They finished the introductions to the rest of the band members and Hans, Becca, and Courtney. Though it was Harley who stole the show.
This was not a surprise given that she was the cutest of all of them.
His dad ambled over, and it was only slightly weird, since he was an accountant and Sparrow regurgitated the accountant joke for him.
“This is going so well,” Irina whispered once everyone was good and drunk off the appetizers.
“That’s because my mom hasn’t shown up yet,” he whispered back.
“I gave them a heads-up about your mom.” Irina grimaced. “Hope that’s okay.”
“There’s no way to get the full heads-up on my mother, but it was nice of you to give it a try.”
Irina gave him a soft smile. A smile he realized she didn’t use very often, but when she did it made him feel twenty feet tall. “You doing okay with all the family stuff?”
“I get to marry a pretty girl on a pirate ship in a couple of days.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets because what he really wanted to do was reach out and touch the flower in her hair. While he could do that, and it wouldn’t be out of place for a future groom to touch the flower hair of his future bride, he needed to rein it in.
“It’s like I get to live out my preteen fantasy as a grown-up,” he said instead of touching her.
That’s when things went a little sideways, because the doorbell rang.
The doorbell rang but everyone was already there.
He glanced around and his extremities all turned numb when his gaze landed on Dad chatting it up with Bax’s parents near the kitchen.
Everyone was present…except his mother.
Chapter Fourteen
IRINA
“I don’t understandwhy his father has to leave so his mother can arrive?” Mom seemed genuinely conflicted at the hostility rattling around Knox’s family.
Honestly, so was Irina. There was lots about Knox she didn’t understand. As the days went by, she wanted more and more to unravel that tangle.
His dad decidednotto leave, negotiations fell apart, and now his parents both pretended to ignore each other from opposite sides of the room, while also giving one another massively dirty looks. Not the fun kind that meant they’d be happy later, either. Full on murderous.
“Is this like that superhero movie where the billionaire couldn’t be in the same room with the bat guy because they were the same person?” Dad asked.
“No, Dad. It’s nothing like that because they are actually different people.” Different people who actively disliked one another.
“But Knox is so lovely.” Mom eyed Knox, who had let his mother in the door and then started sweating from his earlobes. “How did such argumentative people end up with such a lovely son?”
Honestly, Irina had no idea. None at all.
Knox shuffled his mom in their direction. She had the expression like she’d eaten an entire bag of sour gummies.
Irina could relate and for real considered going to hang out with the pink urine carpet instead of her own party.
Knox got closer and Irina channeled a confident character she’d once played at community theater who spent her summers as a spy. The badass character came in handy sometimes.
“Mom,” Irina said, hoping to heavens she’d behave and not go off about family hostilities and how that affected the butterflies of the Southern Hemisphere. “You remember Beverly, Knox’s mother,” Irina continued.
“Beatrice,” Knox murmured.
Irina froze.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
