19. #2
“Aw, Aravin! You understood what I wanted to say but was too nice to say out loud,” Cecily said with an obviously fake smile.
I laughed with the other women and then took a sip of my drink, a concoction Cecily had made after hanging out with a cousin from Rojo who was preparing to open a bar.
Since I’d moved to Colorado Springs, I’d gotten closer to even more of the Tempest family, although some of them, like Rin and his siblings, had different surnames.
For instance, Cecily, Briony, Aravin, and their brothers were Jeffersons.
Other cousins I’d met had the last name Westland.
Overall, they were proud to be part of the Tempest family, and I understood why.
Tonight was a prime example of what kind of people made up their family.
Not only had they accepted me into the fold, but they’d also befriended Sho, Avi, and Ciro as well as Park and Sully.
Now, when Rin’s parents hosted a family dinner, they set places for all of us.
Even though I’d watched it play out time and time again as we met more of Rin’s family, it still amazed me that I’d been lucky enough to become part of this group.
“You and Rin have been together for a bit now, haven’t you?” Tana asked.
“It’s been almost six weeks.”
“That may not seem like a long time to most people, but in our family, you’re practically an old married couple at this point,” Dilly teased.
I wasn’t sure how to take her comment, so I asked, “What do you mean?”
“I guess that’s not completely true. My mom and dad had a long-distance relationship for quite a while before he kidnapped her and held her hostage until she figured out he loved her.”
I stared at Dilly in shock before I choked out, “Kidnapped?”
“It wasn’t technically a kidnapping. It’s really kind of romantic.
My mom didn’t even know she was pregnant with me when she met my dad,” Natty explained.
“Dad wasn’t very forthcoming about himself, and then Mom found out she was pregnant and cut off all contact.
He thought she’d found out his secret, which shouldn’t have been a secret at all, so he went to talk to her and figured out she was pregnant. ”
I thought about it for a second and then asked, “When did the kidnapping part take place?”
“He went to talk to her, and my aunts and uncles all showed up and overwhelmed her . . .”
“Our family can do that without even realizing it,” Dilly interrupted.
“And he took her for a drive. She fell asleep, so he brought her here from Rojo while she was napping, and she woke up in a different state,” Natty finished.
“And he held her hostage?” I asked.
“Not really. He took her home when she was ready, but he convinced her they were meant to be together before that happened. At least that’s the story we were told. I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”
I thought about the times I’d seen Natty interacting with Thorn and asked, “Do you have a good relationship with your biological father?”
“I’ve never met him and don’t ever plan on it. However, his mother is a huge part of our lives. She’s a grandma to all of us,” Natty explained.
“That’s sweet.”
“Dad and Papa met ages ago and got together for a while before they broke up for years. They eventually got back together, met my mom, had us, and here we are,” Tana explained.
“My parents probably don’t know I know this, but Mom bounced after their one-night stand. They ran into each other later after Dad moved into the apartments and Mom became a tutor for my oldest brother, Porter.”
“Basically, what we want to know is when you and Rin are going to realize you’re perfectly meant to be and make it official,” Natty explained.
“He calls me his girlfriend. I think that’s pretty official, don’t you?” I asked.
“Has he told you he loves you yet?” Tana asked.
I sat up straight at the thought and felt my heart start to race before I said, “No.”
“How do you feel about him?” Cecily asked.
“I hate it when I don’t wake up beside him, and when we’re apart, I find myself looking at the clock to calculate how long it will be before I can see him again.”
“How often is it that he stays at his apartment rather than at your house?” Natty asked.
“Every few days, he starts to feel guilty that Grim’s alone too much, so he goes home for the night.”
“That’s a simple fix,” Cecily boasted.
“What do you mean?”
“Move the cat into your house, and Rin will follow,” Cecily said with a shrug as if it were that easy. “It’s not like you could move your entire entourage into his place. Besides, you bought that house for a reason, so it only makes sense that he’d move in with you.”
“I’m not sure he’s ready for that.”
“Ask him. Better yet, tell him that you are so he knows where he stands,” Dilly suggested.
“You don’t think it’s too soon?” I asked as I looked over my shoulder at the men who were laughing together around the table.
Ian was sitting next to Sully, helping him with his hand.
I felt tears spring to my eyes at the sight of the card holder that Rin had picked up today because he knew it would probably be difficult for Sully and Park to hold their hand of cards.
The discs held the cards fanned out and were much easier to hold than the cards themselves, and just to make it less obvious that they were an adaptive aid, most of the men around the table were using them too.
That was something I had never even considered, but Rin had - and then he found a solution to the problem.
He and his entire family had welcomed Park and Sully with open arms and made a place for them at the table right along with Ciro.
Sho and Avi seemed to like spending time with Rin’s family and had stayed for dinner before they left to enjoy their night off, leaving me with Ciro.
My family was coming in this weekend, and I knew without a doubt that they’d be welcomed just like the rest of my entourage had been.
I looked forward to introducing my dad to Rin’s fathers and uncles and knew that Bex would love hanging out with my new friends while my younger brothers went off to reconnect with the friends they’d made while they were visiting.
Rin had already mentioned that he couldn’t wait to introduce Nicky and Vigo to some of the younger members of his family and that they were excited to plan some things for the older boys to do with them while they were here.
I couldn’t wait to see my family again and was eager to show them my new home and introduce them to the people I’d come to love - especially Rin, who I knew in my heart was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Yes, I loved Rin Martin. I knew that he truly cared for me, too, even though we hadn’t exactly said the words yet. The feelings were there, at least on my part.
Now I just needed to figure out how to tell him.