Just One Dare (The Kingston Family 5)

What did concern him, however, was the likelihood that she’d be overwhelmed by the amount of family who might show up today. All his siblings had been invited. He’d decided to arrive early to ease Aurora and Leah into the chaos.

Obviously excited, Leah had chattered the entire trip, not giving him a chance to talk to Aurora in any meaningful sense. The only way he knew what was going on in her head was by the way she was twisting her hands in her lap.

“Are we here?” Leah asked.

Aurora released her hands and turned. “We are. Are you ready?”

“Yes!” Leah exclaimed.

Well at least one of them was excited. He glanced at Aurora, about to reassure her but she’d already stepped out of the car. He climbed out and went to get Leah, opening her door.

She’d already unbuckled her seatbelt and was halfway out of her booster seat without help.

“That’s some outfit,” he said to Aurora, who’d joined him.

He recognized Leah’s leggings as Burberry. They were paired with a hot pink flowered top he wasn’t sure matched the pants. And a headband with…yes, a big pink flower, sat on her head, and white sneakers were on her feet.

“It was a gift from Chloe. Way more than I would have spent but I appreciated the sentiment. I told Leah it was for special occasions and today she used those words against me. She declared it was an important day and she needed to look pretty.”

He laughed. His kid was smart.

Aurora shrugged. “I learned a long time ago to pick my battles.” Her gaze slid to their daughter and she smiled wide. “Besides, she really does look cute.”

He grinned. “She sure does.” She shifted her grip on the present she’d insisted on bringing for his parents.

“Can I take that for you?” He held out his hands.

She shook her head. “It’s not heavy.”

“Are you ready? You okay?”

She lifted her sunglasses and propped them on top of her head. “I’m fine. Honestly.”

He looked into her pretty sky-blue eyes and believed her. “Just to say, in case I haven’t already, you look gorgeous.”

His gaze skimmed over her off-white, tapered pants, Chanel sandals, and a royal blue satin top, with flirty ruffles on the short sleeves, that accentuated her eyes. He knew, without asking, that she’d spent a long time choosing her outfit in order to make a good impression on the people he cared about.

“Let’s go!” Leah tugged on his hand.

He looked at Aurora. “You heard her. Let’s go,” Nick said just as Leah began to skip up the path.

He placed a hand on Aurora’s lower back and led her across the large bluestones and to the front door. Leah lifted her hand to ring the bell but the door opened before she could push, and Serenity appeared.

A wide smile graced her face but Leah took a step back and was suddenly shy. Before Nick could introduce anyone, his father walked up beside his wife.

Nick was proud, as he said, “Dad, Mom, this is Aurora and our daughter, Leah.”

* * *

Aurora studied Nick’s parents, struck by how much Nick looked like his father. Michael’s dark hair had very few streaks of gray, and he possessed the same indigo blue eyes as Nick and Leah, as well as similar features. Looking at Nick’s father gave Aurora a good idea of how well Nick would age.

Aurora had seen pictures of her own father at Melly’s, but didn’t have any of her own. And since she’d been too young when her grandmother died to understand about holding onto mementos like photographs, she had none of her mother, either. Not that she’d consider her parents keepsake-worthy.

“Aurora, meet my parents, Serenity and Michael Dare,” Nick said.

“It’s a pleasure,” Aurora murmured, one hand holding the gift, the other she’d placed on her daughter’s head.

“The same here,” Michael said. “We’ve heard so much about you both.”

“And this is Leah.” Nick reached for their little girl and she let go of Aurora’s pants and grasped her father’s, making Aurora’s throat grow thick with emotion. It was amazing to see how quickly she’d taken to and accepted Nick.

Michael stepped forward and crouched down, bringing him eye level with his granddaughter. “Hi, Leah. I’m your daddy’s daddy. Do you know what that means?”

The usually loud child shook her head in silence.

“I’m your grandpa, and Serenity is your grandma.”

The beautiful woman with long black hair smiled at Leah but stayed back, obviously giving her time to adjust.

“Like Grandma Melly?” Leah asked.

Aurora smiled. “Exactly like Grandma Melly.”

Leah seemed to think about that. “Okay.”

“God, I wish being an adult was that easy,” Michael said, rising to his feet and putting an arm around his wife.

Serenity grinned. “Nothing in life is easy but it’s all worth it. Now that the uncomfortable introductions are out of the way, come in and make yourselves at home,” she said, kissing Nick’s cheek. “Good to see you.”