Seth stared straight ahead, silent and unblinking, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.
What’s your goddamn problem? At least you get to touch our girl.
As if she sensed his tension, Heavenly cleared her throat. “Your family is amazing, Seth. Really warm and welcoming.”
“Yeah. Your mom is way warmer than the she-devil who gave birth to me. Then again, Esther set the bar really low,” Beck quipped.
Seth flinched. “I’m sorry. Mom means well. She basically adopted you. It’s a good sign.”
Yeah, that had shocked Beck.
Before this trip, he’d been prepared to dislike Grace Cooper. She was religious. She talked about high-handed morals while closing herself off from people who didn’t believe what she did. But now that he’d met her…he couldn’t hate her. Grace wasn’t trying to be narrow; she just didn’t know another way.
“It is. And despite their mischief, even the twins were sweet.” Heavenly was trying to find any silver lining.
Now that he could, Beck dropped a hand to her thigh. “They mostly behaved.”
“For once,” Seth said dryly. “Hudson will be safe with Mom, but we need to keep an eye on him when Jack and Connor are around.”
“Likely so, but they made Hudson feel welcomed. Except for football, I’ve never seen him light up the way he did around your family.”
“Yeah.” Seth sighed heavily. “Which makes the bullshit we’re pulling on them even worse.”
Heavenly took Seth’s hand. “What choice do we have?”
“To make sure Mom gets married in peace? None. But that doesn’t make it right.” Pain etched his face as he glanced between the two of them. “I’m so fucking sorry. I never should have asked you to lie.”
Emotion clogged Beck’s throat. For months, he’d assumed Seth was too much of a pussy to come clean with Grace about their unorthodox relationship. But after meeting her and the rest of the Cooper clan—experiencing the love and warmth they shared—Beck understood Seth’s dilemma.
“You’re in a really hard spot. But I have to be honest… Announcing our engagement while Beck sat there pretending he wasn’t a part of us…” Heavenly’s voice cracked. “I hated every second of it.”
“Me, too. I felt like I was ripping out his damn heart.”
Beck couldn’t lie. “You were.”
Tears gathered in Heavenly’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m the one who needs to apologize,” Seth groaned. “And I’m so fucking sorry—both of you. I swear, after this wedding I will never again ask either of you to deny your feelings around my family.”
“Good, because I don’t know how much longer I can pretend to be okay while you two play the happy couple. It fucking gutted me.”
Seth clapped Beck’s shoulder. “I know. After Sunday, I promise…if Mom doesn’t approve of our relationship, that’s her problem. It’s our fucking lives. My peace, future, and happiness are with you two. That won’t change.”
“I don’t want you at odds with your family…” Heavenly bit her lip. “But I needed to hear that.”
Beck nodded, so grateful they were all on the same page. “Thanks.”
A long sigh told him that wasn’t the end of Seth’s issues. “But we have to be more careful. When Heavenly held Anna, I saw the way you looked at her. If anyone else had noticed…”
“Fuck. It’s probably a good thing I’ll be tied up with this medical conference tomorrow and most of Friday. I’ll have my poker face in place by the time the rehearsal dinner rolls around.”
“Thanks.” Seth nodded. “I know I’m asking a lot and?—”
“How about we quit talking about your family and enjoy our first night in New York?” Beck suggested. “We have a gorgeous suite and the whole night alone. I vote we stop talking and start fucking.”
Heavenly gasped, sending a wide-eyed glance at their driver, who wasn’t looking…but was clearly listening.
Seth’s smirk turned filthy. “I’m…up for that. Angel?”
