Chapter Eleven
Trystan
"Are you nervous?" Chloe asks, glancing over at me as we walk up the steps to her parents' door the next evening, her fingers laced with mine.
She looks beautiful with her hair pulled back from her face and her mossy eyes shining with happiness.
Her simple white dress swishes around her thighs in stark contrast to her golden skin.
"Not even a little bit," I say. It doesn't matter that her parents and mine are both waiting inside for us.
It doesn't even really matter if Colton follows through on his threat to stick his boot up my ass if I get her pregnant before I marry her.
All that matters is that she's mine, she's here with me, and despite everything, nothing has fallen apart.
Things with Wyatt are still a little awkward.
I can't say I'll blame him if he never recovers from walking in to find my dick down his sister's throat.
Some shit, no brother should ever have to see.
But he didn't break my jaw or refuse to give his blessing, so we're in that weird fucking place where shit is awkward, but it isn't broken.
Frankly, it's more than I expected. More than I could have hoped to get.
Now, it's time to face the parents. Chloe wanted to put it off for as long as possible, but we're not doing that. We've already done everything backwards, upside down, and every fucking way but right. We need to get this part over with. I don't think she'll truly relax until we do.
Some part of her still wants to hide, not because she thinks we have to do it, but because she's afraid that everyone knowing will change things.
I need her to know that's not going to happen.
No matter what, the relationship between our parents isn't going to fall apart.
Jax and Jade aren't going to hate us. Wyatt isn't going to hate me.
The two of us won't go back to the way we were before. Everything will be fine.
I wish like hell I had this clarity a long goddamn time ago. It could have saved us a lot of time and heartache. But a motherfucker is seeing shit clearly for once. I can't afford to see it any other way, not if I want to keep the girl clinging to my hand like I'm her lifeline.
Telling Wyatt how I felt about her before I told her was fucked up.
I should have said it days ago. Hell, I should have admitted it years ago.
Instead, I hesitated, afraid she wasn't ready to hear it.
Afraid it wasn't the right time to say it.
Afraid of a bunch of shit that doesn't matter because it doesn't change a goddamn thing.
I love her. I've always loved her. I will always love her.
Everything else is just white noise, something that has no real bearing on our relationship or what comes next for us.
The only opinions that really matter here are ours, and so long as she's willing to risk it all, I won't ever tell her no.
She draws to a stop right outside the door, peeking over at me with anxiety in her gaze.
"It's going to be okay, princess," I remind her, tugging her into my arms to brush my lips across her forehead. "They already know, remember? Your dad already gave me permission to put that ring on your finger. My parents already called to congratulate us. All we're doing now is having dinner."
"I know. I'm just nervous."
"Why?" I tip her head back, searching her face.
"You've always been my secret," she whispers. "Even if you didn't know it, I felt like I had a piece of you that I didn't have to share with anyone else. I got to keep it all to myself. I guess I just need to get used to being allowed to love you out loud."
"Jesus." I brush my lips across hers in a hard kiss. "You'll always have pieces of me no one else has, Coco. It doesn't matter who knows about us; they'll never be able to touch those places because they're yours."
They've been hers all along. Nothing will change that now. There isn't a force in heaven or hell strong enough to do that.
"I know." She smiles up at me. "But I'm selfish when it comes to you, Trystan. I don't want to share any part of you."
"You aren't the only one. I'd keep you locked in the bedroom all fucking day long if it were allowed, baby." I smooth strands of hair away from her face. "I like having you all to myself."
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. "Maybe you can have me all to yourself after dinner."
I groan softly, resting my forehead against hers as my dick immediately stiffens in my pants. "Little minx, you aren't playing fair."
"I didn't even do anything," she lies.
"Oh, really? Is that why I'll be sitting across from our parents with a raging hardon all night?"
Her soft laugh hits me right in the heart. She may be nervous, but she'll be fine. We both will. We're not running a gauntlet here. We did that shit a long goddamn time ago. Now, we're crossing the finish line to meet the people who were cheering us on the whole way, even when we didn't hear them.
I kiss her again and then lift my hand, rapping on the door.
