“McKinley, I’m sorry. You’re right, I just thought if we talked about other things, it would help relax you,” Blake says, wrapping his arm around me.
“No, Blake. I’m sorry. That was completely uncalled for. This isn’t a big deal to anyone else, hell he raised you, you have no reason to be nervous,” I say, looking up at him.
“You have no reason to be nervous either. I told you I’d always have your back and you have Braden and London here too. We are here for you. Dad isn’t going to do anything. He’s going to come and just talk like he’s known you forever,” he says, kissing me on the forehead.
We go back to the table and I apologize to London and Braden for flipping my shit like a child. Of course, Braden pulls me into his arms and reminds me how much he loves me and to remember what he said back at the house.
Just as he lets go, the sliding door opens and a tall older version of Blake walks out, minus the smile he is always wearing. My eyes widen when Blake’s mom, or who I assume is his mom, walks out behind him. What in the actual fuck?
Chapter 16
Braden
I grab tightly onto McKinley’s hand when her father walks outside, and she squeezes even tighter when Blake’s mom walks out. I look to Blake quickly and he shakes his head. He knows exactly what I was asking without saying, why the fuck is she here too?
“Hey, Blake. Hi London, looking beautiful as always,” Andy, Blake’s dad says, before looking toward me and McKinley.
“Holy shit,” he whispers and comes over pulling McKinley in for a hug. I’m close enough to hear everything and that is intentional. “I would have known you anywhere. You look just like your mama. I’m sorry McKinley, I truly am sorry for everything,” he says, and I let my guard down a bit.
They pull apart and Andy calls over Marie. “This is my wife, Marie.”
I can see in McKinley’s eyes that she is overwhelmed and damn I can’t blame her. This is a lot to take in. She’s not used to having people around her that love her, other than her mom. Coming into this crew of people and add in finding your long-lost dad, that’s more than most people can handle.
“Hi. It’s great to finally meet you both,” McKinley says, and I reach over to grab her hand again. I don’t want her to feel like she is alone in this for even one second.
I watch closely as Blake and his parents talk with McKinley. She is getting more comfortable and the amazing girl I love is starting to show. She’s laughing, joining in the conversation, and even starting to ask questions. I don’t say much, I’m not here for that. I’m here to support her, make sure she’s alright.
After a while, she turns her head and smiles at me. “You alright? You haven’t said much,” she whispers.
I simply lean forward and kiss her cheek. “I’m perfect.”
Before turning her attention back to the others, she gives me a quick kiss and my heart swells. This girl has no idea what she does to me. I never thought I’d fall in love again; hell, I didn’t think I had a heart left after what Sarah did to me. Yet, here I am, completely and totally in love with McKinley. When I told her I loved her, it was something that flowed out of me. I just handed her my heart. I didn’t think about it or question it. I just gave it to her.
After a few hours, Andy and Marie finally call it a night. Andy told McKinley he’d like to get together again, and I just hope he means it. In all the time I’ve known Blake, I’ve only met his parents a handful of times and this is the longest I’ve been around them. I’ll never crush McKinley’s excitement though; I’ll just be there when she needs me.
Blake and London walk his parents to the door and once they’re inside McKinley turns to look at me. She has a beautiful smile on her face, which makes me smile back.
“That went good, right?” she asks.
“It went amazing,” I tell her, wrapping my arms around her. “How are you feeling?”
She pulls back and kisses my cheek. “I’m good. It went better than I thought it would.”
Before I can even reply, Blake and London come back out and sit down. “Well, I guess we know who the favorite is,” Blake says, jokingly.
“It was a lovely evening. Honestly, that’s the longest I’ve been around your parents,” London chimes in.
“Well, they aren’t the most social people. I’m just lucky that I am so much better than they are,” Blake says, kissing London.
“I’m just glad I finally got to meet him and your mom. They might not want to have any kind of relationship, but at least I can say I know my dad,” McKinley says, and I squeeze her shoulder.
“That’s such a great outlook McKinley,” London says.
We talk for a while about how the night went and even though I’m exhausted, I’ll stay as long as McKinley is enjoying herself.
“McKinley, I was going to email you tomorrow, but I’ll just tell you now. I picked a photo for the cover of my book. It’s going to look amazing, I’m so excited,” London says with a beaming smile.
“Holy shit really? My first cover?” She turns to me with wide eyes and a huge smile.
“You deserve it, baby. Congratulations,” I say, smiling back just as big.
The girls continue to talk about the cover, and I look at Blake and grin. He looks just as happy as I feel. He’s watching his
