“Woah, those are gorgeous, Mama. Thank you.” I offer them a genuine smile. Usually I would stand to greet them, but clearly that’s not an option right now.
She beams at me, “Oh, these aren’t from me, Lelonie. They were sitting in front of your door.”
Papa, who looks extra grumpy this afternoon, grumbles out, “There’s no card, Kostbarkeit. I don’t like it.”
A laugh bubbles out of me involuntarily, “They’re probably from Mac, Papa. Calm down.”
“Mac? As in Mac Byrne? Why in God’s name would that calm me down? Why is that boy sending you flowers?” If I didn’t know better, I would say that my big bad father waspoutingright now.
“Probably because we’re friends, and we’ve hung out a few times recently. He also stayed the night last night. All things that I know you know, seeing as I have a detail.”
Annie’s laughing on the other side of the couch. Little traitor thinks it’sso funnywhen I’m the one under fire. That’s fine, I’ll get her back.
“He stayed the night?” Mama’s smirk makes me giggle. She’s smelled gossip, and now she’s honed in on it. A trait she’s passed on to Annie and me.
Before I can answer, my Papa dramatically throws his hands up, “That’s it, I can’t listen to this.” He stomps over and places the gentlest of kisses on the top of my head, a total contradiction to the fit he just threw. He mumbles quietly into my hair, “You need to rest, sweetheart. Give her only the bare minimum, then take a nap. She tells me everything, and I’d rather not know some stuff.” Straightening back up, he winks at me before turning to Annie and repeating the process. Once he’s satisfied his ‘girls’ are okay, he turns back to Mama with the same annoyed face he walked over with.
“I’m leaving. I need to pour bleach into my ears.”
Mama smiles fondly at him. Always amused with his theatrics, “It’s under the sink in the kitchen. Make sure you don’t make a mess.”
“This is all just a big joke to you, darling? There’s aboy.Not just a boy, but aByrne boy.”He sneers at the mere thought that his child may spend her time with a Byrne. Such a contradiction, seeing as he was really good friends with Mac’sDa, which is why Jakob and Declan became friends in the first place. All that was fine, but put hisKostbarkeitwith a Byrne, and it’s game over. So dramatic.
“Lukas, don’t act like you weren’t great friends with Adian Byrne. Declan practically lived at our house until the boys were teens, and even when he stopped staying over as much, Jake went over there. Mac’s a good boy. He’s smart and kind. Lelonie is an adult. If she wants to get to know Mac again and trusts him, well then that’s just not our business.” She moves in front of my Papa and cups his face in her hands. He leans into her touch, which makes me smile. This is how my parents are, they never have shied away from loving each other in front of us.
“She’s just a few months shy of twenty-three, handsome. She isn’t that thirteen year old little girl anymore. Lelonie is perfectly capable of making her own sound decisions, and do you want to know why I’m so confident in that?”
He rests his forehead on hers, “Why’s that, Mein Lieber?”My love.
“Because she has had the best Papa. You taught her to make good choices and to protect herself. You taught her that no matter what, she can always come to us, even if the problem seems like a mountain too high for any of us to climb. Lukas, you have prepared her as well as the boys and Annie for adulthood. You have to trust them to let them be adults.”
I smile watching them. They really are the perfect match. Turning my attention away from them to give them their private moment, I can’t help but long for that. I want a love like theirs one day, someone who will stand by me through it all, raise babies together, and grow old. Only I don’t know how much of that I can give someone else. None of that mayeven be possible. So instead I’ll read about it in my romance books and catch glimpses of it out in the world when I’m lucky enough to.
15
Chapter Fifteen
Mac
Iangrily run my hands through my hair as I listen to Declan and Rowan fight over some meeting they have later. I need to get back to my computer, but I can’t until Roe callsthismeeting. The door to my brother’s office must not have completely closed because right as I stand to tell them both to shut the fuck up, Rowan’s wife walks in the room. My ass instantly finds my seat again. Clara’s scary when she’s mad, and I’m not going to be the one in her path today. Kieran and I sit quietly as we watch her approach a still-yelling Rowan from behind.
“Your way is fucking stupid. Are you trying to put us at risk here? I’m not fucking up a business relationship with a man we’ve known our whole lives because you’re bitter.” Rowan roars, His jaw ticks in anger.
“You know that’s not what the fuck this is. I have nothing tobe bitter about, especially when it comes to a fucking Fischer. We just can’t trust them.” Declan practically snarls.
I’m personally confused on why Jakob is all of a sudden bothering him so much. Their friendship ended years ago. I’m also about to put him on his ass for talking shit about Lee. She’s a fucking Fischer too. Apparently Clara is thinking the same thing, because she wraps her arms around Rowan from behind and gently squeezes before peeking around his broad back to look at Declan.
“They’ve done nothing wrong, and you’re being irrational. Your feelings are valid, don’t get me wrong. At the same time, we wouldn’t tell Rhett to not be friends with someone because the kid’s brother hurt Rhett’s feelings before.”
“We should, punk kid.” Declan grumbles.
Rowan pulls Clara so she’s safe in his arms. He’s been like this basically since they first met. Always has to be touching her.
“Dec, you’re being ridiculous. Jakob isn’t even in those meetings. He owns and runs a bar. I have plans tomorrow so I really need you to keep it together and run point on this for me.”
Clara’s head is just resting on Rowan’s chest. Her eyes are closed, and her face is relaxed. I don’t know how else to describe it aside from she’s safe and in her happy place right now. Rowan has her tucked in close, his chin lying on top of her head as he stares down our brother.
“Why aren’t you coming with me?” Gone is the pissed off Declan, and in his place is the concerned brother. Declan loves hard. It’s his superpower and his biggest weakness. So when we all feel the sudden shift in the air, he sits more on edge than the rest of us.
