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"Fuck, she wasn't supposed to be here."Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.I turned to Saint. "Behave."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
I didn't have time to answer him, but I called out. "It's me, Kaya." And then I stepped out, leaving Saint to put the shovel down and wrap our contraband in his jacket. Luckily, he hadn't gotten too much dirt on him.
"Oh my God, Kaya, what are you doing back there?"
"Well, it didn't look like anyone was home, so I let myself into the garden. I'm just trying to climb in the treehouse."
"You should have called, you know?"
I sighed. I knew what I had to do. Throw myself on the altar, otherwise there would be a lot more to explain. "I wanted to surprise you and introduce you to my fiancé."
CHAPTER 21
SAINT
Kaya was so tense.Everything about her was tight. Fraught. She did not want to do this. Why was that? She'd said her foster mother was kind, but was that a lie? Was that just some bullshit she told herself?
You don't know her. She doesn't need saving in everything.
I smiled wanly at the woman in front of me, bringing every bit of my charm to the forefront. "Lydia, I'm so happy to meet you. Kaya was looking for the spare key."
Kaya just blinked owlishly at me, asking for help, but not really asking.
Lydia tsked. "Love, we always keep the key in the shed. Have you forgotten?"
Kaya blinked again, as if trying to find me in her stupor. "Sorry, I must have forgotten. I don't know where my mind was."
Lydia stepped back, making room for us to come in. "Well, I'm glad you're here. I just got back from the shops, so at the very least, let me make you a cuppa. Are you hungry?"
Kaya gave a shake of her head, and I smiled. "Here, why don't you let me help you with the tea. If you have a biscuit, too, I wouldn't say no."
Lydia gave me a smile. "Ah, a man after my own heart. You got a good one, Kaya. Engaged you say. How did that happen? I want to know every detail."
This woman was warm. Kind. Kaya tried to shy away from it. "Oh, you know. He asked and I said yes. Not a big deal."
She stopped. "That's our Kaya for you. I'm sure you already know this. She's not the type for too much fuss and emotion. Did you know for the three years we had her, I kept trying to get this girl to celebrate her birthday, but she wouldn't. When I tried to give her a surprise party, Lord, we could tell she was so unhappy." Lydia tsked again.
Next to me, Kaya sank into one of the well-maintained kitchen chairs around a small dinette. "Lydia, we don't have to do this."
"Oh, but we do. You're getting married." Lydia put the rest of the things from the shop in the fridge and the cupboard. "Now, let me just get the kettle."
"Oh, I don't mind. I'll do it." I offered. I made it to the kettle before she could. And then she sat back, getting a good look at me, assessing me, seeing if I was really into her foster daughter.
I gave her a wave and she just chuckled. "Oh, I like this one. You know, all those years you never brought anyone home, I just figured maybe you didn't like the lads."
Kaya groaned. "Lydia, please don't."
"What? I'm cool. You have a couple of foster brothers who are LGBTQ, you know?"
Kaya looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. "I know."
"Well, I'm glad, you know. We would have been happy either way just to see you making friends, dating, that sort of thing."
Kaya groaned. "Right. I was mostly just trying to keep my head down."
"I know you weren't happy with your first family, but I hope we made you happy here."
