Originally, I’d wanted to wait until Quentin had the council’s official stamp of approval, but Mum and Dad deserved to meet the woman I would marry.
I raised my hand to knock on the door, but Quen grabbed it before I could. The panic was written across her face, and I pulled her in, hugging her tight.
“I’ll be with you the entire time,” I assured her, placing her back on the ground.
“How do I look?” she asked, straightening out her clothes.
“Beautiful as ever,” I replied.
“Biased.”
On so many counts, and I always would be where she was concerned.
“Are you ready now?” I asked.
“Not in the slightest.”
“Tough shit.”
“Love you too, dickhead.”
I chuckled as I knocked on the door, and a few moments later, my mother answered.
“Mum.”
“Hello, sweetheart.” She reached up to kiss my cheek. “Your brother and Sloan are already here.”
Quentin had disappeared and hid behind my back. I grabbed her hand and tugged her back into view.
“Quentin,” Mum breathed. “We’ve heard so much about you. Come in.” She moved out of the way so we could step inside. “I should have started by saying congratulations to you both. And happy birthday.”
If I thought my mother would favour me, I was mistaken. She dived for Quentin, embracing her as if they’d known each other for years. Mum let go of her and moved to me, grabbing my face in her hands.
“I never thought I’d see the day,” she whispered, tearing up.
“Mother. Let’s not.”
“Come through to the living room.” She walked in that direction before looking back at Quen. “Kieran, Gray’s dad, has been eager to meet you. We wanted to stop by when we first heard about you, but you’ve proven to be quite popular and we didn’t want to add any pressure. I’m Evadine, but you’re more than welcome to call me Mum.”
It was easy to see where Erik got his talkative nature from.
“I… Thank you. I appreciate that,” Quentin said, still pink in the cheeks from the hug.
“Plenty more,” Sloan said as we walked into the living room. “What else keeps you busy in your old age?”
Dad chuckled in his seat. “I’m sure I can find other things to preoccupy my time rather than looking after a swarm of grandchildren.” The way he said it told the room he was teasing.
“Get used to it, Kieran,” Larkin said, jerking her chin in our direction. “These two haven’t even started yet.”
Quentin radiated heat as the pink transformed to red, and I shot Larkin the middle finger, but there was a ghost of a smile that graced my face.
Dad got up from his seat, pulling me into a hug and clapping my back. “I believe congratulations are in order. After you found out you were soulbound, I wondered how long it would take.”
“I’ve been asking her for a while,” I muttered.
“Looks like you know how to make my son work for things,” Dad commented, pressing a kiss to Quen’s cheek.
“Nothing worth having comes easy,” she replied, making Dad laugh. Quen looked at the others. “I thought you were all going to be getting ready for the party.”
