Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
BLAKELY
Dear Diary,
Is it okay to believe in forever?
My parents were in love with my boyfriend.
I was quite confident that I had never thought that particular phrase before in my life, nor would have even suggested it in the past. However as we sat in my parents’ living room, Aston smiled, and my mother practically swooned.
An arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I leaned into my dad’s hold. He had that same forest scent that he always did, that mix of cologne and his deodorant that reminded me of my father.
I knew I was lucky in the way that I had grown up. Two loving parents, who cared about me. Yes, Mom had worked long hours, and Dad had been gone for forty-eight hours at a time, and yet, I had never felt the lack. I had grown up in my mom’s office, and in his fire station.
In Aston’s family parents had been there. Yes, his father had been away half the time it seemed once he had started his second family, but he had worked with three of his sons. Had done some summer vacations with them in Cage Lake. Just like he had with all of Aston’s full brothers. I remembered Isabella telling me that their father would do smaller family vacations, but nowhere near the mountains. Nowhere near a small town that bared his name.
I wasn’t quite sure how all twelve of the siblings had come out somewhat whole, or sane. Not that I knew all of Aston’s brothers inside and out, but from what I could tell, they were good people. And Isabella’s full siblings had been in my life since I had known Isabella, and they were also kind. Even Kyler, who growled more often than not.
But then again, he had been the only boy growing up in a household of girls.
I had been the lucky one, and I hadn’t even realized it.
“Well that’s a sight to see,” my dad whispered in my ear, and I sighed against his shoulder, watching my mother animatedly talk to Aston, her hands moving in the air as if she knew that if she had to sit on her hands, she probably wouldn’t be able to complete a sentence. Aston looked fully engaged, leaning forward and smiling as my mother spoke.
He was in the middle of the conversation, truly there, although something had felt off when he had picked me up. Or maybe I was just so nervous about this family dinner where he was meeting the parents, that I had put undue pressure on myself.
“What’s a sight?” I asked, pulling myself back into the present.
“You brought a man home. This is a big deal.”
I was grateful that we were far enough away that I didn’t think Aston had heard, but I still hissed lowly. “Don’t let him hear you,” I whispered.
“What? It is a big deal. You brought him over so we could check him out and vet him. I approve of your decisions, though I haven’t approved of the man yet.”
I looked up at him, my eyes narrowing. “Excuse me, you are not here to vet him.”
“Who says I haven’t already? I did warn you I would. All before your what, second date?”
My chest tightened, and I took a step back. “Please tell me you didn’t ask your friends.”
“What, I could have. I didn’t, but I could have. And you know your mom could have easily. Just a few click of the buttons.”
“And then illegally do a full background check? No, neither one of you would do that.” I paused. “Would you?”
“If I thought he was going to hurt you? In a second.” The seriousness of my father’s tone made me sit up a little straighter.
“It’s not like that. He’s a good man. ”
“And I’m glad. I would hate to have to go to jail for murdering a Cage.”
That made me smile, and I shoved at him gently. “If he hurts me, I will be the one who takes care of it.”
“And while I believe you would try, you would have to get past your mother first.” He paused. “And Isabella.”
I pressed my lips together, both of us on the edge of laughter. Because that was true. Isabella was always in our corner, even though she didn’t always let us be in her corner.
“She’s a good friend.”
“And Aston’s sister. Small world.”
I shook my head. “So small it’s a little worrying. But I’m glad we’re here for dinner. Although I am really nervous.”
“That boy better be more nervous.”
“That boy is in his thirties. I think you can call him a little more grown up than that.”
“Maybe. But since you’re my little girl, I’m going to have to use the words that I want.”
“Dad,” I said, exasperated.
“What? You really can’t blame me. I’ve never got to interrogate a boyfriend before.”
“Excuse me? You interrogated the boy that came over to drive me to swim practice. A boy I wasn’t even dating.”
“But you could have been. I didn’t know. I needed to ensure that he knew he had precious cargo.”
I rolled my eyes. “And that boy was not into girls. Remember? He’s happily married to his husband.”
“And I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew was that some stranger was about to take my baby girl out in a car, all while we weren’t there.”
“Because he had a license, I didn’t, and both of you worked way too many hours.”
“I really don’t like this logic of yours. You’re starting to sound like your mother.”
“That better not be a bad thing,” Mom called out as she came forward, Aston behind her. Dad and I had been so engrossed in our conversation that I hadn’t realized that the other two had joined us.
“Oh. Hi,” I blurted.
My dad cleared his throat. “I love you, Piper.”
My mom raised a brow. “Okay. You say that as if you’ve done something wrong.”
“Never. I promise.”
“I don’t know if I trust that,” Mom said, her eyes dancing.
“Well, I would love to know who this swim club partner of yours was,” Aston asked, and I groaned.
“Dad.”
“What? It’s a legitimate question.” My dad looked at Aston, and grinned. “His name was Shane. And he did the 200 IM, and 200 butterfly. Meaning he was really broad-shouldered.”
“Are you serious right now?” I asked, this time glaring at my father.
“I just want him to get a full picture.”
“I’m glad you interrogated him. It’s the only right thing to do.”
I poked at Aston’s side and glared. “Oh no you don’t. He was just a friend, nothing more. And as soon as I got my license, I drove myself.”
“I always find it strange that swim team practice was so early in the morning, and at a different location, so there was never any buses. It was always carpool and parents.”
Dad shook his head at Mom’s words. “But our little girl did pretty well.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Okay, let’s go eat. I’m tired of this conversation.”
“Oh no, we’re just beginning. I’m going to need to know every sport and club that you did. And see if there are photos.”
“Aston, you really don’t.”
