13. ~ Chapter Thirteen ~
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
T revor
“I don’t do big family dinners, Lucia,” I muttered, taking a drink of my amber liquid.
These last three months have been the fastest of my life, but I wouldn’t have traded a moment of it. Lucia has been like a breath of fresh air in my life. She’s allowed me to bounce ideas off of her, giving me sound advice when situations become too sticky, or what moves would be better to handle.
She’s been the kindest friend I could ask for, and the best lover I’ve ever had.
But she’s also a woman who is stuck in her traditions. And for her, Sunday meals were the one time that everyone got together. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Not just siblings or parents. We’re talking about all her dad’s higher up men, their wives, and their kids. That’s easily a meal that would be well over forty people. And that was something that just wasn’t done with me or my family. I never saw my dad do that for his men.
Beyond that, she’s also talked about kids and the way we would raise them. Now, I’m a pretty open person, but again, her traditions have come into play, and it’s brought me up short every time.
It’s only shown me, again, just how different our backgrounds are. Not that it’s a bad thing. But when we’re both deep into our roots, it makes for fun times.
Okay, maybe she and I have butted heads once or twice and it has blown up into a full-fledged yelling match. For that, I will give her that her temper is quite nasty.
But she’s also quick to forgive and quick to ask for forgiveness. Something I don’t see too often, and something that many a women in my world would never do.
Again, though, I wouldn’t have traded a moment at all. No matter what, at the end of the day, even through our differences, she’s honestly the best damn Siren call I ever answered.
“But it’s a great way to honor them, Trevor,” she replied, hands on her hips.
“They know I value them, isn’t that enough?”
“Sometimes, no it’s not.”
I turned to her and finally sat my glass on the counter. With a sigh, I wrapped my arms around her waist and drew her close.
“Wife, I love that you care, it’s sweet. But it’s not done here. There are many things you have brought into my life from your history, and I love it. I love sharing our worlds like this. But would you trust me to say that this is something that’s not done and would possibly make my men uncomfortable? You’ve seen them, know how they are. Would you want to do something like that?”
I kissed her pout away, lifting a brow as she slowly shook her head.
“No, I wouldn’t want to do that. I just feel like it’s something nice.”
“And I appreciate that, truly. And I know the men would too. But that still doesn’t change the fact.” I kissed her again, and again, unable to get enough of her lips. “My little Siren,” I murmured against her lips, drawing her even closer so she could feel the effect she had on me.
“You have a meeting you can’t miss,” she scolded me as she pulled away.
“I’ll be back later. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I grinned to myself as I got in the car, those words never getting old. It was a month into our marriage, on a beach time date I had planned for us, when we shared those words for the first time, and it made my heart soar, like it has every time sense.
Lucia
I watched him walk out the door and sighed. He was right, I knew it. But that didn’t neglect the fact that I wanted to do something, to start something. It didn’t have to be weekly, but it would be nice if it was. It was a time the men could let loose for a moment, just enjoy the time with their boss, get to know everyone on a different level.
What was so awkward and uncomfortable about that? Hell, that connection usually led to better times out on the field. A more solid trust in the man standing next to you.
As it was, most of these men had poker nights or drinking nights together. What was dinner at the boss man’s house?
I checked the time, seeing how long it would take before he was home and then rushed to my phone, easily pulling a few ladies into a text thread. I loved my husband, and I did listen to his wishes and desires. And if this thought totally backfired on me, then I would own the mistake and wouldn’t do it again.
I know that I’ve brought a lot of my world into his, but I’ve also held a lot of myself back, taking on what he liked and what he wanted. What was found was a good balance of mixing up our worlds.
But this, this was just something I wasn’t going to budge on anymore.
Four hours later, I pulled the last dish out of the oven, smiling at how full the house felt. Trevor had a massive home, with a huge formal eating area that hadn’t been used ever, according to what he told me.
So tonight, I was using it. I had O’Malley, his wife and two daughters. I had Jameson with his wife and son. I also had Doc with his eldest daughter. Plus, many more names I was still learning. And so far, no one seemed to find this odd. In fact, they seemed to love the camaraderie.
And if the comments that I kept hearing about the smell of the food were anything to go by, I would think they were enjoying themselves even more.
“What the hell is this?”
All heads turned to look at Trevor as he stood in the room, eyeing his men.
I cleared my throat, setting the final dish down on the table.
“It’s dinner, Husband.” I walked over to him and took his hand. “No one is uncomfortable.”
“You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
“If this failed, if no one liked it, then I wouldn’t bring it up again. But there’s many reasons why my family does this, not just for a good time. It’s another way to form trust.”
“You really are going to be my ball buster, aren’t you, Wife?”
“Yeah, probably.” I stood on my toes and kissed his lips, tasting the faint whiskey there. “Are you mad?”
“I should be, you know that. You went against my wishes.”
“But for a good cause. Because,” I told him, giving him a saucy smile with a flirty wink. “I know you love me, like I love you, Husband. But you really ought to get used to it. Many things like this are bound to happen in our future. It’s just our Clash of Worlds.”