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“What do you mean?”
“I’ve known for a while now. The moment I started noticing you watching him the way I do Benjamin. Like he’s your whole world. I wasn’t sure if anything would come of it but knew I had to be ready in case it did. I finally came to this conclusion.” She narrows her eyes on me. “I can either not accept the first relationship you’ve ever been happy in or I can be here for you the way a mother should be, cheering you on. I’m not ready to lose you over something so small.”
I throw my arms around her, crying into her shoulder. “Thank you, Ma. Out of everyone in the entire world, you’ve always been there for me no matter what.”
“I love you,mijo, and I love Theo. I only want you two to be happy. We don’t always plan these things but sometimes they happen anyway, and I can try and stop you all I want but all it’ll do is push you both away. How will that make anything better than what it already is?”
I nod into her shoulder. “And Dad?”
“He’ll be a little harder to convince but I do ask you to be patient with him and let him hear you both out. He might not come around today or next week, but he will in time.”
I suck in a sharp breath, causing my lungs to burn. “You want me to talk to him?”
“Yes. The sooner the better. He’s in his office and probably doesn’t realize you’ve come home yet.”
I break away from her arms, shuffling my feet. “Yeah, now is as good a time as any I suppose. I’d rather him yell at me than Theo.”
“I know. Hopefully I’ve talked him down enough in the last hour.” She tucks a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.
“Will you do me a favor while I toss myself into the line of fire?”
Her lips press into a thin line before parting again. “Sure.”
“Can you tell Theo everything you told me? I really think he needs to hear it too.”
“I will. I’ll go over there right now.” She presses a kiss to my cheek and leaves me standing alone in the kitchen with my racing thoughts. I can do this. I’ll go upstairs and tell Benjamin everything I told her. If he doesn’t understand, I’ll make him.
I can do this. I repeat the words of reassurance in my head until I’m standing in the open doorway of Benjamin’s office. His desk faces the same wall the door is on and is all the way in the corner in front of the large window, placing him several feet away. He fumbles with his pen, not looking up from his desk. “You’re back home.”
“I am.” I lean against the doorway and don’t fully enter, making sure to give us both room in case one of us needs it. I’m already choking on air and when I try to speak again, he beats me to it.
“How was your trip?” He still doesn’t meet my gaze, twirling his pen between his fingers.
“Good. I had a really fun time.”
“Theo too I presume? I’m guessing you went together. How many trips have you two gone on so far?”
“It was the first one. At least as a couple.”
Benjamin’s teeth grind and he slams his hand onto the desk. “You can’t be in a relationship with family. What Theo did, taking advantage of you the way he has, is wrong.”
“What? Theo didn’t do anything. Dad, this only happened a few weeks ago, and it was me who came on to him. More than once.”
He shakes his head, his face turning red as he fumes. “I don’t care who did what, he’s older and should know better. He’s the adult here.”
I punch the door, the muscles in my jaw twitching. “So am I. I’m twenty-two years old. Soon to be twenty-three. No one is taking advantage of anyone. I’m fully capable of making my own decisions.”
“It doesn’t matter,mijo. It’s wrong. He’s your uncle by marriage and thirty-eight. Nearly twice your age.” He finally meets my eyes.
“Sixteen years apart in age isn’t that much. We aren’t related by blood and Theo has only been in my life for four years. I wasn’t a child when I met him and I’m certainly not one now. Who are you to tell me who I can and can’t have?”
His brows furrow and he pinches the bridge of his nose. “I won’t support this. I can’t. Do you know what people are saying in the comments of the photos that were posted?”
“No, and I don’t care. What everyone thinks is not important, and I don’t need your approval to be with Theo. It’s going to happen with or without your blessing. The only thing you need to decide is if you’ll get to be a part of our lives when it does.”
He goes quiet, staring out the window.
“You know what it’s like to have your family turn their back on you because of who you chose to love. Why would you put your own son through that?”
