Cree looked at him with a shy smile that was so not like her, but it was adorable to see vulnerability in her eyes.
She turned her attention to the men in her family. “Tristan and I are a couple.”
Cree cleared her throat. It seemed so foreign to introduce her family to a boyfriend, and not just any boyfriend, but the man she was in love with. The last time she brought anyone home to meet her parents was senior prom, and the only reason she’d done it then was because her father insisted.
Now here she was, her nerves on edge as three of the most important men in her life looked at her in surprise.
Zion crossed his arms and grinned. The former cop turned security specialist had always tried playing a big brother role with his four sisters. He didn’t seem to care that he was actually the baby in the family, and right now, she was fairly sure he was about to say something stupid.
“Well, well, well, somebody finally landed my stubborn, hard-to-get-along-with, take no bullshit, sister. Tristan, man, I hope you know what you’re getting into.”
Cree punched her brother in the arm. “Shut up.”
“Ow! Damn, Cree.”
“Language, boy,” their father said to Zion, then turned his gaze to Tristan. “I guess that means we’ll be seeing you around here often. Good. I look forward to getting to know you.”
“What my brother means is, you fuck around and hurt her, you’ll be dealing with us,” her Uncle Idris said while hiking up his pants, the ones being held up by old suspenders. “I don’t give a damn who you are or how fast you can run. I don’t even care how many MVPs you have or how many NFL records you’ve broken. I also don’t care how many millions you have in the bank. Hurt my niece, and I’ll hunt you down and kick your ass.”
Her uncle said all that with a straight face, then dropped down into his seat and picked up his beer.
Cree bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to laugh, but when she glanced at Tristan, and the way his eyebrows almost reached his scalp, she burst out laughing. Tristan and Zion joined in, but their father just frowned and shook his head.
“Like I said, Tristan, don’t pay my brother any attention.”
Zion snorted. “Uncle Idris isn’t the one he should be worried about. Cree chew men up and spit them out before they even know what happened.”
A twinge of guilt pierced Cree in the chest at the truth in those words. Hadn’t she done just that to Tristan years ago? What was to keep her from reacting before thinking the next time they had a disagreement? Because she knew there’d be a next time. That’s how she was wired. Fight first and ask questions later.
Tristan slipped his arm around her and placed a kiss against her temple. “I’m not worried. Cree’s it for me, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said as if reading her mind.
God, this man. He really was perfect for her, and if anyone could put up with her prickliness, it was Tristan.
“Glad to hear that,” her father said, nodding in approval. “Grab a seat, young man, and watch the rest of the game with us. Want a beer?”
“Sure. That would be great,” Tristan said, and when Cree’s father started for the kitchen, she stopped him.
“I’ll get it, Dad.”
While in the kitchen, Cree’s heart swelled as conversation between the men flowed easily. They pulled Tristan into their group as if knowing him forever, and it didn’t take long for trash talking to start as they tuned back into the game.
A roar of laughter boomed through the house, and Cree smiled. Why had she been so worried to introduce Tristan to the family? Anyone who spent time with him learned quickly that he was one of the good guys. The man could charm the grumpiest person, but more than that, he genuinely loved people.
In hindsight, Cree wished she had introduced him to her family years ago, even before she married him. Maybe then she would’ve thought twice about walking away from Tristan. Instead, there’d only been Essence to tell her that she was being too rash. That she shouldn’t divorce her husband after one disagreement.
Since no one else in her family knew about her and Tristan, there’d been no one, like her dad, to tell her to take a breath before making a life-altering decision. He had often been her confident, gently guiding her with his quiet strength and wisdom.
But not then. Not when she’d needed him the most. All because she hadn’t let anyone in. She had kept her business to herself.
So, when her marriage ended and her life crumbled around her, Dad hadn’t been there for her. He hadn’t been able to tell her that she shouldn’t walk away from the man she loved, especially without a fight. He couldn’t hold her in his comforting arms and tell her that everything would be okay. All because he hadn’t known her world had fallen apart.
“You and Tristan Whitmore, huh?”
So caught up in her thoughts, Cree hadn’t heard Zion enter. “Yes,” she said absently and set the beers on the counter.
Her little brother, who wasn’t all that little at over six feet tall and two hundred pounds, had truly matured over the last few months. It was cool watching him grow into the role of loving husband and father. Not only had he married the mother of his children, twins he hadn’t known about until recently, but he gave up his job as a cop. Wanting something safer, he changed careers to become a security specialist with a company that provided personal protection to the rich and famous.
“How’d you and Tristan meet? How long have you been dating? I’m shocked the news hasn’t made it to the media, especially since reporters were hounding him like crazy during his recovery. At least before he announced his retirement.”
