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Fucking hell. I buried my face in my hands, feeling my cheeks heat against my palms.
She continued speaking. “What I didn’t know at the time was if Huxley felt the same way about you. I spoke to David, and, well, we weren’t sure if it was one-sided. We decided to hold off, to let you tell us in your own time, if there was anything to tell.” From behind my hands, I heard the sound of rustling fabric, and then I felt her arm slip around my shoulders as she perched on the arm of the sofa next to me. “Then lately… You were so sad, Cole. I was worried about you.”
I lowered my hands, even though I could still feel my cheeks burning, and took a shaky breath. “I told you I was fine.”
“You weren’t fine.”
From my other side, Huxley swallowed again, and then, slowly, cautiously, he placed his hand on my leg, palm up. Just as slowly, I placed my hand over his, our palms meeting and our fingers sliding together.
“Bill from accounts sent me a link last night.” David spoke up, his gaze flicking to our joined hands before he turned his attention to his son. “I’d spoken to him about your band, you see. He enjoys the sort of music you play, and, well, I was proud of you, so I wanted him to know.”
“What was the link?” Huxley whispered. I stroked my thumb over his skin, gently squeezing his hand.
“It was a video clip from your band’s performance at…what’s the name of the place… The Frog and Fiddle.”
Oh.Oh.
“It wasn’t one-sided,” my mum murmured.
Huxley’s grip on my hand tightened. “No, it wasn’t.”
David took over the conversation again. “Your mother and I spent a long time talking about things. If you’re truly serious about each other, if you’re prepared to invest in this relationship, then you have our support. But I want you both to promise us that you’ll work at this. The last thing we want is to see our family torn apart if you decide it’s not worth the effort.”
I was completely speechless, blindsided by the fact that they already knew about us, and somehow, they were prepared to support our relationship. Huxley shook his head next to me. “I—I don’t understand. We thought…we didn’t think you’d approve. And what about the article?”
“What article?”
“The article with the stepsiblings that got pregnant. You…you said it was disgusting and they should be ashamed of themselves.”
David’s frown disappeared. “No. That wasn’t—it was the situation, not their relationship. The family should have supported them.”
“We can’t help who we fall in love with.” My mum looked over at David, and he gave her a fond smile. “Yes, we do have our concerns, and if it hadn’t been clear that you’re in love with each other, then, yes, we would have had some issues. Not because the two of you are related by marriage—you didn’t choose that. Our concerns relate to our family. David and I have been trying our hardest to get things right this time around, and if things between the two of you were to sour, then there’s a big risk that it could tear apart the family unit we’ve been trying to build.”
I finally found my voice. “Hux and I have spoken about this. We know it’s a risk, and we know there’s no guarantees. But we love each other.” Turning to Huxley, my words just for him, I added softly, “He means everything to me.”
Same, he mouthed, his sapphire eyes brimming with emotion. Fuck, I loved him so much.
Clapping his hands, David cut through the moment. “Right. So we’re all in agreement. The two of you will work at this, and in return, your mother and I will give you our support. There are a few house rules, though.”
Please don’t mention sex.
“What you do together—no. I can’t. June? Do you want to go through the rules?”
“Not really, David,” she said dryly, making us all laugh nervously. “Just…stay safe and be sensible. I’m sure we don’t need to spell it out.”
This was so fucking awkward.
“Trivial Pursuit!” My voice came out way too loud and weirdly high-pitched. “I’ll have the purple wheel. Mum, you want the orange one?”
“I need a drink before we begin,” my mum said with a grimace, rising from the arm of the sofa. “Anyone else?”
“Yes. Scotch. I’ll get them. You boys want anything?” David leapt to his feet, probably glad for a reason to leave the awkward atmosphere. I didn’t blame him. If I could, I’d be leaving the room and dragging my boyfriend with me. But since we had to sit through this forced bonding time, aka family games night, then alcohol would have to help ease the way. I couldn’t be too annoyed about it, though. Our parents had given us their blessing, and we hadn’t even had to give them any of our rehearsed speech. I was still in shock.
“I’ll take a beer. Cole? Want one?” Huxley nudged me, bringing me back into the present.
“What? Oh, yeah. Beer. Thanks.”
Our parents disappeared into the kitchen, and I slumped back onto the sofa, pulling Huxley into me. He huffed out a breath against the side of my face, his arm sliding around my waist. “I’m not dreaming, am I? Did our parents really just give us their support?”
