Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
WESTON
I blamed the twins for my current predicament. There really was no other option. I wasn’t sure exactly how I had ended up in this space, in this moment, but there was no escaping it.
The Cage family, not in all its glory as I knew there was more than double to come, stared at me.
I met Hudson’s gaze as he whistled through his teeth, and I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“Weston, bro. You’re here.” Dorian came forward and hugged me hard, slapping me on the back.
I blinked at him, grateful for cutting the tension. “Sorry to intrude, but I told Bella here that I would come and annoy her.”
I winked at her, and she rolled her eyes before coming over to me. She pinched my side, but didn’t kiss my cheek or touch me more than that single brush of her fingertips. As I didn’t know what we were to each other, nor had we shown any true affection in front of my family, I didn’t blame her.
“I thought you meant later. Not while we were making dinner,” she said drily.
“The twins kicked me out.”
“Twins?” Blakely asked, her voice high-pitched.
We had met before, but only in passing at the coffee house.
I had been sort of an ass to Aston then, so I had a feeling Bella was going to have more than a few questions after this dinner.
I nearly mouthed the word sorry to her, but frankly, I was going full steam ahead with this.
After all, I had brought her over for a large family event at my place, it was only right for me to be on the chopping block here.
Because with the twins and all the other teenagers asking Isabella a thousand questions while their parents looked on in curiosity, it had changed things. Even more so than finally having the woman I’d dreamt of for too long. We’d acted as if it were natural. Yet we hadn’t spoken of what it meant.
Not that I wanted to be a man of words.
“My sisters. Sam and Sydney. They just had prom and were appreciative that Bella helped out, so they kicked me out of the house to say thank you.”
Bella cleared her throat. “Weston and I knew each other from before. Well, a while ago. It just so happens that he happened to live here. And I just said happened like eight times in that sentence. So ignore me.”
Blakely just grinned as Sophia clapped her hands silently, and all of the men glared at me.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t a glare precisely.
But they were studying me as if they had never seen me before.
And considering I was best friends with one of them, more than an acquaintance with the other, and had met a third, that was saying something.
“Well I’m glad that Bella here has tons of food. The more the merrier.” Dorian squeezed my shoulder, and I glared at him.
“Really?”
“What, does she only go by Bella with you? Oh, I have so many questions. I really should have brought Amy here. I mean, if we’re all for bringing dates, oh and fiancés.”
A man with light hair and broad shoulders gave me a small wave. “Hi. I’m said fiancé. Of Sophia. It’s nice to meet you. And don’t worry, my first dinner was even more chaotic.”
“He’s not wrong.” Sophia skipped over to me and beamed. “I know we didn’t meet, but I remember you. I have so many questions, and thankfully we have an agenda first for our dinner, and then I can ask them all.” She squeezed my hand, and I just looked at Bella.
A man who looked like a harsher version of Hudson with longer hair and a beard raised a brow at me. I knew this man and not just because I had every single one of his albums and the twins had his poster on their wall.
“Kyler.”
“Weston.”
“I forgot you two had met,” Bella said as she shook her head. “I’m not doing this right. Let me introduce you to everyone. Belatedly.”
I ran my hand down her back, reassuring her. The act wasn’t missed by a single damn person in the room. “It’s good to meet you all. Or see you again.” I looked over at Aston. “Sorry I was an asshole. I was having a long day.”
“That could be said about many days,” Hudson said with a grunt.
Dorian staggered back comically. “Did Hudson just joke? Okay, we’re going to have to have Weston here at all times. I mean, look what he just did to big brother over here.”
“So Hudson’s older?” I asked, not knowing why I was wading into the family tree.
“Yes, he and Flynn are twins, and then came me, the apple of their eyes.” Dorian wrapped his arm around Hudson’s neck and squeezed.
“More like the apple that fell from the tree and got bruised and a little dented,” Hudson mumbled.
Bella’s lips twitched, and without thinking I wrapped my arm around her waist.
The motion was not lost on anyone, but Bella persevered. If I was going to be here, I was going to be here. And hopefully not fuck everything up.
“Let’s go finish making dinner, I have appetizers ready, but I don’t want to burn anything else.”
“We’ve got this. And we can grill Weston so that way Cale gets a break. I mean, Cale’s marrying into the family now so you’re going to have to be all blissful.”
