Page 151 of Delilah In Discretion

“I’m sorry… but WHO?!” he asked, flabbergasted.

Blaine tilted his head and pointed to Uncle Shin. “Daddy Shang... Oh, have you two never met formally? Well, allow me toassist. Sterling, this is the father to your tiger, and Daddy Shang, Sterling is what we call a lion tamer for Kimiko.”

Uncle Shin made a face as he approached Kimiko slowly. “Excuse me, Kimiko? You have a boyfriend, or rather a lion tamer? What the hell does that even mean?!Who the hell is this boy! What happened to you being responsible and focused? Now you’ve given this boy all of your attention.”

He spoke angrily, switching to Japanese, and Kimi seemed frozen in her seat. I glared at my uncle Blaine for causing the fight, and he raised his hand in surrender, seeming surprised.

I couldn’t truly blame him, as even I genuinely didn’t think Uncle Shin was able to show any real anger, especially toward Kimiko. Kimi seemed to be at a loss for words, but Sterling stood up and crossed his arms.

“I’d say I’m more of a man, but we can agree to disagree,”he responded swiftly in Uncle Shin’s native language, whowas taken aback. I also didn’t miss the slight smile and blush that rose to Kimi’s cheeks.

“Before we were rudely put out into the open,” Sterling began, sending a glare at Uncle Blaine, who looked like he was in the process of leaving the room, but he swiftly turned and plastered a wavering smile on his face. “I was going to come to you to introduce myself formally. Is ‘tiger’ a nickname I’ve given her? Yes. But it was only because that was the first thing that came to my mind when I noticed how determined and strong she was. If you or she genuinely dislike it, I will stop... But I won’t stop being with her simply because you haven’t gotten to know me. And I’m no stranger to Chinese, Japanese, or Korean either. Kimiko, unfortunately, learned that the hard way. So don’t be afraid to tell me something you don’t like about meto me.”

Uncle Shin simply stared at Sterling, no longer looking angry. Eventually, he glanced over to Kimiko and spoke.

“We’ll continue this discussion about your relationship later.”

Kimi nodded, seeing that as a sign of hope, but Sterling spoke again.

“Also, ‘Daddy Shang?’ ‘Tiger’ has to be a better nickname… or at least one that is mildly appropriate?” he asked, looking around for approval.

Kimiko angrily yanked his hand down to sit and smiled up at her father, who looked to be holding back a smile himself.

“Anyway...” Uncle Blaine said, annoyed as if he wasn’t the one to cause the problems in the first place. “Are we clear about the plan?”

We all nodded slowly.

“Okay, well, I, Daddy Shang, Archer, and Blaine #2 will be going to get prepped with the ‘business matters’ that will be discussed as we need to be legitimate in our plan to propose to Killian. Girls, you are free for the rest of the afternoon,” Uncle Blaine said, and Uncle Shin followed him out, shaking his head.

“This is going to be a disaster,” he muttered in defeat.

The second the door closed, Sterling looked relieved. “God, I’m about to shit my pants. I thought you said he wasn’t scary!” he yelled.

Kimi simply placed a kiss on his cheek and grabbed his hand. He looked at Kimiko in confusion as she led him out as well.

“And who’s Blaine #2?” he asked, and as Kimi went to speak, his eyes widened as he cut her off. “Is it me? Am I Blaine #2?!” he exclaimed in disbelief.

I waved Kimi goodbye as she stepped out.

I went to stand up, and Archer grabbed my hand in his, halting my movement. Wrapping his fingers around my hand, he looked into my eyes.

“Are you ready, Princess?” he asked, and I sighed.

“What choice do we have?”

He shrugged. “We could run away together. Just the two of us.” I smiled at the idea, and he continued, “We’ll get a houseon a farm, land that goes for miles so no one will bother us. We’ll put Sterling and Kimiko in our barn just to be safe,” he muttered, and I giggled at his fantasy. “Or we could travel the world. Wherever you go, I’ll follow, whether it be in the snow or the sand. Kimiko and Sterling will, once again, have to be close by, but not too close. They could always ride where the luggage is kept.”

I placed a kiss on his head as I smiled. “No more talking, okay, honey?” I said, and he bit his lip as a smile came to his face. Soon he captured my lips in his, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

The kiss lasted less than five seconds as the door opened, and Uncle Blaine screamed.

“MY EYES! MY EYES!!” he yelled, slamming the door in the process, and I giggled as Archer groaned.

“I’m beginning to think the older your father and uncles get, the more they become children: Killian with his tantrums, Shin and Blaine acting as if they’re kindergarteners working on a school project, my father being the bully, and Andrew following him around like the little brother their mom forced to spend time with him,” he muttered, and I sighed.

“Are you done, Archer?” I asked. He nodded reluctantly.

After walking him to the room with the others, Kimi and I left to go to the nearest coffee shop. She parked the car, and I stepped out with her as we looked at the line from the outside.

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