Page 114 of Nathan
Nathan smiled. “Say hi back.”
“Nathan is excited to meet you too. Maybe I can bring him for Thanksgiving.”
“Thanksgiving is so far away, Sydney, you should come home for Halloween. You used to love Halloween, and Lola’s boys are going to be dressed up this year. We’re taking them out to trick or treat for the first time.”
I smiled at the thought. “I’m not making any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”
When I finished my call with my mom and put down my phone, Nathan took my hand. “Is she still mad?”
I lifted my brow. “It seems that my family has had a change of heart.”
“Wow. Because of the article?”
“Yes.”
Nathan leaned his head to one side. “Tell me the truth. Did you pay Kevin to write that article?”
“No! That’s not how serious journalism works.”
“But you had something to do with it, didn’t you?”
I brushed my hair back. “Denise and I wanted to explore ways to clear your name. She hired investigators to look into Joe Gomez’ past, but we never expected them to find something as dramatic as they did. I remembered the female comrades you had talked about and gave Lucille Baker the information I had. She did an excellent job at interviewing the women, and the part about Storm being gay you delivered to me with that picture you sent. Kevin used other resources to verify it.”
“But how did you get someone like Kevin Davis to write the story in the first place?”
“That was all Denise. She sold him on the idea that someone ought to shine a light on the loss of social responsibility that modern-day technology has caused. Kevin’s article was meant as a call for civility online.”
Raising his wine glass, Nathan looked into my eyes. “Thank you for defending my honor.”
Clinking my glass against his, I felt warm and bubbly inside. “You’re welcome.”
After drinking, I put my glass down. “My family wants to meet you. My mom invited us for Halloween. It’s the first time my little nephews are going trick or treating.”
“I’m in!”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. I’d love to experience a real American Halloween, and I want to meet my future in-laws.”
“Your future in-laws, huh?” I couldn’t stop smiling. “Are you going to bring up Vegas again?”
“Not tonight, but you’d better get used to the idea that I want the whole package with you.”
A Marvin Gaye song played in the background, and the wine was giving me a lovely buzz. “That’s what I’m hoping for,” I said and squeezed his hand.
“Halloween isn’t until next month. I want to know what we’re doing after New York. How about you come back to Ireland with me for a week or two? You can meet my family, and I can show you all the things you missed when you came to Ireland the last time.”
“Like your apartment?”
“Yes.” Nathan was grinning. “And the touristy things. I took Jolene to see a castle. She loved it!”
“How do you think your family will feel about you dating an American? There seems to be quite a few already, with your adoptive parents being from the US too.”
“I can’t imagine they care one bit where you’re from. Jolene is an American too.”
“I feel like I know about everyone in your family, but if we go back to meet them this week, I want to be sure I remember all their names. Liv is married to Charles, and they have a little girl called Pepper.”
“No.” Nathan laughed. “My sister’s name is Saffron.”
