Chapter 33
thirty-three
Harper
FAMILY DINNER.
Over the next few weekends, Ginny continued to pop in unannounced at every opportunity.
I found I preferred to stay at Benny’s house rather than my apartment as there were fewer eyes on us here, but after she’d loudly slammed the front door during what had been a mind-blowing blow job and entirely ruined the mood, we’d decided we needed to do something about it.
Benny had tried taking her key. She’d always find another one.
When we confronted her, she promised she’d stop—or at least let us know before she showed up—on the condition that I started coming to family dinner.
That left us either closing ourselves in at my apartment… or me surrendering to her terms.
My apartment wasn’t much better. He was quieter about it, but Matthew couldn’t stop himself from sneaking in and making us lunch or dinner or dropping something off.
Between the both of them, Benny wasn’t naked anywhere near as much as I wanted him to be, and while we’d managed to cross off a decent amount of his movie list and determined that I did not like video games, I needed to secure more alone time with him.
Ginny had been ecstatic when I’d finally agreed to come to dinner this week. She’d even told me I could bring my parents since “we were all family now,” and while hell would freeze over before that happened, I also wasn’t going to face the wolves alone.
As much as I hoped Benny would stand up for me against his family if he had to, I knew that was far too much to ask of him. There was one person, though, I knew would stand up for me no matter what. I just had to figure out how to ask Matthew to come.
He was at his desk, just outside my open office door, and focused on his screen.
I could just ask him, like a normal person would have, but it somehow made my stomach twist with nerves.
I could text him. Or maybe I could just tell him I needed him to take me somewhere and not let him know until we walked into Ginny’s house and he’d figure it out for himself.
I pondered my options until something moving very quickly snapped up my attention instead and I narrowly dodged the object on a path for my head.
A paper airplane, I realized, and suddenly my racing heart was a little ridiculous.
Matthew poked his tongue out at me, then went back to typing. He had noticed me staring at him, then.
My fingers traced the corners and folds of the plane before I decided it could solve my problem.
COME TO FAMILY DINNER WITH ME
I scribbled on the paper, then carefully refolded it. Matthew knew about Ginny’s ultimatum. He’d been encouraging me to take a chance and go, so he’d know what I meant when I threw it back.
As he reached for it, I turned my attention back to my own screen, making very sure that I wouldn’t make eye contact with him after he read it.
When I looked back, minutes later, he’d been waiting. With a wide smile and eyes that were glassy, even from this distance, he nodded, and I rolled my eyes, getting back to work even as I felt my face heat.
I stared at Ginny’s home through the shield of the car window.
It was only a few streets from Benny’s and a very similar style, if not quite as big. He’d told me Rachel and her kids lived here too, since Rachel’s divorce.
I knew from our texts that Benny was already here. They were just waiting for us, and Rikky.
“They’ll love you.” Matthew spoke up from where he’d patiently been waiting since he’d turned the car off.
“What if they don’t?”
“That’s not possible.”
“How do you know?”
“Because anyone who takes the time to really, truly know you, will love you.”
I wanted to believe him, but doubt was louder than hope in the face of the unknown. At least whatever happened, I knew I’d have him.
“Ready?”
I inhaled deeply and nodded. I didn’t feel ready, but no amount of sitting in this car was going to change that.
Matthew handed me the bottle of wine he’d insisted we bring and got out to get the stupidly large bouquet of flowers from the back seat he’d also insisted upon.
He attempted to hand me those as well. I shook my head. Too much.
Every step closer to the front door made the nausea intensify. And as Matthew knocked firmly, I wouldn’t have been lying if I said I had a stomachache and needed to leave.
Benny opened the door only seconds later, a wide grin on his face as he yanked me into a hug, then kept his arm around me as he offered Matthew a fist bump he reluctantly returned.
“About time, was wonderin’ if you’d gotten los—” Ginny looked up from the food she was preparing as we walked into the kitchen, her eyes locking onto Matthew and the bouquet in his arms. “Well, hello there.”
Matthew stared right back, a slow smile claiming his lips. “Hello there. You must be Benny’s sister.”
Ginny laughed. “Oh, I like you. I’m his ma.” She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear.
My eyes snapped to Benny, who seemed equally confused about what we were witnessing as Matthew approached Ginny with the flowers.
“These are beautiful,” she gasped as she took them from him.
“The very least we could do to return your generous hospitality.”
She giggled. “Yeah, you can come back whenever you like.”
“Well,” Benny interrupted. “We are goin’ to… go somewhere else.”
“Bring the kids in, Bear Bear,” she replied without turning to look at us.
“Yep.” Benny took the wine from my hand and placed it on the table before steering me out of the room and through the house to the back door.
The back yard had play equipment, soccer goals, a basketball hoop, and various toys scattered over the grass. Two young boys were chasing each other around with plastic guns that shot foam bullets as they screamed.
Benny grabbed one by the waist as he dashed past. The child screamed louder. “Let me go! You’re gonna make me lose!”
“It’s time to come in for dinner, Lachy.”
“But—”
“If you don’t come in, Nana will get grumpy, and then we all lose.”
Lachlan groaned and slumped in Benny’s hold in defeat.
“That means you too, Harv,” he called out to the other child, who was now hiding behind the equipment with his feet sticking out.
“After dinner, can you play with us?” Lachlan asked.
“Sure,” Benny answered.
“And him too?” He pointed a finger at me.
