Page 113 of The Revenge Agenda

“For what?”

“Loving me as I am.”

I drop a kiss on his forehead. “It’s the exact same way you love me.”

There’s a knock from downstairs, and a moment later, heavy footsteps jog down to get it. From being in this house so much, I can pick them as Seven’s, and while we’ve become really close friends, I also don’t want him giving my straitlaced parents a heart attack before they get a chance to meet Rush.

“We better go down.”

“Yes. Down. Right.” He pulls away from me, eyes zeroing in on my sleeve, and before he can doubt and second-guess and work himself into anxiety, I grab his hand and tug him from the room.

“The sweater is fine.”

“Fine?” His face falls, and I almost laugh.

“It’s amazing. I just mean there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“What if they don’t like that?”

My parents? Oh, they’ll hate them. Ugly Christmas sweaters aren’t something they’ve ever been interested in, but I know they’ll be polite, and when it comes down to it, they’ll appreciate that Rush took his time to make them.

There’s no one in the hall downstairs, so we follow it through the house to the backyard, where the party is being held. It’s a rare cloudless day, still cold as balls with a weak sun, but we got lucky after the rain that’s been falling all week.

Rush grips my hand, and I turn to him. “I can’t believe how many people are here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for so long, there was only us Bertha Boys and Aggy. Penn, mostly. But that was it. Now …”

I glance around at the full backyard. All of Rush’s roommates are here, along with their partners. Aggy, of course, and then … “Who are all these people?”

“You’ve met Gabe but not his boyfriend. Aleks plays hockey, so he doesn’t get around a lot. The two men with them are partners and work with Gabe. Then Elle is Émile’s sister, and the man with her is Darcy Ritcherson.” He points to an older man with long dark hair. “That’s Molly’s dad and Molly’s best friend, who is also dating his dad?—”

“Wow.”

“Yep, and—oh.” Rush’s voice goes up a notch. “Those two people heading our way must be your parents.”

I tighten my hand in his. “All I need you to focus on is breathing.”

“Right.”

“Properly.”

“Okay.”

My parents reach us, and I let Rush go for a moment to pull them into a hug. Mom squeezes the life out of me, and Dad isn’t much better, but almost as soon as we part, their curious attention moves to Rush.

My gut is swimming with nerves and happiness as I set a hand on his back. “This is?—”

“Rush! It’s about time we got to meet you,” Mom says. “Do you like hugs?”

“Well, that really all depends on the hug. Some are very awkward and lifeless.”

She blinks at him for a second, and I almost laugh.

“Better make sure it’s not awkward and lifeless, Mom.”

Mom scowls my way before pulling Rush in for a hug like her life depends on it. She whispers something to him that I miss, but whatever it is makes him smile, so I’m okay with letting them have that moment.

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