Page 81 of Late to Love

“Of course, Darcy Belle,” Mom chides him. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

“Was what obvious?” Dad asks.

“That they’re dating,” Mom answers, then looks at me. “Right?”

“Yes,” I confirm. “But it’s not just dating. It’s…” I trail off, my instinct to keep it to myself rearing its head. But no. That’s what got me here. “It’s more than that. I love her. A lot. She’s it for me.” If she’ll still have me, that is. But I keep that part to myself.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Mom prods.

“Because I’m an ass.” I shift to look at her, but make sure that Dad knows I’m speaking to him, too. “And Darcy made sure I knew it.”

“You’ve been an ass your whole life,” Levi grumbles.

“I know that now.”

“Now? You justnowknow it?” Ox’s jaw drops, and even though his tone is teasing, there’s real hurt in his eyes.

“I just now realize how much of it was hurtful,” I clarify. “And I’m going to work on it,” I promise, then gesture at Levi’s eye. “But you deserved that.”

He lifts a shoulder and offers a small smile. “It’s fine. Besides, it’s good to see I gave just as good as I got.”

The joke breaks the tension, and I give my attention back to Mom and Dad. “Darcy made sure I understood that I’ve got some things to work through, but I’ll start by saying how sorry I am for the way I’ve acted.”

Mom pats my leg and Dad nods. “Good,” he answers. “Because you’ve hurt your mother’s heart more times than I can count.”

The directness of his words hit home, and my throat tightens. Looking directly into her eyes, I apologize. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’ve been a self-centered prick?—”

“Your entire life,” she interjects. “Not just since the twins came home.”

My lips twitch up. “Really?”

She nods, but then says, “No, not really—but it was fun to see how seriously you took it just now.”

“Oh-ho, Mom’s got jokes!” Ox laughs.

“Butwe have our own apologies to make,” she continues, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. “We’re your parents. There are a lot of things we could have done, could havesaid, to do better by you.”

“Like telling you how proud we were of you for all your accomplishments,” Dad says, drawing my attention to him. “Coming to more of your college games.”

“Those were expensive,” I interject.

“We could have saved up,” Mom replies. “And we should have reached out more once you came home.”

Dad nods. “I’m sorry, son. It was unforgiveable.”

My throat tightens. What was it that Darcy said?Did you ever think that maybe it’s a two-way street?She was right. Again. “It’s not unforgiveable,” I manage to say past the lump in my throat. “We all played a part.”

Mom grins mischievously. “You really did complain a lot. Your brothers never did, but you?”

We all guffaw. “Mom,” Levi wheezes, “weallcomplained.”

“The summers with no electricity?” Ox reminds her.

Mom waves us away. “That wasonesummer?—”

“Two,” I correct.

“Fine. Two summers, but it was only a week at a time, and we just made it an adventure,” she huffs.

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