My parents.

Stacy and Aaron Hartwell.

Still familiar and well-loved.

And here.

Dad stood like the giant he was at six foot four, still big and broad-shouldered with a slight gut he had gained from a love of Irish lager. His handsome, ruddy face was one that the mere sight of automatically instilled in me a sense of safety and love. But right then I couldn’t work out what was going on in those blue eyes of his as he took in the bar.

As for my mom, she was almost a full foot shorter than my dad, and currently tucked into his side. She looked young for her age, her auburn hair lightened with blond highlights and bouncing around her shoulders in a wavy chin-length cut that probably cost a small fortune. She was immaculate from head to foot, and it was easy to see where my sister Vanessa inherited her fixation about her appearance.

There were no people more different than Stacy and Aaron Hartwell but they loved each other so much. Kind of like Vaughn and me.

“Mom, Dad?”

They caught sight of me and moved toward us, and my eyes drifted to the man coming into the bar behind them.

“Dad?” Vaughn was shocked.

And just like that we were surrounded.

By my mom and dad.

And Liam Tremaine, my future father-in-law.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“All of you?” Vaughn added.

“Coincidence,” Liam said. “You told me you’re engaged. I had to come out and see for myself. I bumped into the Hartwells on the boardwalk.”

“And you?” I said to my parents.

“All the crap with the inn was one thing, Cherry,” Dad said. “But our daughter getting engaged . . . you really think we wouldn’t fly out here to see if her fiancé is good enough?” He eyed Vaughn carefully. “I’m willing to give you a shot because of what you did for Cherry for the inn but it’s a shot, not a free pass.”

Vaughn stared at my father in perfect seriousness. “Understood.”

“Oh, he’s handsome, sweetie.” My mom stared at Vaughn, apparently stunned. “So handsome.”

Liam grinned. “Good genes.”

I snorted in an attempt to hold in my hysterical laughter and Vaughn squeezed my hand. Hard. I knew without him telling me that he didn’t want to laugh in front of my dad.

“So,” Aaron Hartwell said loudly as he stared at my fiancé, “let’s have a drink and get to know one another. Very well. Like blood type, medical history—including any and all sexually transmitted diseases—kind of well.”

“Dad,” I warned him.

But Vaughn looked at Cooper. “Drinks, Lawson. A lot of drinks.”

Cooper was grinning, clearly enjoying Vaughn’s predicament. “What is everyone having?”

As everyone ordered their drinks, regulars swarmed Mom and Dad, happy to see them again. While they were distracted catching up with the town, I snuggled against Vaughn and whispered, “I’m sorry about this.”

“Don’t be,” he assured me. “I’m going to like your dad. I can tell.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” He kissed me, a short, sweet kiss on the lips. “He’s just protecting you, wants you to be happy. He and I are already on the same page.”

I smiled and melted against him, still amazed that Vaughn had changed so much in the past few months.

No.

Not changed.

Just shed his fears to become the man he’d always meant to be.

I’d helped him do that.

He had helped me to be brave, too.

And right then I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

The truth was that loving someone wasn’t always as easy as the love songs made it out to be. In fact, loving someone could be the most terrifying thing a person could ever do in life. It was difficult to make yourself that vulnerable to another, to let him be the one person who got to see who you really are, flaws and all. Yeah, especially those flaws. It was scary asking someone to love those flaws.

But I’d done it. Vaughn had helped me be courageous enough to love fully with all my defenses down; to love every little thing about this man, good and bad, because I knew without fear or insecurity that Vaughn loved every little thing about me.