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Chapter Thirty-Five
Richard
It had been just under a week since Daniel had been released from prison, and for the moment, he was living with me in the apartment. We hadn’t decided what we were going to do with his house yet. The images of his wife were still too fresh in Daniel’s mind to decide. He had met the whole team, including Kye, and all had welcomed him to the group with open arms. Kye had even commented that he’d better look after me or he would be answering to him, which caused eruptions from everyone. Mason and Jayden had told me to take some time off and spend it with Daniel, as everyone had done following their own crisis. I couldn’t thank them enough for everything they had all done. If it wasn’t for them, I might never have seen Daniel again.
Today, it was my turn to be worried, as we were finally going to visit my mum and Arthur. When I had arranged it before everything happened, I hadn’t been worried. But since Daniel had been wrongly accused and arrested for the murder of his wife, I wasn’t sure how receptive my mum would be to him. We knew he was innocent, but would my mum still see it that way, or would she think that there was no smoke without fire?
We were currently driving to Sienna and Jayden’s house, as my mum was still working for them as a housekeeper. As it was a Sunday, they had all gone down to Jayden’s parents for the day, leaving my mum and Arthur there alone. So, we were joining them for Sunday lunch. Usually, this was something I looked forward to, but today I was dreading it. I had been quiet all morning, and I was sure that Daniel had noticed. I didn’t want to curb his enthusiasm for meeting them both, so I didn’t say a word about my worries and continued as normally as I could.
As if sensing my inner turmoil, Daniel spoke as he sat next to me.
“Are you going to stay quiet all day, or are you going to finally tell me what is going through your head, Romeo?”
It was amazing how in such a short space of time, we could both already tell when something was troubling the other. Some couples took years to get to that point, but for us, it had been almost instant.
I took a deep breath. “I’m just worried what my mum is going to think about you. I hadn’t been worried before, but after everything that has happened, I wonder whether she is going to be as happy as when I first told her about you?”
I felt his hand rest on mine on the gearstick and give it a slight squeeze before removing it again.
“I’m the one that should be worried, not you. What if she asks me to stop seeing you?”
I felt my anger rise at his suggestion and answered in no uncertain terms. “No.”
Again, he placed his hand on mine to calm me. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. If that situation comes up, we will deal with it together. But I am sure it will be fine. No matter what, just remember that I love you, Romeo.”
He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss onto my knuckles before letting it go so I could carry on driving.
We arrived at the house just before midday. We walked up to the door hand-in-hand, and I rang the doorbell.
“It will be fine, Romeo. Just breathe.”
The door opened, and I found Arthur standing there with a massive smile on his face. This was a good thing, I thought to myself. If Arthur was happy, then he would be able to placate my mum.
“Richard, I’m so glad you finally made it, son. And you must be Daniel. Come in, both of you. I don’t know why you won’t use your key. You’re just as much a member of this household as I am.”
I felt a warm glow through me when I heard Arthur call me son. I knew we’d had a brief conversation when I came out to them both as gay, but I wasn’t expecting him to use it so readily. We walked into the house, and I instantly hugged Arthur.
“You know why,Dad. This isn’t my house anymore, and I respect Jayden and Sienna’s boundaries. It is their family home. I just happened to live here for a while.”
Releasing my hold, I took a step back and saw the big smile and a tear running down Arthur’s face. I knew I had done the right thing by calling him “Dad.” He was the closest thing I had to one, after all.
He looked over at Daniel and held out his hand. “I think it’s a little early for such familiarities with you, Daniel. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, though.”
Daniel shook his hand and spoke. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Arthur. Richard has told me a lot about you and Agnes. Where is she, by the way?”
I was pleased he hadn’t referred to me asRomeo. I guessed he wanted to make a good impression. Like him, though, I was worried that my mum was nowhere to be found. I was about to walk through to the kitchen when Arthur stopped me.
“Your mum wants to have a chat with Daniel, to get to know him without you interfering. She asked me to take him into the kitchen when you arrived.”
A sudden feeling of dread came over me. This was it. She was going to say something terrible to Daniel, and he wouldn’t want to see me again.
Daniel squeezed my hand for the third time in such a short space of time and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I will be fine, Richard. You spend some time with Arthur. I suspect you have a lot to talk about.”
He was right; we did have a lot to discuss. But the thought of Daniel being alone with my mum still sent shivers down my spine.
It was Arthur who spoke next. “You really don’t need to worry. Your mum just wants to get to know Daniel, I promise you. She isn’t trying to interfere in your relationship. Wait for me in the sitting room, and we can chat.”
I watched Arthur and Daniel walk towards the kitchen. Seeing them go through the door, I finally moved and headed into the sitting room to wait for Arthur. I walked into the room and sat down on the sofa, still nervous about what my mum was going to say to say. I didn’t have to wait very long before Arthur walked in, with a mug of coffee to boot.
