20.
R IN
“How nervous are you right now?” Ian asked.
I stopped pacing in front of the window and turned to glare at my brother before I asked, “Why are you here again?”
“Because it’s fun to watch you squirm,” Branch answered as Ian chuckled. Wallace and Matthias, two of my cousins I didn’t spend nearly as much time with, reminded me of exactly why that was when they started cackling too. “It’s very entertaining.”
“I’m not sure why you’re nervous,” Ian said through his laughter.
“Yeah. It’s not like you’re about to meet the head of a mafia family or something,” Wallace added.
Matthias laughed again before he said, “I wonder if cement boots come in sizes or if it’s just a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.”
“It’s like he’s gearing up to fight the boss at the end of a game level, and if he wins, he gets to move on to the next one,” Ian said.
“What exactly would the next level be if it’s scarier than hanging out with a mafia don?” Wallace asked.
“My guess is marriage,” Matthias said with a shrug. “There’s nothing more terrifying than that, right?”
The look on my face must have given me away because my brother gasped before he asked, “Are you going to ask her to marry you?”
“I’m going to talk to her dad about my intentions.”
“Are you going to take your covered wagon or just ride your horse over?” Branch asked. “What year is it again?”
“It’s the respectable thing to do. I’m going to have a man-to-man talk to tell him I’m in love with his daughter and plan on spending the rest of my life with her.”
“Wow. I was just giving you shit, man. I didn’t know you were already there with her,” Matthias said in a more serious tone. “I had no idea.”
“Have you run your feelings past her yet?” Branch asked.
“Obviously, she had to assume this was the next step when he admitted he’s in love with her, right?” Ian asked.
“I haven’t told her that yet.”
My brothers and cousins just stared at me in silence as they digested that information. I knew they probably thought I was crazy, and I was beginning to wonder about that myself.
“That’s putting the cart before the horse, don’t you think?” Matthias asked.
“Who says shit like that?” Branch mumbled.
“It’s true, though. He’s gonna ask her father for her hand in marriage, and they haven’t even said the words yet. Fuck, man. That’s a little out of order, no?”
“Maybe,” I admitted. “I guess I didn’t really think that part through. I was so focused on making a good impression with her dad that I didn’t think about talking to her first.”
“I think this is how they did it in the old days, right?” Ian asked.
Matthias burst out laughing before he said, “Don’t ask us! That’s not how things are done where we come from.”
Wallace was laughing, too, when he asked, “Ain’t that the truth?”
“Where you guys come from, they’re still doing arranged marriages and all that other archaic shit,” Branch scoffed. “You’re in the real world now, boys, and this is not the usual order of things.”
“You act like we got here three days ago or something,” Matthias complained. “We know how shit works out here.”
Many of my cousins started their lives in a religious compound not far away.
When they were exiled and usually dropped off in the middle of nowhere to fend for themselves, the lucky ones found families to take them in.
Families like mine. Uncle Cohen and Aunt Freya started a non-profit organization to help the ones they called The Lost Boys - boys like Matthias and Wallace and too many others to count - where they taught them how to survive in the modern-day world where the rules they’d been raised under didn’t apply.
“I know you understand how shit works. I’m just saying that this is generally not how it’s done,” Branch argued. “Rin hasn’t even found the balls to tell her that he loves her, and he’s already skipping three steps . . .”
“Ten steps!” Ian corrected.
“And is planning to ask her father for her hand in marriage,” Branch finished.
“I want to do this right. I’m not gonna lie and say that her father’s reputation doesn’t scare the shit out of me, but he seems like a man who would appreciate old school ways,” I explained.
“And if he hates you, you get to sleep with the fishes!” Wallace exclaimed way too cheerfully.
“Why am I even here?” I asked.
“Well, this is your house,” my brother said sarcastically.
As I pulled my keys out of my pocket, I said, “It’s a beautiful day, and I could be riding instead of listening to your bullshit.”
“That sounds like a great idea!” Ian exclaimed as he got up from the couch.
Branch stood up, too, and looked over at Wallace and Matthias before he asked, “Wanna come with us?”
“I’m always down for a ride,” Matthias said as he stood up.
