“Don’t count on it,” Amanda said darkly. “They live to run us ragged.” She sipped her margarita. “Gabriel is happy, right? I don’t know if he ever expects to see our parents, but…” She shrugged. “I haven’t told them he’s been to visit, or even that he’s here now. I’m still so angry with them. We both are.”
“He hasn’t mentioned wanting to see them. And I haven’t asked. He’s having such an amazing time, and I know he’s thrilled to be able to have this relationship with you all now.”
Her smile was wistful. “I love him. He seems like such a good person, you know?”
I met her smile with one of my own. “Yeah. I do. He’s very special; he means everything to me.”
I heard the patter of running feet, and a dripping Gabriel sat next to me while the two little girls jumped on Amanda. All the boys stayed in the pool with Marshall.
“Having fun?” Gabriel kissed my neck and reached for my burger. “Let me have a bite.”
“No way. Get your own. Just ’cause I love you doesn’t mean I’m sharing my food.”
“Mommy says we’re supposed to share,” Lizzy told me. “I share my toys with Tori.”
“That’s ’cause you’re a good girl,” I said. “Always listen to Mommy.”
“Is Uncle Ronan a bad boy?” little Victoria piped up, and Amanda giggled.
“I was wondering that myself.” Her gaze wandered over my tattoos. “Those are beautiful. Did it hurt over your scars?”
I froze. “Scars?” How did she see them?
“I used to work in a dermatologist’s office. I’ve seen tattoos used to cover up skin damage all the time.”
“Mommy, I wanna go back in the pool.” Lizzy wiggled off the chair, and little Victoria of course followed.
“Me too.”
“Go ahead, but tell Daddy before you jump in so he can watch you.”
David, her husband, sat in a blow-up float and paddled over to where the two little girls stood at the edge of the kidney-shaped pool. Once they were safely in the shallow end, Amanda refocused on me. Gabriel had wiped off the water and put his hand on my shoulder.
“We’ve never talked about how you two met. The first trip was all about getting to know Gabriel, but I’d love to know more about you, Ronan.”
I took another sip of beer and set the bottle on the table between us, stalling to gather my swirling thoughts. I liked these people a lot and wanted them to think I was good enough for Gabriel. First impressions were lasting ones.
“Mommy, come and play with us,” the children yelled out, and I couldn’t help but feel relieved when Amanda stood to leave.
“I’d better go in with them. But we can talk later, after dinner when they go to bed.”
“Sure. No problem.” I gave a faint smile and watched as she jumped into the pool to join her family. She played with Tori, who had her floaties on, and David had Stevie on his shoulders while helping Lizzy practice her kicking. They all turned to me and waved.
“Why are you upset?” Face to the sun, Gabriel lay with his hands behind his head, the water droplets glittering on his tanned skin. Since we’d arrived in California two days ago, he’d laughed more than I’d ever seen in the year I’d known him. I loved that he fit so seamlessly into the lives of his brother and sister. Seeing his face when the kids called him Uncle Gabriel, the shock and pure joy, was worth all the money I had in the bank. I wanted to give this man, who’d never believed he deserved anything, the world. The moon and stars. Forever.
“It’s because Amanda wants to talk about how we met.” I couldn’t meet his eyes. “I don’t want to lie, but I’d hate to disappoint them.”
“Why would you?” His brows pulled together. “I’m not following.”
“Have you forgotten where I spent six years?” I lowered my voice and shifted closer to him. “I’m a felon,” I hissed. “They might not want someone like me around their family.”
“Someone like you?” Exasperation laced Gabriel’s voice. “How many times have we had this conversation over the past months? If you don’t plan to clear your name—and I understand why you won’t—I’m all for telling them the truth. No one would fault you in the sacrifice you made for your sister. And while you may never have a good relationship with Marty again, he’s making a good attempt to keep up his loan payments, right?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. Cassie and I are slowly making our way back to where we used to be, and that’s the most important thing. Marty and I are cordial at best, and it’s probably not going to get much better, but I can’t worry about it. Time will tell.”
He squinted at me. “What’s really the issue?”
“I’ll probably have to start from the beginning.” Morose, I couldn’t even enjoy the beautiful, lush, green lawn rolling out in front of me or the pink bougainvillea bushes running the length of the fenced-in property. “I like them. I don’t want them to think badly of me and for that to cause you problems.”
