Page 98 of All I Feel

“You didn’t tell me your parents were coming over.”

“And if I did, what would that have changed?”

She glanced down at her body before narrowing her eyes on me. “For starters, I’d have some clothes on. But that’s probably because I would’ve made sure I wasn’t here.”

My brows shot up. “Oh? And how would you have accomplished that if you’re living with me and your car is all banged up from you being run off the road by a madman a week ago?”

“What?!”My dad was furious, and I knew that fury had nothing to do with the fact Tessa was living with me and everything to do with her being run off the road.

My mom focused her attention on Tessa and asked, “Do your parents know about any of this?”

Tessa shook her head.

“Well, kiddo, you better figure out how you’re going to tell them, because they’re meeting us for breakfast this morning.”

“My dad is probably going to lose his mind,” Tessa murmured.

My dad nodded. “Yeah, I’m thinking there’s a high probability of that happening.”

Stone could get upset all he wanted. It wasn’t going to change how I felt about Tessa or that I intended to be with her.

“Look on the bright side, Princess,” I said.

“I really don’t think there is one, Ace.”

I gave her shoulder a squeeze. “You don’t need to make me breakfast.”

My mom giggled, clearly overjoyed by this surprise this morning.

Tessa buried her face against my chest, groaning at what was ahead.

And my dad’s eyes met mine. While he might’ve been able to sympathize with Tessa’s dad, there was no question he was happy for me.

In the end, even if Stone lost his mind, I knew he’d eventually come around. And from where I stood, I thought it was time we shared the news anyway.

So, I asked my parents to wait while Tessa and I got ourselves ready.

TWENTY-FIVE

TESSA

There weretwo possible outcomes from this breakfast. Either Ace and I would get extremely lucky, and everyone would be overjoyed at the news of us becoming a thing, or this was going to be the start of something hideous between my dad and the man I loved.

What I believed was most likely to happen was a mix of both.

My mom and Aunt Nikki—I was belatedly realizing that calling her aunt when she wasn’t technically one might’ve been awkward when I was dating her son—would be over the moon. Ace’s mom had already shown signs of being completely supportive.

Deep down, Uncle Luke was happy for us as well. But it was possible that he’d have to show solidarity with my dad. As a father to a girl, Luke would understand where my dad’s fears and worries came from, even if they were completely unfounded with a man like Ace.

Given how he’d reacted when he learned I’d been dating Ryan, and again when he met him, I was fully prepared for my dad to be the same with Ace. And that didn’t bode well for the relationship I wanted everyone to have by the time we left breakfast.

To his credit, Ace appeared confident. If the roles had been reversed, I’m not sure I would’ve been so eager to show up to an impromptu breakfast with all the parents. As it was, I was a mess. How he could be so unbothered was a bit of a mystery.

We arrived at First Tracks with Luke and Nikki, and they entered ahead of Ace and me. From the entrance, I couldn’t see my parents, which I thought might be a bad thing. If they’d noticed us before we made it to the table, it might’ve given my dad some time to cool down. It was possible my mom would’ve jumped in and said something to calm him.

Luke talked to the server, explained who we were meeting, and the four of us followed behind her as she led us through the dining room. Ace held my hand as we wound our way through the space, but my body was mostly hidden behind Luke’s.

We finally made it to the table where my parents were seated, but they still hadn’t seen me. Even with the chatter around the room, I heard the conversation.