“Let’s go!” Wallace said as he pulled his key out of his pocket. “How long are we going to be out?”
When I shrugged, he said, “Give me five minutes to go over and let Joe out and then lock up.”
“And I need to change,” Branch said as he walked out the front door.
So much for a little quiet time to myself. However, any amount of time on my motorcycle calmed me, even if I had to be surrounded by the loudmouthed idiots I called family.
Although, those idiots had hit the mark today. I was nervous about meeting Constance’s family and terrified about what her father would say when I worked up the nerve to ask for Stan’s hand.
I knew what I was feeling was right and true, though, even as scary as it may be. Constance Romano would someday become Constance Martin. When that happened, I would know that dreams really did come true.
◆◆◆
STAN
“Is that a cat tree?”
“Did you get a cat?”
“Where is it? Is it a boy or a girl?”
“What’s its name?”
I looked over my shoulder at Freddy and Rory before I interrupted their barrage of questions and asked, “You haven’t seen it yet?”
“No!” they exclaimed in unison.
“It’s probably hiding. You should go look for it.”
The boys ran off, and Sho looked at me in confusion before she asked, “When did you get a cat?”
I chuckled and said, “I didn’t! I bought all these things for Rin’s cat in the hopes that he’d bring him to live here with me.”
“You want him to move his cat into your house?” Bex asked, looking just as confused as Sho and Avi.
“I want Rin to move into my house, and if he does, he’ll need to bring his cat, Grim.”
“Meaning, you haven’t asked him yet?” Bex asked.
“That’s right. I’m just preparing myself for when I finally get the nerve to ask him.”
“You don’t think he’s going to notice the cat tree and get curious?” Sho asked.
I hadn’t thought about that. I gave her a lopsided grin. “Maybe?”
“Let’s rewind this a bit and start at the beginning,” Bex suggested.
“Yes, please,” my dad said from the doorway. When we all turned to look at him, he said, “I feel like I missed something important and need to catch up.”
“I thought you were napping.”
“I was, but now I’m awake and very curious about the possibility of you getting a cat.”
“I’m thinking about it.”
My dad knitted his brows before he asked, “And you’re thinking about inviting the cat’s owner to move in at the same time?”
I put my chin up and said, “I am.”
“Hmm,” Dad hummed in contemplation as he sat down on the stool next to Bex.
Bex laughed before she said, “And here I thought you were moving Park and Sully in.”
“I am.” Dad’s eyebrows shot up before I explained, “Rin has become friends with them. So have most of his family.”
When Dad hummed again, Bex grinned and said, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen your father speechless.”
“I didn’t know you two were at that place in your relationship yet,” Sho said cautiously.
“Well, I am. I’m not sure if he is.”
“Hmm.” Dad seemed perplexed by all of this new information and was staring at the wall as he rubbed his jaw.
I sighed before I addressed him. “I’m in love with Rin Martin, and I’d appreciate it if you’d go into this evening with an open mind. He’s a great man with a huge heart. I hope you’ll see that and judge him by his character rather than his outward appearance.”
“But if you’re judging him by that , he’s a solid ten,” Avi said under her breath.
“That good, huh?” Bex asked.
“I can’t look at him for too long, or I forget how to speak.”
“I can’t wait to meet him. How long have you been seeing him now?” Bex asked.
“About six weeks.”
“That sounds like a fair amount of time to get to know someone before you move in together.” Dad slapped his hand on the table and pressed his lips together as he glared at Bex.
She didn’t even flinch, and I knew that was because she wasn’t afraid of my dad at all.
As scary as he could be on occasion, he’d never treated any of us with anything other than love and respect.
“Don’t look at me like that, Rico Romano!
You moved me in the very first day we met. ”
“There were extenuating circumstances!”
“And we worked out just fine, didn’t we?” Bex asked sassily. “She’s given it six weeks, and if he’s half as wonderful as she seems to think he is, it makes me wonder why she waited so long.”
“You’re the best stepmonster ever!”
“Staaaaan! We can’t find the cat!” Freddy yelled from the top of the stairs.
“Keep looking!” I yelled back before I giggled and said, “That alone makes purchasing that cat tree well worth it.”
“You’re just mean,” Bex remarked.
“I got it from my dad.”