He smiled then but didn’t reach out to touch me. He didn’t wrap his arm around my shoulders, didn’t smile in the way that he usually did.
Was he distant? Or was I just thinking too much. He’d been so animated with my mother, but perhaps I was merely seeing things now.
“Okay then, we do have lunch on the way. I made Greek wraps, not fully gyros because I don’t have the seasonings quite right, but I made tzatziki sauce.” Mom beamed, and my stomach rumbled.
Aston’s lips finally twitched into a semblance of a smile, as my dad licked his lips.
“Don’t forget the Greek potatoes. And salad. Okay I’m starving. Let’s go.”
We walked into the kitchen and pulled everything off the warmers and took the salad out of the fridge. Of course, my father decided to tell a few more embarrassing stories, and I did my best to ignore it. Mostly because this is what you did with parents. At least that’s what I had heard. Because my father was right, I hadn’t brought anyone over before. But I had with Aston.
This was a big step, something I didn’t realize was so monumental until we were in the middle of it.
I wasn’t quite sure if I would ever get an invitation to a full Aston family dinner, not with his mother. But I wanted to get to know his brothers more. And yet, sometimes it felt like we were moving so fast that it was hard to keep up.
“The olives don’t have pits, so you’re safe with your salad, Blakely,” Mom said, and I winced.
“Is there a story there,” Aston asked, as my dad laughed.
“One time when we had this, I didn’t realize it had pits, and decided to almost break my tooth, and choke at the same time. And then I did it again later. But it was really good salad.”
“And I don’t mean to laugh,” my dad said, clearly still laughing.
“I was fine though, not really hurt. But now we buy the pitted olives.”
“I don’t blame you, I love Kalamata olives, but they can crack a tooth.”
There was something different in his tone, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe he was just nervous that he was meeting my parents.
“So, I know your half-siblings quite well,” Mom said, apparently jumping over the ledge into a difficult conversation.
Aston cleared his throat, nodding.
“I assumed you would have. They’ve been in your life quite a long time.”
“They have. They’re like family,” my dad said, and there wasn’t any pointedness in his tone. Just honesty.
“So you have six full siblings?” Mom asked, and I held my breath, wondering if this was an okay conversation.
“I do. Flynn and Hudson are the twins, then it goes Dorian, James, Theo, and Ford.”
“I don’t know how any of your parents were able to handle so many of you. Blakely was enough.”
I snorted at my mom’s words and shook my head. “Thank you for that.”
“It’s the truth. Then again, our jobs took us out of the house often enough, that any more of you would mean you’d probably end up taking over the world,” Dad said, not unkindly.
“That is true. And then when Isabella and I found each other, we did contemplate taking over the world.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Isabella could do that,” Aston murmured.
“And I can’t?” I asked, brow raised.
“Touché. I’m pretty sure you could.”
“Thank you,” I said primly.
“So, Blakely, have you met all of the brothers?” Mom asked, and my stomach tightened just a bit. And I had no idea why .
“In passing, but not all at once.”
“We have a Cage family dinner in a couple of days, you should join us,” Aston suggested, and I blinked at the suddenness of his words. Because I hadn’t known they were having a dinner at all. Or maybe once again I was thinking too hard.
“Oh, that would be awesome. A little daunting though. There are so many of you.”
“Ford won’t be there, just because he has a job offsite that’s overnight, but the rest of us will be.” He paused. “It isn’t one of the required ones, and we’re just used to doing dinners this way. At least just to catch up with each other.”
“I think it’s quite nice that you still have your traditions with the siblings you grew up with, and you’re finding your path with your new ones. It’s okay that not everybody is in one room at the same time,” my mom said, her words kind.
Aston nodded, but I wasn’t sure what he was thinking.
“But really, you should come to dinner. See how annoying we all are in a big group.”
“I think I could handle that,” I said, smiling at him.
Before he could say anything, his phone buzzed, and he winced.
“I’m sorry, that’s the emergency vibration tone.”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, cursed under his breath, and apologized again before leaving the dining room .
I frowned after him, wondering what was wrong, and not just with whoever was on the other line.
“So you get to meet the family too,” Mom stated, her voice low.
I turned to my parents and nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve met them before, but I guess this will be different.”
“Just like he’s here. I’m happy for you, baby.”
The smile on my face was true, and yet, that distance felt off.
Before I could dive deeper into my odd feelings, Aston came forward, a grave expression on his face.
“Are you okay? Is it your family?” I asked standing up.
“I have to head out. I’m sorry,” he said, looking over my shoulder at my parents. “An emergency with a client. But I’ll call you later?” he asked.
I nodded, and he reached out, squeezing my shoulder. He didn’t kiss me, didn’t say anything but a murmured goodbye. He didn’t lean down and kiss me, not even a brush of lips against my forehead. It was so different, it nearly felt cold. But maybe it was just because my parents were here.
“Crap, I drove us here,” he mumbled.
“We can get her home. Go help who you need to,” my mom said, her voice soft.
“We’ve got our girl, don’t worry.”
Aston smiled at all of us then, the brittleness of it setting me on edge, and then he was gone, leaving me without a true goodbye .
“I hope whoever was on the other line is okay,” Mom said softly.
“I hope so too, but Aston can handle it. He can handle anything.” And then I took my seat again, but I was no longer hungry.
My parents continued their conversation, and I answered back at the appropriate times, but my heart wasn’t in it. I knew Aston’s time wasn’t his own. I knew he ran a very successful and demanding business. But something felt off tonight.
And after my parents dropped me off, and I got ready for bed, I held the phone in my hand, waiting for it to ring. Waiting for a text.
But the call never came.
Once again.