But I don’t know if I’m ready to face them yet, not until everything with Adrianna is finished. I think for a little while longer, I’ll keep all of the grief and sadness locked inside.
“Next time,” I respond, and they nod without question, continuing on.
“It’s at the end here,” Dean says, and I look to where he’s pointing.
The numerous times I’ve visited over the years, passed by the very mausoleum he’s referencing, without knowing that, one day, I’d behere, walking inside.
Asher unlocks it with his keys before tucking them into his pocket.
The massive granite structure is breathtaking. Pillars sit engraved in the four corners of it, their last name carved across the top of the front-facing wall, right above the doors.
Kensington.
I suddenly wish I had flowers to bring, something to pay my respects.
“Her name was Elizabeth. Best mom in the world.” Asher strides inside, shoulders and back straight, head held high as he boasts about his mom. “She was artsy, passionate, a little hotheaded.”
Dean chuckles. “Only with our father when he deserved it.”
“I can’t imagine someone standing up to him,” I murmur in disbelief.
My eyes roam the space, over the names, dates, and accolades of a few Kensington family members. But my eyes land on a portrait of a beautiful woman, eyes green, like Dean’s, and a smile big and bright, like Asher’s.
Asher beams. “She loved putting him in his place.”
“Yeah, the only one who could do it,” Dean adds with a smirk. “Which is what he needs right about now.”
“He’ll come around.” I step toward them both.
“Even if we have to shove the truth down his throat.” Asher seems to have a little too much fun saying that, a smile breaking across his face.
But I’m sure they both have their own frustrations with the drama Adrianna has added to their lives. They just want their dad back.
Asher and Dean tell me a couple stories, the sunset fading behind me, dimming the light inside as time disappears.
They smile and laugh, their faces falling every now and then as reality rushes back in. But I can feel the weight lift off their shoulders with each shared memory.
Once seven thirty comes around, Asher locks the place back up. We walk back to the car and head to the Hawthorne house, feeling closer than ever.
“Are you ready to meet the gang in all their glory?” Asher chuckles as we turn into a driveway that leads up to a house …mansion—I think they’re all the same to these guys.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Nerves start creeping in, goose bumps breaking out on my arms as we come to a stop.
I am ready, fully ready to be a part of their lives and everything that entails. But that doesn’t mean my anxiety isn’t going to surface. Which is exactly what it’s doing right now.
“Thanks, Jared,” Dean tells the driver.
He and Asher step out.
I decide not to wait for one of my gentlemen to get the door, pushing it open and getting out all on my own, like the big girl I am.
I laugh at the thought.
Dean’s face falls when he sees me outside of the car. “Cirella.”
“Yes?” I push my nose up, hooking the purse on my shoulder, which Asher reaches out and takes from me, putting it on his instead.
“I’ll get that for you,” Ash adds arrogantly, as if I can’t carry my own purse.
