Page 87 of Summer Kisses

Mom nodded. "That's a relief."

"He'll have a place he can call home," I agreed.

"How's the house? Will it be safe for his baby?" Mom asked.

"It has a pool and a hot tub that we can block off with fencing. And we're intending to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms in the next few months."

My mom clasped her hands together. "What about the nursery? I'd love to have everything ready to go for him when that baby is born."

"We can do that too." I needed to find out what color scheme Dalton wanted. I didn't even know if he would find out the gender before the baby was born.

Dad leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. "I'm glad that everything with Dalton is sorted out, but have you seen the article about how Kingston Construction is giving money to causes for their family?"

I let out a breath. "Cooper just mentioned it to me, but I haven't had a chance to read it."

Dad's eyes narrowed. "This is bad publicity. You know how much I hate this. I was right not to trust you with bigger projects. You're too young and immature."

"Elena’s article about our family went viral," I reminded him, my frustration bubbling just under the surface.

"The article and corresponding poll were about which of the Kingston brothers is the most attractive. That's hardly an article that goes after our business, like this one is. Why didn't you think before you gave money to the library? Why didn't you clear it with one of us?"

I sat on the chair across from him. "You always said we could back the projects we believed in, and for me, it was the library. I never thought it would be an issue."

"It's a good program," Mom agreed.

"Why would I ever think that reporters would take something good and twist it?" I asked him.

Dad scoffed. "That's literally a reporter's job."

"They can only make someone look bad if it's true. And we didn't do anything wrong. It's a great program. Before these articles came out, other libraries in the state reached out toHazel to ask for her to come and train them so they could implement the same program."

"That's amazing," Mom said. "Good for Hazel."

"You said articles," Dad pointed out.

I sighed. "There's another article about our relationship."

"Why would they talk about that?"

"Because Hazel and I were never engaged. Not really."

Mom stilled. "She wore a ring. You told us you were engaged."

I told them how Hazel found the ring, tried it on for size, and how I volunteered to be her fiancé because I thought it would help me.

"Why would being engaged help you?" Dad asked.

"I hoped it would gain me some respect. You tend to think I'm immature because I'm the youngest boy. I can't seem to get out of that role in your eyes."

"That's not true," Dad said.

Mom raised a brow. "Isn't it? I've been telling you this about Shep too. You have to give them a chance."

"I don't have to do anything, not when they've destroyed the business's reputation like this. How can I ever turn over the business to you boys when you can't handle it."

Mom touched his hand. "Now, Jonathan. Relax."

"I can't relax when our life is imploding." Then Dad turned his attention to me. "Why would you need to tell everyone you were engaged to Hazel when you weren't?"

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