I swallowed. I didn’t have the first clue of what to do with children. What if I played wrong and then they didn’t like me?
Benny smiled softly. “Maybe, but only if you listen and come inside.”
Lachlan nodded, and Benny put him down, only to get shot with a foam bullet to the chest before Lachlan screeched with laughter and ran inside. Harvey was on his feet again too, screaming for absolutely no reason before he took off after his brother into the house.
Benny sighed, shaking his head as he reached for my hand.
“Won’t they get in trouble?”
He tilted his head slightly. “Why would they get in trouble?”
“Because… they’re being loud.”
My parents would never have allowed Logan and me to run around the house making all that noise, or at all. Especially not with projectiles that could hit something valuable.
“They’re just bein’ kids.” His thumb stroked over my hand softly.
It didn’t make sense to me that everyone was okay with them being so… noticeable. It wasn’t that I had an issue with it, but adults were supposed to, weren’t they?
“You alright?” he asked, taking my other hand and pulling me into him. I nodded, letting his hands go to wrap my arms around him and hold him close.
“Missed you,” I mumbled against his chest.
Warmth echoed over my back where his hand smoothed up and down. “I missed you too, baby.”
“Is it always chaotic here?”
Benny huffed. “You think it’s chaotic now, just wait until Rach comes out.”
“Where is she?”
“Puttin’ makeup on or somethin’. She said she wants to make a good impression on my new partner.”
I swallowed. “You haven’t told her?”
He chuckled. “Nope.”
I believed him, especially once we moved to sit in the living room to wait for Ginny, and apparently Matthew, to finish with dinner
“Fuck,” she swore, freezing in the doorway.
Rachel looked at me, then at Benny and his arm around my shoulders on the sofa, and I fought myself not to pull away from him.
“Is this… am I…” She pinched her hand and cursed again. “Not dreamin’.”
I swallowed. She screamed.
“Holy shit! You’re who this idiot has been keepin’ a secret from us?” She ran a hand through her perfectly styled hair, making a few strands shoot out at odd angles. “I did not see this comin’.”
Rachel was even louder than her children, and I genuinely couldn’t tell if she was excited or outraged.
“Jesus. Well.” She marched over to me until she was standing in front with her arms extended.
I looked at Benny—who offered me no assistance—before slowly standing. The moment I was close to upright, her arms snapped around me in a spine cracking hug. “Welcome to the family, boss.”
My fingers twitched by my side before I hesitantly returned it.
Then she let me go and reached over to flick Benny in the forehead. “Thanks for the heads up, shithead.”
“Don’t say shit,” Lachlan yelled as a foam bullet hit Rachel in the back.
“I’m a grown-up, and grown-ups are allowed to say it,” she yelled back as another bullet flew past her. “I’ll be right back. I have kids to shoot,” she told me before all three of them were screaming louder as she chased them through the house.
I slowly turned to look at Benny, who seemed very amused.
While I hadn’t known exactly what to expect tonight, it hadn’t been that.
The noise continued as we sat at the dining table while Ginny and Matthew brought the many food dishes over.
“Guess this means I shouldn’t talk crap about work anymore.” Rachel smiled as she spoke around a mouthful of bread.
I cleared my throat. “You can. I’ll join you.”
She smiled wider.
Ginny slapped her hand. “Don’t eat until Rikky gets here.”
Rachel grunted. “Where the f-heck is he anyway?”
“He said he’d be runnin’ a little late. I’ll text him,” Benny offered, pulling his phone from his pocket.
“Just a text and then it’s phones off at the dinner table, Benjamin,” Ginny scolded, then pointed between me and Matthew with the silver handle of a butter knife. “That applies to both of youse as well.”
Matthew smiled, and I nodded quickly.
Despite the chaos, things were going remarkably well. Rachel hadn’t been calm about learning of our relationship, but she’d been immediately accepting. Like it was no big deal. And I supposed, to Benny and his family, that maybe it wasn’t.
Food was dished out. Rachel and Ginny bickered with each other. The boys kept whispering and looking at Benny in a way that made me suspect they were plotting something, and Matthew and Benny took turns giving me long looks as I sat quietly absorbing it all.
Benny’s hand found mine under the table, and I threaded our fingers together.
This was fine. Everything was going to be fine.
“Oh dear.” Matthew frowned, and I followed his line of sight to the doorway and the imposing figure who now stood there.
I’d known it would only be a matter of time before I’d see him again. It was inevitable, but I’d never have expected to see him here.
“You fucking bastard,” I seethed, standing fast enough that my chair toppled backwards and crashed to the floor.
My hand, now free of Benny’s, grabbed my glass and hurled it at him. He caught it, which only pissed me off more.
“Careful, little snake. You might hurt someone,” he chuckled, that always present smirk on his stupid lips.
“We both know you don’t feel pain, or anything else. What the fuck are you doing here?”
The room had fallen completely silent.
Benny’s hand found mine again. I had to protect him. Whatever this human weapon was here for, it couldn’t be good.
“You… know Rikky?” Benny asked me.
My brain short-circuited. I had to fight my instincts to take my eyes off the intruder to look at Benny. He didn’t seem concerned. None of them, Matthew excluded, were concerned.
“Rikky?” I repeated.
Benny nodded.
My eyes shot to the doorway again as rage and confusion collided. “Your best friend Rikky…” I couldn’t keep my voice down. “Is Henrik fucking Kovats?”