I clasped her hand and shook. “Thanks, ma’am.”
“No ma’aming. I feel old enough with this horde,” she said.
“I can relate,” I responded.
“We’ve already got his daughter’s approval,” Rory said, a shit-eating grin on his lips. I bit back a groan. Meeting his family was stressful enough, without the addition of our significant age gap.
“Oh, you’ve got a daughter?” another guy asked, slender with thick dark hair, glasses, and a sarcastic smirk. He wrinkled his nose. “Sorry, introductions. I’m Cormac’s boyfriend, Felix.”
“She’s twenty-one,” I explained. “I was a young parent.”
My gut clenched, as I waited for the judgment to descend.
Rory’s mom placed a hand on my shoulder. “We’d love to meet her sometime.”
I opened my mouth and then shut it again, floored at the total acceptance. All the hurdles I’d been worried about, had stressed over, dissipated. My own parents had been barely involved while Harper was growing up, doing the holidays and obligations with Harper but not reaching out on their own. And my brothers had been too young to want to be involved. Yet here Rory’s mother was with easy invitations after just meeting me.
Seeing the age range of his siblings soothed me as well. Ollie and Cormac were both in their thirties, like me, and I happened to be familiar with both anyway. It took some of the edge off my nerves.
I bobbed my head. “Harper would love that.”
My chest expanded. The loneliness had been threatening to devour me until the night I met Rory. Bit by bit, he’d dragged me back into the light, where there was warmth and community, and I was so damn grateful for it.
“I came in to say food was ready,” a tall, blond, and somewhat familiar guy said. He scrunched his eyes. “Wyatt?”
I blinked, and a grin lifted my lips. “Hey, Noah.”
“What the fuck,” Rory said, gripping my hand tighter. “Do you know everyone in Kennett Square?”
“Contractor circles,” Noah explained. “Even smaller in a small town.”
A laugh escaped me. I was already feeling far more comfortable here than I’d expected. “Is there some unwritten rule about dating blue collar guys in your family?”
Rory rolled his eyes at me. “You know, the more you compare yourself to my brothers, the less attractive I’m finding you.”
Damn, the temptation to spank his ass roared inside me, and when our eyes met, his sparkled as if he was thinking the same thing.
Cor stepped into the living room as well, which was fast becoming too crowded. “Shit, Wyatt? What are you doing here?”
“See, this. This is ridiculous.” Rory let go of my hand to throw both of his up in the air. “I give up.”
“Oh, should I do that when you know folks at the tattoo convention?” I teased.
“What tattoo convention?” Aislin asked.
Rory shot me a dirty look, but he should be damn proud of his endeavors. God knew, I was.
“Ugh, fine. I’ll be repping Alchemy Ink for piercing at the Philly Tattoo Convention,” he said, scrubbing at his face. Pride thrummed in my chest. It was clear he was only used to joking about the negative,not acknowledging his own accomplishments, but I was happy to remind him.
“And you’re going to be amazing,” I responded, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek.
“Well, damn, that’s sickeningly sweet,” Liam said, his arms crossed.
“Why didn’t you say anything, Rory?” his mom asked, a sharp inquisitiveness in her eyes that suggested she knew but wanted him to explain. Having raised Harper, I was well aware of the tricks.
He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. Not like I’m out there saving lives or have some crazy invention like Dec’s sure to roll out with.”
“Knock that shit off, Rory,” Aislin said, poking him in the chest.
