CHAPTER 18 #2
“You are,” he says, his thumb rubbing circles into my lower back. “You probably know more about us than our own families do.”
“I am not talking about intel! I am talking about this!” I throw my empty hands up, flapping them wildly in the space between us. “I don’t have a proper gift to present to the host, or a bottle of wine, or literally anything!”
“Law doesn’t do proper gifts.”
I stare at him, and I point a finger toward the massive, multi-million-dollar Antebellum mansion sitting a few yards away.
Damián chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay, he does. But if you think about it, I’ve never introduced them to anyone. So technically, you are the proper invitation gift.”
I glare at him, and he laughs.
Ahhh… this is not good.
I lean closer, resting my forehead against his chest. Part of me wants the contact to make the nerves go away, while another part wants to hide my face so Damián can’t see me freaking out.
“But Dami… What if they hate me?” I ask, dreading that he can see how scared and self-conscious I am.
“Why would they hate you?”
“My father—”
“You are not your father.” Damián cups my cheeks with both hands, lifting my face so I have to look at him.
“You are not like him, or defined by him. You are actually the exact opposite of him. I have never met anyone with the passion, light, and compassion for others that you have. They will love you.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because I l—like you,” he stammers, and I am too nervous to understand what he is saying. “Ollie, I like you a lot, so they will like you a lot.”
Oh wow! Dami likes me a lot?
Oh, my God, since when? Was it since the day at the shower or the—no, no.
Not the time, Oliver!
You are about to meet his brothers. Please concentrate.
Okay. Let’s do this.
“So… you’ve never introduced anyone before?” I ask teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood.
“Never,” Damián admits, leaning his forehead down to rest against mine for a brief second. “Which is why they will probably be obnoxious and meddling and intense as fuck. So I apologize in advance for that… Especially about Bjorn. I really, really apologize for Bjorn.”
I laugh, take a half-step back, and offer him my hand.
“Okay… I’m ready. Let’s go meet your brothers.”
Damián grins, and his grip tightens around my hand.
And… I lied.
I am soooo not ready for this.
As we walk around the side of the house toward the backyard, I am officially panicking. I have absolutely no idea what to expect, and I can’t believe that I am currently ten times more terrified than I was when I took my father’s place.
The backyard is magnificent. It’s big and surrounded by a mix of tall trees and climbing Eden roses. There is a rustic pool that somehow fits the historic aesthetic of the house perfectly, and an outdoor kitchen equipped with the most incredible grilling setup I have ever seen.
Uff! Is that a built-in stone pizza oven?
I don’t even cook, but I want one…
And then I see them, the Harknetts.
The group of men is scattered around the yard, none of whom have seen us yet.
Like the totally normal, non-stalker informant that I am, I did an intensive investigation into the Harknetts right after the Masquerade gala. So, even though I’ve never spoken to them in my life, I know exactly who is who.
Knox is standing by the grill, flipping burgers, and wow… he looks even bigger in person than he does in his pictures, and his eyes look so much greener. Almost like emeralds. Knox is talking with Law.
Honestly, I am a bit surprised by how Law can be one of the best snipers out there. His red hair and beard practically shine in the sun like a beacon, and even in casual linen pants and a polo shirt, he looks so ridiculously elegant that I can’t imagine him ever lying face-down in the dirt.
Over by the patio, I spot Jeong Tae setting the table, and I completely understand why people assume he’s a movie star or an idol.
And no, it’s not just because of how beautiful he is, but his entire presence…
he moves so gracefully that he looks almost ethereal.
He would make an amazing Lord of the Rings elf.
And finally, I see Bjorn and Leif. The identical, Viking-like men are in the middle of the fastest, most aggressive game of ping-pong in history.
You can do this, I tell myself, gripping Damián’s hand a little tighter.
They know the truth. They know who you are, and that’s cool.
They are Dami’s family, and they are also super professional men who can—
“Holy fuck!” one of the Vikings, I assume Bjorn from his tattoos, screams at the top of his lungs, dropping his ping-pong paddle. “The time has arrived! Mini-boss drug lord is in the house!”
Damián groans, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “On the other hand, we can leave and never come back.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” I laugh as the entire team stops what they’re doing and walks toward us.
“And they are holding hands!” Leif yells, pointing directly at our laced fingers. “Who had ‘holding hands’?”
Knox lifts his spatula into the air. “Me!”
“Hey! No bets on my man!” Damián glares at his brothers, and they all go quiet, staring at him.
Okay, maybe they—
“Who had Damián calling Oliver ‘his man’?!” Bjorn yells, super excited.
