, I knew the risks—my family wasn’t exactly subtle when it came to their opinions—but I’d convinced myself he could handle it.

Adrian wasn’t from the same walk of life as us. He was a banker. A sharp dresser. A man who spent his days in boardrooms and his nights reading financial forecasts. He wore Louis Vuitton instead of leather, and the closest he’d ever come to grease was a little in his hair to keep it styled.

But he was thoughtful. Intelligent. Caring. And I liked him.

That had to count for something, right?

I wasn’t nervous about what my family might say or do to him.

Not at all.

“We’ll be nice to the guy, okay?” Dad growled, pulling me from my daydream. His stern scowl had softened, though just slightly, but it was enough to take my racing heart down a few notches.

“You promise?” I asked skeptically.

“Fucking cross my heart and hope to fly.”

“Die,” Kadey corrected him with a quiet chuckle, shaking her head as she gathered the table settings from the cupboard, ready to take them out onto the porch where we always ate buffet style. “The saying is, cross my heart, hope to die.”

Dad shrugged, his lips twitching as if he was fighting a smile. “Whatever. Same thing.”

Missy leaned against the counter, her arms crossed, watching the exchange with an amused smile. “Well, at least we’re aiming for niceties. That’s a start.”

---