Alder smiles. “Now I like you even more.”
“Hello, my sweet darling!”
A woman with a long flowing dress and bangles clinking up her arms swoops in gracefully and pulls Alder into a hug as the scent of patchouli wafts through the air. She kisses his cheek and pats his chest, looking up at him with such unfiltered love that I can’t help but smile.
Thishasto be his mom.
“Mom,” Alder says, turning her towards us while she continues to wear a big, warm smile. “This is Cade, and his family.”
Her eyes widen with wonder as she gasps and steps towards me with her arms open.
“Cade,” she says softly. “Gorgeous. Stunning.” She pulls me into a firm, swaying hug, and I chuckle as I smell weed on her. Then she pulls back and holds me at arm’s length, looking me over. “Your spirit is beautiful. You’ve clearly got fire in your chart.”
Before I can even think of how to respond to that, she turns to my parents and Darren. “Oh, I just love the energy here,” she says, smiling at them. Then she spots the salad container in my mom’s hands. “And you brought a salad! Aren’t you just divine? Come, come, all of you. Let’s get you settled. Kurt! Come meet these lovely people.”
She loops her arm around my mom’s shoulders and links elbows with Darren, already leading them into the room like they’re long-lost friends. My family hesitates for a beat, but something about her easy touch and overflowing affection softens the moment, and they go with her.
I watch them go, and when I turn back to Alder, a young woman is standing next to him, probably about twenty years old, with the same dark eyes and a knowing smile.
“Hi,” she says, holding out her hand with a polite smile. “I’m Cedar. Nice to meet you.”
“Hey,” I say, taking it and giving it a brief shake. “Nice to meet you, too.”
When I release her hand, she glances up at Alder with a raised brow. “You really brought the duck?”
Alder nods. “Yeah. He likes it here. And…” he shrugs, “Caz.”
We all glance towards the tables where Wingnut flaps after Caz again, sending him weaving between chairs and nearly knocking over a kid.
“Fair,” Cedar says, then smiles between us. “I’m going to get a samosa before Cory eats them all.”
Then she leaves.
“She’s…” I start.
“Normal?” Alder offers.
I huff. “Yeah.”
“I know.” Alder shakes his head. “Poor thing. Don’t know where that came from.”
I turn to look at him and pause as I take in the sparkle of pure joy in his eyes.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when I invited my family here. I just knew it would be two worlds colliding. But as I look around the room and see our moms chatting over salads, and Dad and Darren sitting with Kurt and Dom, trying their best to make small talk while a mugshot wall looms over them, my lips tilt up in a soft smile.
When two particles collide, they don’t always repel. Sometimes, under the right conditions, they entangle. Their paths shift, their states change, and they become something new… bound by the impact.
And when Alder’s world collided with mine, it didn’t push me away. It pulled me out of the depths of something far more dangerous than anything in his world.
I turn to face him again, slipping my arms around his waist and pulling him in as I press my lips to his.
This man is a fucking force. He crashed into my life, colliding with me head-on, and set me into motion. He’s the momentum I needed. And now our forces are in balance, carrying us forward together.
I pull back and look into his eyes again. “You were right, you know.”
“About?” he asks.
I pull a breath deep into my lungs and take a moment to feel his hands on my hips and his dark gaze on mine. “I just needed a bump start.”