Never mind.
I am laughing at the situation when Tae smiles and lifts his hand.
“That would be me.”
“Fuck… this is going to be a long day.” Damián lets out a groan.
I pull him closer and kiss his cheek. “I think it’s going to be a great day.”
Law is the first to reach us. “Alistair Fitzwilliam, but you can call me Law.” He extends a hand to me with a smile, his blue eyes looking lighter up close. “Welcome. Do make yourself at home, and I must apologize for that lot. They’re a bit rowdy, but harmless.”
“No need,” I say, shaking his hand. “Though I would like to know the bets you guys have. Maybe I want to put money on one.”
The men, who are now gathered around us, stare at me, shocked, and then Damián bursts out laughing.
“That’s the spirit! I’m Bjorn. That’s my other half, Leif.”
“Hej, Ollie!” Leif waves.
“Jeong Tae. Nice to meet you.”
“Hi,” I say, feeling my face blush.
I’m just not used to being around this many friendly people at once, but more importantly, these guys mean everything to the man I’m falling for, and the nerves are absolutely killing me.
I really, really don’t want to mess this up.
“It’s very nice to meet you all—”
“Ollie!” a voice screams from a sliding door to the main house.
I look up and see Finnian carrying a large tray of food, followed closely by Logan.
Damián told me Finnian has had a huge crush on Logan for years, and looking at him, I kinda understand why.
The man is in his early forties, but he looks stronger and better than most guys my age. His honey-blond hair perfectly matches his beard and intense eyes… Plus, he’s currently carrying two trays just to help Finnian bring the food out.
What a gentleman.
Finnian passes Logan his tray, and Logan carries it as if it’s nothing. Then Finnian runs toward me, throwing both arms around my neck and hugging me tight.
“Hi, Finni,” I chuckle, hugging him back. “How are you?”
“Wait, wait!” Bjorn points at us, and his jaw drops. “Can we do that? Why wasn’t I informed that we could hug Mini-boss?”
“Because you can’t,” Damián says, pulling me slightly behind his shoulder the second Finnian lets go.
“Mmm… I see a lot of preferential treatment happening here.”
“There is.” Damián points a finger at his own chest. “Mine. And for the last time, Bjorn, stop calling Ollie a mini-boss drug lord.”
“I don’t mind, Dami,” I say, patting his arm. “Even though the nickname is only half right.”
They all look confused, so I take a step toward Bjorn and smirk.
“I might not be mini… but I am the boss.”
Bjorn’s jaw practically drops. “Holy fuck…”
“Wow,” Knox laughs. “I’ve never seen Bjorn speechless before. We need to get a picture of this.”
FLASH!
A second later, all phones buzz at the same time, and Tae grins, lowering his phone just as the picture of Bjorn’s stunned face lands in the group chat.
Damián opens the text, bursts out laughing, and pulls me in.
“Let’s go eat, boss.”
After an afternoon of eating, swimming, and me trying to play ping-pong against Leif, “trying” being the key word, since I couldn’t hit the ball more than twice, we finally settled down for the evening.
We’re now lounging on some couches around an outdoor fire pit. I lean back against Damián; he wraps his arms around me and rests his cheek against my hair.
His fingers trace lazy patterns onto my skin, and it’s so incredibly comfortable.
It feels so good… it almost makes it easy to ignore the shocked glances the rest of the team keeps giving each other every time Damián does something remotely sweet or endearing.
Wow… they really aren’t used to seeing him like this.
And that makes me so damn giddy and happy.
“Alexios just texted,” Tae says, looking up from his phone. “He says he’s two minutes away and wants to know if we need him to bring anything.”
“Could you tell him to please bring out the desserts I left on the kitchen counter?” Finnian stands up and heads to the dinner table to gather the dessert plates.
“Do you know if he was able to solve the problem?” Knox asks Logan, and he shakes his head.
The Harknetts have a problem Alexios can’t fix?
God… please don’t let this problem be about my family.
I don’t want them to mess up this perfect day…
“Is everything okay?” I ask Damián, hoping whatever Alexios had to fix has nothing to do with my family.
“Yes.” He leans in close until his head rests against my forehead, whispering, “Alexios has a nemesis that’s been messing with some of his codes.”
Ah! Thank God it’s not…
“Is this a new thing?”
He shakes his head. “It’s been almost a year.”
“A year, and Alexios hasn’t stopped them? Jeez… How good are they?”
“They are that good. And it looks like Darth is now messing with a security code from a client who owns a bank.”
“Wait… the hacker’s name is Darth?”