“Dom,” I said in understanding. Dominic Barretti may not have been Eli’s biological father, but he loved the young man as fiercely as he loved his own children. I speared Memphis with my gaze and said, “Just remember, when the day comes, you’re going to need to talk to him about his sonandhis nephew.”
The reminder caused Memphis to pale and I heard Hawke chuckle. When my eyes slipped to him, he held his hands up and said, “Hey, I got permission from Tate’s mom.”
“Tate’s mom adores you,” I responded. “You got off easy.”
“True,” Hawke agreed and he quieted.
“Mace,” I said firmly.
“Yeah, I’m with you,” Mace answered through the phone, his voice suddenly less jovial and I had no doubt he was thinking about the fact that he also had several people to go through when he decided to pop the question to his partners. “Sorry, Mav, we really do want to help.”
“I’m not asking permission,” Mav grumbled as he fingered the jewelry box. “I’m just letting Dom know as a courtesy. Like I did with Eli’s mom.”
“Mariana knows?” I asked.
Mav nodded. “She was…emotional.”
I chuckled because I had no doubt there had been lots of waterworks and Mav was definitely not fond of waterworks.
“Mav,” I said as I walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. “Dom’s going to be fine with it.”
Another nod, but Mav’s eyes dropped to the box in his hand. “He’s going to be a doctor, Ronan,” Mav said softly. I knew then what Mav was struggling with and I hated that even after the four months he and Eli had been together, his insecurities that he wasn’t one hundred percent good enough for Eli or the young man’s big, powerful, successful family still gnawed at him. And I suspected he’d kept those feelings well hidden from his soon-to-be fiancé.
I glanced at Hawke and Memphis who’d gone completely silent and saw the compassion lingering in their eyes. They clearly hadn’t understood the reason behind Mav’s agitation. I turned my focus back on Mav and asked, “Has he ever given you a reason to doubt him or what he feels for you?”
Mav’s head snapped up. “No! Of course not!”
“Then the rest is just noise, right? Even if by some wild stretch of the imagination Dom says you aren’t good enough for Eli, do you think it will change Eli’s answer?”
Mav shook his head. “No,” he finally admitted.
“Call it a courtesy or call it permission – it doesn’t change the end result. Eli is yours. He’s always been yours and he always will be. His job won’t change that, his family won’t change that, your fears won’t change that.”
Mav didn’t respond, but he did take a deep breath and I saw some of the tension ease out of him.
“Now, I don’t think you’ll need it, but if it makes you feel better, I’ve got the solution to your problem with all this,” I said as I waved my hand at the paper on the table which actually looked like a drawing of the interior of Dom and Logan Barretti’s island house. “Two words.” I held up my hand to count off the words. “Pinch,” I said firmly as I lifted one finger. “Hitter,” I added as I raised another finger.
Mav’s eyes settled on my hand for a moment and then he smiled.
“Matty,” was all he said.
I glanced over my shoulder at Hawke and Memphis and said, “And that’s how it’s done.”
I feltmy body come alive with excitement as I pulled past the iron gate and began the long drive up the driveway. It was a sensation I knew I would never lose, not as long as I knew Seth was waiting for me to come home. It had been just eight months since I’d stolen back into his life and they’d been the best eight months of my entire fucking life. Yeah, there’d been those few weeks early on where I’d nearly driven him away with my cruelty and lies, but Seth had been the stronger one and he’d kept coming back to me no matter how many times I’d pushed him away. And now he was mine in every sense of the word.
My thoughts drifted back to my own proposal, though it could barely be called that since there’d been no planning or fanfare. Hell, I hadn’t even had a ring. Nope, it hadn’t been conventional at all – just me buried deep inside of Seth’s beautiful body, his luminous eyes staring at mine as he’d clung to me, his lips parted as he’d whispered my name. I’d watched a tear slip down his smooth cheek as I’d rolled my hips against his and I’d known.
Because how could I not want everything with the young man who still felt the emotion so keenly every time we came together?
I’d slowed my movements only long enough to lean down and kiss the tear before pulling back enough so I could see his eyes as I’d whispered, “Marry me,” to him. He’d held my gaze for the longest time, but there hadn’t been any shock or surprise in his eyes. No, he’d known it was coming at some point. His faith in me was that unfailing. There’d been no tears or gasps or exclamations…his eyes had simply held mine as he’d slowly nodded and the smallest of smiles had graced his lips. And then his hand had come up to cup my face as our bodies had taken over our lovemaking. It was something he knew I liked…him touching me with every part of himself. It was something I still couldn’t believe I’d ever thought I could go without.
We’d gotten married just a week later, both because we hadn’t wanted to wait even a moment longer than we had to, and because we’d wanted Matty and his fathers to be able to attend. Our relationship with Hawke and Tate had strengthened a thousand times over in the months we’d continued to help them support Matty during his treatments for leukemia, but it was our connection to the little boy that had changed a lot of things for Seth and me. Even though Hawke had only asked us to watch out for Matty early on when Hawke and Tate were in Texas to deal with Tate’s father and brother, the bond we’d formed with the child had done something to us both that I still couldn’t explain and we hadn’t wanted, or even been able, to give up our daily visits with him even after Hawke and Tate had returned. In so many ways he’d become our son in that first week that we’d spent with him and it had been the most natural thing for us to continue to be a part of his life and he ours in the weeks and months that had followed.
Since I had already started the process of handing the reins of my group over to Memphis and Mav, it had been easy for me to commit to playing a full-time role in supporting Matty. But Seth had been different. He’d just been in the process of fully taking on all the responsibilities that came with running a successful shipping company when Hawke had asked us to help with Matty for that week. There’d been no issue with Seth taking the time off from work…he hadn’t even hesitated for a second. But when Hawke and Tate had returned and settled into their new roles of co-parenting the little boy, along with Matty’s grandfather, Magnus, something in Seth had shifted. He’d been free to go back to work on whatever schedule he’d wanted, but I’d sensed the reluctance in him to do so. When I’d finally realized how much he’d been struggling with splitting his time between the company he felt an obligation to and the little boy he’d fallen completely in love with, I’d told him it was his right to choose one over the other. I’d known it wouldn’t be an easy choice for him since the company was all he had left of his father, but he’d chosen Matty and had taken an extended leave of absence from work, though he’d assured me – and likely himself – that it was just until Matty was out of the hospital. But Matty had finally been released from the hospital this past week and Seth still seemed to be struggling with the idea of going back to work.
I slowed my car as I saw Bullet tear out of the house and run down the driveway towards me. It was an odd little ritual we’d picked up early on and I couldn’t help but laugh at the dog’s antics as he jumped next to the driver’s side window, his barks growing louder and louder until I finally stopped the car and opened my door. I groaned when one of the dog’s paws hit me in the nuts as he climbed over my body to sit in the passenger seat. “Every time,” I muttered to Bullet as I pulled the door closed. I could see Seth hovering on the steps leading up to the house as I pulled into the circular part of the driveway, and I immediately noticed his agitation. I barely remembered to put the car in park before getting out. I kept my eyes on Seth as I waited for Bullet to get out. I hadn’t seen my husband looking so tense in a long time. He didn’t look like he was about to have a panic attack though; fortunately, those had diminished early on in our relationship as he’d become more accustomed to being around larger groups of people.
“Baby,” I said softly to Seth when I reached him and took his hands in mine. His big eyes settled on me and then he wrapped his arms around my neck. Since he was higher up on the stairs than me, it was easy for him to settle his face against mine and I softly whispered into his ear, “Did something happen?”
