“Yup,” I laugh.
Aubrey suddenly turns to us, her eyes widening when she notices we’re all staring. She quickly excuses herself and rushes over.
“Have a nice chat?” I question with a knowing look.
Her blush takes over, going a deeper shade of red by the second. “It was nothing, he was just asking about the cake I made for Gracie,” she blurts out. She’s probably telling the truth, but the cake talk was clearly only an excuse from Shane to talk to her.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. I won’t say a word to your brother,” Nancy tells her with a motherly smile.
“Why would you say anything to him? There’s nothing to say. Nothing’s going on. So no need to involve Grey into this conversation.” Her eyes grow even bigger, basically popping out of her head, the tips of her ears and nose now alarmingly red.God, she’s adorable. And so bad at lying.
“There you are!” Greyson shows up at my side and wraps an arm around my waist, kissing my temple before cupping hisdaughter’s cheek with his other hand. “And there’s the beautiful birthday girl. Did you have fun with Uncle Clay, Buttercup?”
Gracie babbles instantly, gifting her father with dazzling smiles that make Wolf’s eyes light up with pride. He chuckles at how enthusiastically she’s responding to his question, then turns his attention to our latest guest. “Hey, Nadia. Nice to see you again. So what are you girls chit-chatting about all snuggled up here?”
“Nothing!” Aubrey rushes out too quickly, making him furrow his brow. She clears her throat and tries again in a more restrained and calm tone. “Nothing. We were just finishing off introductions. All that was left was you men.” Her eyes turn to mine, pleading with me to save her.
“Right, yes. Nadia, you know Greyson. This is Silas, Cecilia’s husband, and their son, Dante. Beside him is Clay, Morgan’s husband, and then there’s the twins, Gabe and Noah. They aren’t actually twins, but you’ll catch on quickly why we call them that.” They all say hello and wave as I name each.
Gabe walks around our group, heading straight for his target of the last few months. “Hey, Vixen. Looking sexy as always.” He places an arm around Ronnie’s waist, pressing her side into him.
“He’s right, you look delicious, Veronica. That hair just makes you even more gorgeous,” Noah says, throwing his arm around her shoulder, caging her in between them.
“Ugh! Will you two ever give up? There’s fresh meat right in front of you.” She nods over to Nadia, who suddenly looks like a deer caught in headlights. “Go fetch,” Ronnie finishes, trying to push out of their hold, but they won’t let up.
“Nah, baby. We’ve only got eyes for you now.” Gabe leans in with a heated gaze.
She instinctively leans her head away from him, moving closer to Noah, who takes advantage of her position. He brings his mouth closer to her cheek and says, “Only for you, Kitten.” Whenshe turns her head swiftly to face him, he quickly presses his lips to hers before she has time to react.
Ronnie, being the fierce woman she is, slaps Noah right in the face, making everyone looking at the spectacle gasp. When he pulls away, stunned by the sting of her hand, she grabs his face between her thumb and fingers, bringing his face an inch away from hers and pinching his cheeks together like a fish.
“Don’t youevertry that again, Casanova!” Ronnie then pushes his face away, smacks Gabe’s hand off her waist, and walks away with fury in her eyes.
Noah rubs at his reddened cheek, keeping his eyes on his prey as she walks away. “Damn, why does her anger make her even hotter?”
“I don’t know, man. But I’m all for it.” Gabe smiles wickedly as he watches her, too.
“Now I see what you mean by twins. Double timers,” Nadia whispers to me again, causing me to giggle.
Suddenly, she visibly tenses at my side, straightening her back. “What are they doing here?” She nods toward a couple in their fifties that I don’t recognize.That must be Stephanie’s parents if Nadia knows them.
“Grey invited them, we weren’t sure if they’d come,” I tell her, then look up to Greyson, who still has a hand around my waist and plays with his daughter’s hand between us. “Wolf, I think they’re here.” His eyes lift to mine, then turn in the direction I nod.
He releases his hold on me and takes Little Tulip from my arms, securing her on his hip and lacing our fingers together to lead us toward the couple. We come to a stop before them, and I instantly sense the anxiety surrounding them. I smile warmly at the woman who has her eyes on me.
“Hi, you must be Stephanie’s parents. I’m Greyson, Gracie’s dad. We’ve talked on the phone.” He lets go of my hand to shaketheirs. “This is my girlfriend, Emma,” he says, placing his hand at the small of my back.
I reach a hand out. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both,” I say genuinely as they both take turns shaking it.
“Likewise. I’m Simon, and this is my wife, Claudia.” He gestures to her after placing his hand on his chest for himself.
“And this here is the special birthday girl, Gracie,” Greyson continues, bouncing her on his hip a little.
“She’s beautiful,” Claudia says with an emotional voice, her hand resting at the base of her throat. She looks from Gracie to me, then to Greyson. “I’m sorry it took us so long to come around. Our daughter was just… a lot to handle, and her behavior had become toxic. We didn’t have a choice but to distance ourselves from her.”
She smiles sadly. “But Gracie never should have paid the price for that. It’s why we accepted your offer to come today. It’s time we put the past behind us and focus on the future. She’s the only connection to Stephanie we have left, and as big as the distance was between us, we don’t want to lose that last piece of her.”
I offer Claudia a sympathetic smile when her eyes fall back on me, but I don’t truly feel it. I understand needing to cut toxic people out of your life; I’ve done it with my mother. But their daughter was dealing with a mental illness, she didn’t choose to be that way.How can a parent knowingly abandon their sick child like that?
