I loved this man. I needed my family to love him too…or at least tolerate him.
Bones eyed me from the driver’s seat. “Come on, baby. You can do it.”
“How can you be so calm about this? Aren’t you scared?”
He held my gaze, his expression cool and confident. “I’m not scared of anything.”
“Well, my father is a scary man…”
“The Barsettis have a ferocious reputation. But no, I’m not scared.”
I finally made the call and listened to the rings. A part of me hoped he wouldn’t answer, that it would just go to voice mail. But I couldn’t recall a time when he didn’t take my call. No matter what he was doing or what time of day it was, he always answered.
“Tesoro.” My father’s deep and powerful voice came over the line, the love masked as an undertone. “How are you?”
“I’m good. What are you guys up to?”
“Just got home from the winery. Lars is making dinner.”
“Oh, that’s nice…”
My father picked up on my tone. “Everything alright, tesoro?”
It felt strange talking to him when Bones could overhear the conversation. “You know how you said you wanted to meet the man I was seeing…?”
“Yes.”
“Well, would you want to meet him in about an hour?”
A long pause ensued over the line, so long I wasn’t sure if my father had even heard me. “Of course.” He kept his tone the same, but I knew he struggled to say the words out loud. He’d been dreading this day his entire life. Now, it was here, just an hour away.
“We’re about an hour away. Is it okay if we come to the house?”
“Sure.”
“Could you ask Uncle Cane to come over too? I’d like it if you both met him.”
My father didn’t seem suspicious at the request. “Sounds like this man doesn’t scare easily.” Meeting two powerful men like my father and uncle would intimidate anyone.
“No…he doesn’t.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Then I’ll see you in an hour, tesoro.”
“Alright.”
He hung up.
I set the phone on my lap. “Oh god…it’s really happening.”
The corner of Bones’s mouth rose in a smile, like this was all some kind of joke. “Yep.”
“How can you smile like that?”
“I like the way he calls you sweetheart.”
“So?”
“He doesn’t seem very intimidating when he talks that way.”
“Well, he’s not trying to intimidate me.”
“Just think it’s cute. That’s all.”
I stared out the window, my heart pounding a million miles a minute.
“Baby, it’ll be fine.”
“I’m terrified he’s not going to accept you… I don’t know what to do if he doesn’t.”
His hand moved to my thigh. “We’ll worry about that when we come to it, alright?”
I rested my cheek against his shoulder and closed my eyes. “But you said he wouldn’t accept you…”
“He probably won’t. But like I said, we’ll worry about it later.”
Bones pulled up to the roundabout and purposely parked his truck away from the house, facing the street so his face couldn’t be seen from the house. He killed the engine and sat there, looking at me with his cold expression.
“Wait here…and I’ll come get you.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“You don’t have a gun on you or anything…?”
He shook his head. “Took everything out. I’m completely unarmed.”
“No knives?”
He just glared at me.
“Alright…good enough for me.” I leaned over the seat and kissed him on the mouth. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Take your time. Talk me up.”
“I’ll try…” I got out of the truck and walked to the front door, my footfalls feeling so heavy. My heart was beating fast, and I could barely breathe deeply enough. My palms were sweaty even though spring was still a little cold. My house had never felt so foreign as it did then. I’d never thought I would end up in this situation. When I met Bones, I never thought I’d ever be taking him to my family home to meet my father.
How did this happen?
I walked up to the front door, and it immediately opened to my mother’s face. She was beaming with excitement, obviously thrilled to meet the mystery man she’d seen in the painting. She hugged me. “Sweetheart, welcome home.”
“Thanks, Mama.” I stepped inside and hugged my father next, who wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the forehead. “Hey, Father.”
“Tesoro.”
Uncle Cane hugged me next. “We’ve got all the guns loaded. Bring him in.” He smiled to tell me he was joking.
Mom looked out the front door. “Where is he?”
“Uh…” I shut the door so they couldn’t see him sitting in the truck. “Okay, I know this is gonna sound weird…”
All three of them stared at me, their expressions growing cloudier by the second. They probably expected someone like Matteo to walk inside behind me, dressed nicely with tanned skin like my own. He’d extend his hand to shake and be the perfect gentleman who would win my family over.
“I want to talk to Father and Uncle Cane in private first…”