“That’s different,” I said. “You were being an idiot, and you always belonged with Harper.”
“And you were being an idiot for helping feed your dad’s addiction for so long. You haven’t answered me. Are you done sending money?”
I cleared my throat and stared at the picture on Roman’s desk. It was of him, Harper, and Caden the day Caden was born. I looked at the next frame. My lips tilted up on the sides. It was me, Roman, and Caden at a baseball game. The hat on Caden’s head was too big for him, and he was holding cotton candy that was smeared all over his face.
Roman truly had always been my family.
“Yeah, I told my mom I was done. That she was welcome to contact me if she left my father. I gave her a large lump sum and said that’s it.”
Roman nodded. “How much?”
I sighed, shaking my head. “Seventy-five grand.”
Roman whistled. “You did the right thing. Consider that your first investment in MarxMen. Getting them off of you is probably the second best thing you’ve ever done. I’m proud of you.”
I laughed, uneasy with the compliment. Roman wasn’t the type to lavish praise on people, so coming from him it meant a lot. “What’s the first? Reconnecting you with Harper?”
Roman shook his head. “No, that was all me.”
I laughed. “Sure, whatever you tell yourself.”
“The first is Caroline. She’s good for you. I don’t even know her, and I can already tell that. Bring her to dinner.”
“I don’t know if she’ll be up for that after yesterday.”
Roman scoffed. “It’s not really an option. When I tell my pregnant wife Kiernan is with someone, she’ll have the whole thing set up, and you’ll be there whether you like it or not. Or Harper will bring the whole party to you. You know she will. And what my pregnant wife asks for, she gets.”
I laughed. “I’ll ask and see. I’ll run away with Caroline to some remote island if she’s not ready to have dinner with everyone.”
“I wouldn’t put it past Harper to find you,” Roman said and grinned. “You are our family, Kiernan. You’re our son’s godfather and our future daughter’s godfather. If Caroline is yours, that means she’s ours too. If she makes you happy, then she’s already my sister.”
I nodded. “She’ll come to dinner,” I muttered.
34 Caroline
Kiernan cupped my knee and squeezed before rubbing his thumb along the inside of my knee. “It’s going to be okay, sweetness.”
“I’m meeting your family,” I said and released a long breath. “And when you told me that they would like to have dinner sometime, I didn’t really expect for it to be two days later. I got home late and we’re going to be late.”
Kiernan shrugged. “So we’re a little late. It’s not a big deal. I promise.” He took his eyes off the winding road in front of him and winked at me. We were driving a little outside the Austin city limits to Liam and Savannah’s house. They lived on the lake. “And Harper works fast. She probably wanted to have the party that night, but Roman bought us a few days.”
I smoothed my hand down the front of the dress I was wearing. It was a little cool tonight, the first hints of fall blowing in. I had on a burgundy sweater dress, with short sleeves and a deep v in the front, paired with tan suede booties. The dress was a little tighter than I normally wore and hugged my form. “You look beautiful,” Kiernan said.
He pulled into a long driveway leading up to a stunning house with large windows. Kiernan helped me from his truck and grabbed the Crock-Pot from the back seat. I grabbed the flowers I’d brought for Savannah and took a deep breath.
“I promise it will be alright. Besides you brought queso, who couldn’t like you after that?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Here’s hoping,” I said.
Kiernan led us up the front walkway and to the door. We stood there for a moment before he leaned down and whispered, lifting the Crock-Pot a little bit. “My hands are full, sweetness. You’re going to have to knock.”
I raised my fist and knocked on the door. It swung open a second later. I’d already met Harper and Ava and knew they were stunning beyond belief. What was it with these people? The brunette woman standing in the doorway, with a large smile on her face and emerald-green eyes, was drop-dead gorgeous. I swallowed and smiled.
“You must be Caroline. I’m Savannah,” she said. “It’s so good to meet you.”
She opened her arms for a hug. I hugged her back before handing her the flowers. “These are for you. Thank you for having me. I hope it’s alright, but I brought some queso since I knew we were having enchiladas.”
Savannah’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect! Come on in. Hey, Ki Ki,” Savannah said and stood on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss on Kiernan’s cheek.
Kiernan groaned. “Only the kids are allowed to call me that,” he muttered.
Savannah looped her arm through mine and brought me into her living room. She had gray couches with touches of blue throughout the room, and the back wall was floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the lake. The sun was dipping below the horizon, and she had the perfect view in her living room. I looked over my shoulder at Kiernan.
“I’m going to set this down. I’ll be right back,” he said, planting a swift kiss on my lips.
“I’ve got her,” Savannah said, waving Kiernan away. She stopped in front of the couch. “Ready for a lot of names? We’re a pretty big group.”
Harper and Ava were sitting on the couch with two other women, who were just as pretty. One was holding a baby. “This is Harper, Ava, Iris, and Tate. Those three rugrats running around are Caden and Avery. Caden is Harper’s and Avery is mine. Lilly is Ava’s. And Iris is
