Legend hummed. “Well, I’m usually confident in me and Hero and Danger, you know? I don’t keep a lot of armed guards around. Seems a bit cowardly, don’t it? But with unusual shit happening at the moment, and you and Mum in the house, seemed wise to have more hands about.” A different man I hadn’t noticed opened the door to the house for us, and I decided maybe part of their job was to be unseen unless they were absolutely needed. I could respect the ability to blend in. I’d never learned to be unnoticeable so much as nonthreatening. People would see me but not care too much.
Once we were inside, we walked up the stairs until we hit the top floor, then headed out into the dining area. Mrs. Sweeney turned toward us with a book in her hand and stared over the top of her reading glasses. She smiled at me, and I flashed a grin back.
“What’s all this, then?”
I stopped dead in my tracks at her tone, one my own mother had used when I was a kid sneaking in after curfew. “Uh....”
She stood and tossed her book down on the cushion she’d been sitting on, then rushed over to us.
“Easy, Mum,” Legend said, but he sounded more amused than anything.
She stuck her hand randomly into a bag I was carrying and pulled out the corset that Legend had loved so much. My face burned and I cleared my throat.
“Mum, you’re embarrassing him,” Legend said, and this time his tone wasn’t very nice.
“It’s okay.” I smiled over my shoulder at him, even though my stomach did a jig. “She’s fine.”
“Oh! This is pretty!” She held the material up next to my face. “And it goes so well with your complexion, honey.”
Okay, I’d thought I could do this, but I wanted to sink through the floor. I’d gone out in clothes like this, but I’d never really talked about them with someone I knew, let alone the mother of the man who... wanted to keep me around for a while.
“Thought so, too, Mum,” Legend said with a lusty laugh that had me groaning.
Dropping my chin to my chest, I sighed, and she patted my cheek with a throaty giggle.
“You tell Cyclone to get herself to Down Under Lingerie and check it out. I heard her complaining about not being able to find stuff, and she’ll like it.” Legend knocked his arm against my shoulder, startling me into looking at him, and he winked.
Mrs. Sweeney smiled and tucked the corset back in the bag it had come from. “Tell her yourself, son. We’re doing dinner with her tonight, and she can meet your new boyfriend.” She patted the top of my head, and while I was glad she wasn’t threatening to kill me, this was a nightmare of a whole other sort brewing right in front of me.
“I’ll be meeting more of your family?” I asked with a wince in Legend’s direction, but he shrugged.
“I already had plans to take my Lolly out, Mum.”
Mrs. Sweeney shoved her hands on her hips. “Your niece wants to see you. She said especially she wanted to see her Uncle Leggy, and I dare you to tell that angel you’re not coming.” She dragged her phone out of her pocket and waved it around threateningly. “Besides, you boys can go to that club of yours and dance the night away later if you want. Family time never hurt anyone. Stormy will only be young once.” There was a note in her tone that made these plans seem final.
Legend moved all the bags to his left hand, then ran the right one through his hair. I was kind of impressed because, if I’d tried the same thing, I would’ve dropped something, but he was roughly double my size in nearly every way possible. A shiver ran down my spine.
Legend smirked at me. “I should follow up with the Yanks afterward. They’re out at a pub right now.”
My cheeks heated when he continued to look at me like he knew exactly what sort of dirty thoughts were floating through my mind. I licked my lips, searching for any lingering taste of him, and he took a step closer to me.
“No one’s stopping you.” Mrs. Sweeney shook her head as if she was utterly disappointed in him. “There will always be work, hon. Always. You have to take the time for what’s important. Like your niece. And now this one.” She lightly grabbed my cheek, and if my hands hadn’t been full, I might’ve done something unfortunate because all I could think about were my scars, but she pinched me like she would’ve done to someone with round, unblemished rosy cheeks, and then it was done. I wasn’t sure how I felt about her touching me that way, but I swallowed hard and felt happy and nauseous at the same time.
Legend snorted. “You’re busting my balls here, Mum.”
She gestured at me, and I stepped back to avoid getting smacked in the face. “You said you’re keeping him, and he says he’s going to let you do it, so you have time to be out on a date with him later. Didn’t you tell me that his passport was stolen as well? Someone did. Maybe it was Hero. You need to get that sorted before you can do anything to have him here permanently. All those boys need to get their paperwork taken care of.”
He grunted and this time it sounded beyond irritated. “Mum, I know.”
“Well, I can help. That’s why I mentioned it.” She glared at him.
“All right.” He sounded exasperated, but not angry, and my heart slowed down closer to normal. I’d never been a fan of fighting for the sake of it.
“So, we’re going to dinner with you?” I asked, trying to change the subject back to something safer.
“And the family, honey.” She rubbed her hand along my shoulder.
Glancing down at the bags, I frowned. I’d wanted to wear one of the dresses I’d found while we were out, but I probably couldn’t now. They were all pretty, but they were short. I sighed and some of my excitement over the clothing slipped away. I followed Legend to his room with my bags and dumped them on his bed, then went over to the walk-in closet, which was standing open. Someone had hung up the clothes from my suitcase. I gasped and grabbed the sleeve of the pink coat I’d left at the club last night. I rubbed the silky fabric between my fingertips. Legend must’ve gotten it for me somehow.