Judging by how fast Aunt Cadence throws it open, she's been waiting on the other side. But if she heard anything we said, she doesn't mention it. She just takes a look at the two of us wrapped up in each other, and a bright smile stretches across her face.
"I'm so happy for you!" she cries, flinging her arms around both of us in a fierce hug.
Before she even pulls back, I see my Ma crowding into the doorway behind her, flanked by my dad and Uncle Colton. Ma and Pops are smiling. Colton looks…okay. He isn't glaring at me like he wants to stab me in the throat, anyway.
He meets my gaze, his somber. But he doesn't get a chance to say anything before Aunt Cadence shifts over and Ma pulls us into a hug, whispering something in Chloe's ear.
"I'm so proud of you, son," she says to me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "You're going to be an amazing husband to this sweet girl."
"Ma," I whisper, my throat tight as I squeeze the shit out of her.
"Alright, alright, let them breathe, baby doll," Pops orders, his voice light as he gently detangles Ma from around us, tugging her back inside the house. His eyes come to me, his expression a mix of pride and amusement. "Good to see you finally got your head out of your ass."
"Eli!" Ma swats him across the stomach. "Leave my son alone."
"Yeah, Uncle Eli," Chloe says, coming to my defense with her chin in the air and a stubborn glint in her eyes. "Maybe it wasn't him that needed to get his head out of his butt in the first place. Maybe it was me."
Pops grins at her, pulling her in for a hug. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'm just teasing. We've been waiting a long goddamn time to finally get to call you our daughter. You two kept us waiting long enough."
She glances up at him, blinking like she's surprised. "You knew?"
"Everyone knew, baby girl," Uncle Colton answers for him. "We've known since you were kids. We've just been waiting for the two of you to figure it out."
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, her expression rueful. "Maybe we already knew," she says, glancing away from her dad. "Maybe we were just…afraid you wouldn't approve?"
"Jesus," Colton growls, nudging Pops out of the way to pull her into a fierce hug. "You don't ever break your own heart again to spare mine, you hear me, Clo?" His gaze drifts to me. "You either, son. You love each other and let us worry about the rest."
Jesus.
My throat is so fucking tight I can't make a sound. All I can do is nod in response. But hearing him say it? Knowing he isn't pissed that I'm stealing his baby girl? Goddamn, that feels good. It's like the last bit of weight on my shoulders just…dissolves.
"Dad," Chloe cries softly, burying her face in his throat.
He hugs her tight, whispering something in her ear that makes her choke and then giggle. And that sound tells me everything I need to know. Maybe we did everything backwards, but we still ended up precisely where we were meant to be.
Together.
"Are you coming back home?" Aunt Cadence asks Chloe halfway through dinner.
"Um…" Chloe darts a quick look in my direction.
"She's coming home with me," I say firmly.
We talked about it last night, about what the future looks like for us, where it is, and what we want.
And, not gonna lie, I want her in my bed, in the house I built for her.
Every brick, every board, every piece of furniture was chosen for her. It's beyond time she's in it with me.
Chloe shoots a nervous look at her parents, like she's worried what they're going to say about her moving in with me right away, but Aunt Cadence just nods like she expected as much.
Colton doesn't look thrilled about the prospect of his baby girl moving four hours away, but he doesn't shut it down, either.
"Eli and I will help you pack up her apartment tomorrow," Colton says.
"You don't have to do that," Chloe objects. "We can handle it."
"Doesn't mean you have to, Clo." He chews a bite of steak and then swallows. "One day, you're going to learn that you don't have to do everything on your own, baby girl."
"I know that," she protests softly.
"She's learning," I say when Colton gives her a 'don't bullshit me' look.
He glances at me, his expression level, and then nods.
"Good. The most important thing you'll ever do as her husband is keep her grounded while still leaving her room to fly.
She's going to want to run full speed ahead and do everything herself.
You have to learn to let her, and you have to learn when to be her soft place to land.
She wasn't born for her feet to stay on the ground. "
"Dad," she whispers from my side, adoration all over her face.
"I mean it, Clo. You were meant to fly. But you're stubborn and independent, and you think you can conquer the world on your own. You need someone like Trystan looking out for you. He understands how precious you are. Don't fight him too much on it."