Catching her in his arms before she could get away, he held her close. “Seriously. I’ll cut them out before they’re mean to you.”

Kissing his jaw, she nodded. “Thank you.” He pressed his lips to hers again as she smiled. “I gotta get ready.”

“Okay,” he said, kissing her once more before letting her go since he knew she had to. She couldn’t be late, and he understood that. As he watched her head back to the bedroom, he pressed his palms into the counter and let out a breath. That hadn’t gone as well as he wanted. He knew she wouldn’t be keen on it, but he wanted her to be comfortable, so he would keep his promise. His parents wouldn’t be shitty to her.

Reaching for his phone, he dialed his dad’s number and waited for him to answer. When his dad’s deep voice filled the line, he closed his eyes. It reminded him so much of his grandfather’s.

“Markus.”

“Hey, Dad.”

“Wow, it’s good to hear your voice.”

“Yours too,” he said, and he meant it. “Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. Lucy is getting married this weekend, so we’ve been doing wedding stuff.”

“Yeah, we hate that we can’t come. We sent a card since Mom has the ladies’ luncheon at church and I have to work.”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate that.”

“Yeah,” he said, and Markus hated the awkwardness. He’d never really had a good relationship with his parents since their restaurant always seemed more important than him, but he loved them. “So, wow, you’ve been called up. We’re proud.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’m excited.”

“Game is Wednesday?”

“Yeah, I’m going to get my family tickets for you guys. I’ll have them up at the box office for you.”

“Or you can drop them by the restaurant?”

“Eh, I might not have time, but I’ll try.”

“We’d love to see you. We miss you.”

“I miss you guys,” he admitted as he drew in a breath. “How is Mom?”

“She’s good. Missing you.”

“Yeah, maybe we can try to be better about communication.”

“Son, it’s pretty one-sided. You stopped talking to us.”

“For good reason,” he said bluntly, and his father cleared his throat.

“Maybe so.”

“No maybe, and I need to make one thing clear.”

“Okay?” he said, and Markus’s heart pounded.

“If either of you is rude or disrespectful to Mekena, I will never speak to either of you again.”

His father paused, and Markus almost chewed a hole through his lip. “I hadn’t realized you were still with her.”

“I am.” He figured he’d leave out that they had been apart for longer than a year. His father didn’t need to know that because it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were together and Mekena was his. If his parents wanted to be in his life, they had to accept Mekena.

Clearing his throat, Markus’s father said, “We look forward to seeing you play.”

He wasn’t sure what that meant. “I mean it, Dad. She means the world to me.”

“I hear you, and I understand. We will see you Wednesday if you can’t swing by the restaurant.”

As he let out a breath, he nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Great, see ya soon.”

“Bye.” He laid his phone down and squeezed the edge of the counter. He wasn’t sure how he felt. He wanted to be excited; he had both his parents and Mekena in his life.

But it scared him since he wasn’t sure for how long.

Sitting in his chair, Markus looked around as the room filled up. If he had thought the room was gorgeous the other day, it was nothing compared to how it looked now. Candles illuminated the space, and it gave a romantic, subdued feel which was heightened by the fact that it was gloomy and chilly outside. The altar was decorated to perfection along with the aisle which was covered by a really pretty lace runner with Lucy’s and Benji’s names written in the middle. Flowers were everywhere, and all Markus could do was think that Benji had paid out the ass—and Grace Justice designed that ass off.

It was gorgeous.

Leaning back, he smiled as he made eye contact with Elli Adler as she came down the aisle, her five kids behind her and Shea bringing up the rear. It was striking how much the kids resembled their parents and how sweet they all looked in their matching dresses and suits. “Are these seats taken? I have a crew,” she said, and he laughed as he moved all the way down.

“For the Adlers? Of course not, have a seat.”

She smiled a thanks as she wrangled everyone into the row before sitting down beside Markus. “Goodness, Grace outdid herself. This is way better than our wedding.”

Shea laughed. “And more expensive.”

“Ours wasn’t that much!”

Shea scoffed. “Even with my sibling discount, we’re still paying my money-hungry sister.”

Rolling her eyes, she looked over at Markus. “He’s lying.” Markus laughed as she went on. “Excited for Wednesday?”

“Really excited. Did you get my email about the tickets?”

“I did, they’ll be waiting for Lamar and Yolanda Reeves.”

Markus nodded. “Thank you.”

“Of course! It will be a special day, for sure.”

“I hope so.”

“Everyone is excited,” Shea said over to him, and he grinned.

“Me too. Nervous.”

“Don’t be, you’re my clutch player, I just know it!” Elli cheered and Shea smiled.

“She’s a bit excited for you.”

“Wow, thanks, Elli,” he beamed, and Elli grinned back just as his phone chimed. “Jeez, my bad. I thought I shut that thing off.” Digging in his pocket, he pulled out his phone to see he had a text from Lucy.

Lucy: I need you.

His brow rose.

Markus: Lucy, I’m a taken man. We can’t run away together.

Lucy: Damn it, Markus, get back here.

He almost laughed, but then he got worried. Was she okay? Getting up, he said, “I’ll be back.”

“Okay!” Elli said, placing her purse in his seat. “I’ll hold your spot.”