◆◆◆
I had Avi watching the camera to let me know when Rin turned into the drive, and as soon as I got the signal from her, I went out front and shut the door behind me.
Rin smiled when he saw me, and I walked down the steps as he got off his motorcycle.
As soon as he took a step away from his bike, I was in his arms, happy to see him as always.
“Hey, babe,” Rin said after giving me a searing kiss. “Miss me?”
“Maybe a little.”
“I missed you, too, but I didn’t want to bother you by texting or anything since I knew you’d be hanging out with your family.”
“What did you do today?”
“We had a family meeting this morning, and then I did a touch-up and a walk-in appointment before I went home for the day. Some of the guys came over to give me shit about being nervous, so I took a ride before I opted to kill them all and tell their parents they ran away.”
I laughed before I asked, “Why were you nervous?”
“Gee, I don’t know.”
“My dad is a big Italian teddy bear.”
“I’m guessing you’re probably the only one who thinks that.”
“I’ll admit that he can be intimidating at times.” When Rin rolled his eyes, I said, “You seriously don’t need to be nervous! I’ve told him all about you.”
“You have?”
“Of course.”
“And what does he think about his princess dating a tattoo artist?” Rin asked.
“We both know you’re much more than that,” I teased. “You’re also gorgeous with a pretty smile.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t care about either of those things.”
I gave him one more kiss before I stepped back and tugged on his hand. “Come on! I can’t wait for you to meet Bex. She’s going to love you.”
“If you say so.”
We walked in and found Dad sitting next to Bex at the counter, but Sho, Avi, Ciro, and the other guards weren’t anywhere in sight. I assumed they were with my brothers in the game room as instructed by my father.
“Dad, this is Rin Martin. Rin, this is my father, Rico, and his girlfriend, Bex.”
Rin stuck his hand out as he said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Romano.”
Dad didn’t extend his hand, and Rin didn’t drop his.
They were having some sort of showdown, eyes locked as they waited for the other one to cave.
It got very uncomfortable very fast, and I wasn’t sure what to do, but Bex had it in hand.
She elbowed Dad in the ribs and hissed, “Don’t be a dick!
” That seemed to snap him out of it, and he stood as he took Rin’s hand.
When their handshake ended, Rin reached out toward Bex and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“Oh, God love those Southern manners,” Bex muttered as she shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
Just to make conversation, I asked, “Where did everyone go? I’d like to introduce the boys to Rin.”
“There will be time for that later,” Dad said as he sat back down. “Have a seat, Rin.”
“I’m almost done making dinner,” I said as I nudged him toward a chair.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Rin asked as he sat down.
“Will you grate the cheese?” I asked.
“I don’t understand why you don’t just buy it already shredded,” Rin said.
We’d had this conversation before, but I played along by saying, “Because it doesn’t melt the same. Besides, if you’re here, I don’t have to worry about it.”
Rin smiled as he walked to the sink to wash his hands. “I suppose that I’ll always need to be available to grate the damn cheese even when it’s your turn to cook.”
“You cook?” Dad asked.
“I do, but not nearly as well as Stan.”
“Don’t believe him,” I urged my dad. “He’s taught me how to make the sauce for tonight.”
“We’re having sour cream enchiladas?” When I smiled at him, he said, “Can’t wait!”
“Who taught you how to cook?”
“Both my dad and my papa, but I learned this recipe from Gamma. I still can’t get it to taste as good as it does when she makes it, though.”
“I’m sure we’ll meet her at Bella’s wedding,” I told Dad and Bex.
“Definitely. She and Papa Smokey are the best.”
“How long have you known Bella?” Rico asked.
“Since we were kids. She is friends with a bunch of my cousins, so I saw her in Rojo during summer break and holidays. She’s spent a lot of time here, too, over the years.”
“This is on your father’s side of the family?” Dad asked.
“Sort of,” Rin hedged.
“Sort of?” Bex asked.
“Technically, Gamma and Papa Smokey are Uncle Fain’s in-laws. Papa doesn’t have any family, but Dad’s got more than enough to go around. They all love Stan, which doesn’t surprise me.”
Dad looked at me and beamed before he said, “She’s pretty easy to love.”
“She is.”