His body swayed slightly with the slow wag of his tail. “I’ll do my best.”
They stepped aside, making space for Reece and his mate.
This was it.
I cleared my throat and extended a hand out to Reece. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”
He looked me up and down for a second with his mustache pursed over his lip before—he smiled?
I felt all the tension whoosh out of my body.
“Nice to meet you, Al,” he said and gave my hand a strong shake. “My mom has told me so many wonderful things about you. I’m glad the family finally got the chance to meet you.”
Well, that was a surprise.
He seemed delightful.
It was amazing what love and therapy could do.
His mate gave him a soft caress on the arm with his tentacle before extending a webbed hand to me. “Lovely to meet you, Alistair. I’m Cyrus, Reece’s mate.”
A seven-hundred-year-old kraken with a British accent.
Nowthatwas something you’d read about in a romance novel.
I shook his hand, watching as his tentacle clenched his arm. “It’s great to meet you, Cyrus. Pam mentioned that you’re a vinyl aficionado too.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, you’ll have to come over sometime and check out my collection.”
“I’d love that.”
Reece shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “My mom tells me you’re quite the outdoorsman, Al. I think you’ll love it here in Briar Glenn. Plenty of parks and trails. Maybe all of us can get out for a hike once the weather warms up.”
I was dumbfounded.
Reece Rollins—my girlfriend's supposedly grumpy son—had just invited me to go hiking.
“That would be great.”
Reece gave me a little nod of his head, and the two of them went to join Atlas and Tegan.
Chai sidled up beside me and whispered. “See, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?”
“It went a lot better than I expected it to go.”
“They know Pam loves you, Dad. And you know what? In time, they’ll love you, too. How could they not?”
She was going to make me cry.
“Come here, kid.” I hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.
“Dad, you’re embarrassing me in front of my boss,” she hissed under her breath.
“Don’t care,” I said, squeezing her one more time before letting her go.
“Alright,” Pam said, clapping her hands together. “Now that everyone’s met, I think it’s time to eat.”
All the kids filed toward the dining room, leaving Pam and me behind.
