Page 119 of Worth Loving You

Shame scorched my cheeks, and I bowed my head, looking at the ring again. It had been a long time since I let my guard down so someone could humiliate me like that. Thankfully, he only said it in front of the rest of the family, and not the business guests or my friends.

“But to call my dad out for wearing a toupee and asking if she could check her lipstick on his head…”

I bit the corner of my mouth, my sight bouncing between the two men with the sudden quietness. Wyatt was chugging the water and Milo was removing his tie, staring at the counter.

Suddenly, he snorted and then burst out laughing. “Okay, that was funny as hell. I take it back.”

Relief flooded me and I sighed, my shoulders sinking forward. Going through the motions, I finished setting up the coffee maker for morning. It was a childish retort on my part, but I had been so stunned that Theodore Pampinella would say something so insulting, less than an hour after witnessing his son propose. I was going to be his daughter in law, why did he think that was appropriate in any way?

My first meeting with my future family hadn’t exactly turned out great. We meet, they don’t like what they see, they watch us get engaged, and I insult the patriarch.

It did bother me that Milo didn’t correct Theodore when he lowkey ridiculed me. His arm across my shoulders, he had merely given me a squeeze and said he was a lucky man. It would have been nice had he put his father in his place to let him know it was not okay to talk to me like that. Boundaries should have been set. What if now he thought it would be okay to always give me snide remarks?

I was already dreading Thanksgiving next month.

Pressing my fingertips between my eyes, I heaved a sigh. Whenever I allowed myself to daydream about the day I would find the man of my dreams and get married, this was not how I pictured it. I imagined his family embracing and accepting me from the very beginning, giving me the parental affection, I’d always lacked growing up.

“Come here, baby girl.”

I pouted, looking over my shoulder after pulling it to my ear. He was patting his thigh, smiling. Sulking, I went and sat on his lap. His arm wrapped behind my back, his other hand on my knee, his lips nuzzling my ear.

“I’m sorry. Wyatt’s right, I should have said something. I’m going to let him know that his behavior tonight was unacceptable. In fact, I’m going to tell them all because I saw their little glares. They can either all accept you and love you,” he muttered, holding my chin. “As much as I do, or they can kiss both our asses and stay the hell away.”

My bottom lip puckered, and I batted my lashes. “You would do that?”

“For thirty-eight years, I’ve had no choice but to be their family because that’s how I was born. The next thirty-eight are my choice, and I choose you. Hell yeah, I mean it. I won’t let our future kids see their grandparents, aunts, and uncles mistreating their mom. Screw that.”

My arm draped across the back of his shoulder, my fingers tangled in his hair. Pressing his cheek to my bosom, I kissed the top of his head. “I love you.”

He groaned, hugging tightly. “I love you so much, baby girl.”

My pulse pattered and I grinned, closing my eyes. Wyatt coughed, reminding me we weren’t alone. My lids lifted to angry, dark blue pools, nostrils flaring.

All my giddiness zapped, and I deflated. It hurt to see him angry and upset. I didn’t like that I was the reason he was unhappy.

Sneering and shaking his head, he chugged the rest of his water, flung the empty bottle to the sink, and stormed down the hallway, grumbling to himself until his bedroom door slammed.

I startled and jumped, chewing a nail anxiously.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s an angry drunk. Why he decided to get drunk, I don’t know, but he always gets in a foul mood when he’s had too much.”

Sighing, I shrunk, my shoulders slumping, suddenly exhausted.

Milo raked his finger back and forth over my chest, creeping his way down to a breast. “Did I tell you how goddamn amazing you looked tonight? I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”

My belly stirred, excitement warming my veins. Massaging pressure points on his scalp, he groaned and closed his eyes.

“I’ve missed your massages. It’s been a couple weeks. You owe me money.”

I giggled, moving to the base of his skull. His moan deepened, his head falling forward and bobbing to my strokes.

“Since I’m going to be your wife, does that mean you are going to expect my services for free? Because you’d be wrong.”

Chuckling, he tilted his head, casting a wayward glance. “You know what I want?”

“Hm?”

“I want to make love to my fiancée.”