I looked down at the ring on Sophia’s finger and smiled. “That’s new, right?”
The woman who looked so much like Bella smiled brightly. “Yes. Yesterday. And I’m just so happy.”
“Congratulations, man,” I said as I held out my hand to Cale. I’d already said something to the like, but I hadn’t realized the engagement was so new.
“Thanks. I’m really glad that you’re here because I was sweating about this dinner.”
“We haven’t forgotten about you. She might be my new little sister, but I am ready to grill both of you. We can make it like a game show.” Dorian rubbed his hands together, and I narrowed my gaze.
“You forget I’ve known you longer than some of your newest siblings. I know where the skeletons are.”
Dorian waved his hand at me. “I don’t have any skeletons.”
Aston choked on the rest of his champagne. “Oh, you’re not going to say that in this family, are you?”
“I want to know some skeletons. But only the good ones. The happy glowy skeletons,” Blakely said, and then she set down her drink. “Apparently one glass of champagne has already gotten to my head.”
Bella pulled me into the kitchen with the others, pointedly not looking at me.
Did she not want me here? Or was she just nervous.
But when she squeezed my hand, I realized that it had to be the latter.
Well, I had been just as nervous before the prom, and it wasn’t even our prom.
We were just going to have to figure this out. Whatever this was.
“I have appetizers ready, but first, family photo for the damn lawyer.”
“Can’t we photoshop this?” Cale asked.
“We don’t ask questions, plus, they can do a surprise visit.” Bella rolled her eyes. “We have to tell them when and where the dinners are. It’s ridiculous.”
“To Dad being an asshole,” Dorian said as he held up his drink.
“To the asshole,” the others chimed in, and for some reason I was in the photo.
“Are they going to think you’re a Cage brother so that way we can just add people on?” Sophia asked, tapping her chin with her finger.
“No, I’m pretty sure they have our photos on some form of murder board in their office, complete with red strings so they know who’s who and what we do,” Bella said with a roll of her eyes. “Seriously. Eat. And I need help.”
I blinked down at her. “Did you just say you need help? Are you really not doing okay?” I reached to touch her forehead, and Blakely burst out into laughter.
“Oh, he really has your number.”
“I bet that’s not all he has,” Hudson mumbled.
I raised a brow at him. “Really, you’re sounding more and more like Flynn and Dorian right now.”
“This is all just so interesting,” Sophia said as she leaned on the breakfast bar, her chin on her fist. “You know them more than we do. I really do want to know all the stories. Did you grow up here?”
I looked at Bella as she handed me a small plate with appetizers on it and nodded. “Yeah. Born and raised. I had a little while down in Denver, and I went to college down there too, but this is where my family is from.”
Everybody looked between us, and Bella cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s just get it out of the way. Wes and I dated for a little while eight years ago. Then he had to move back for personal reasons, and we’re just figuring things out. Please stop asking about future things.”
“We were just asking about the past,” Aston said pointedly.
“But don’t worry, I’m not going to be the one that pries.
Considering everybody pried into mine and Blakely’s relationship.
” Blakely leaned into Aston and grinned.
“And they were relentless. I promise I will be good. Until we’re in private, and then I’m going to need all the tea. ”
“I would like to be there too. Complete with wedding planning.” Sophia beamed.
“Oh, you have to come to the wedding.” She set down her drink.
“I mean, if you know you’re around, I mean, in town.
I’m really going to stop drinking now. But I still would like you to come to the wedding.
The more the merrier. We need people on my side of the family because the other Cages outnumber us.
Not that it should be other. I love you guys. ”
“How much did you have to drink, love of my life?” Cale asked as he handed over a water.
“One silly glass, but I’m a lightweight. All those years of dancing.”
Everyone began to talk at once, and I leaned over to whisper in Bella’s ear. “I’m sorry for getting here so early. But I wanted to be here. After all, you were there for mine.”
“It’s okay. Seriously. We’re a lot to deal with. You should get used to it.” She met my gaze, raising a brow.
“I want to get used to it. Even if we’re pointedly not talking about the future.”
Aston cleared his throat. “You own Caldwell’s, right? The auto shop?” he asked, thankfully breaking the tension between Bella and me. We needed to have that talk, but maybe not in front of her entire family.