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No one spoke for a long moment. I couldn’t begin to imagine what was going through either of their heads, but I didn’t envy either of them.

Finally, Sophia whispered, “I’m sorry for all of this, Nolan.”

“No.” He shook his head, loosening his grip on me. “If it’s not my fault, then it’s sure as shit not yours.” He glanced up at me, then back at her. “I’ll go and face the family. But only if Riley comes too.”

“Of course,” she said without hesitation, and a faint smile appeared on her lips. “It’s been obvious since you guys got here that he protects you. I wouldn’t ask you to go without him.”

That, more than my touch, eased some of the tightness out of his muscles, and he relaxed.

“Okay.” He nodded sharply. “Okay, I’ll, um…” He looked at me. “You up for it?”

The last thing I wanted to do was face his family, especially if Andrew and Leann would be there. But more than anything in the world, I wanted to be there for Nolan and support him. If this was what he needed, then I was there. Wholeheartedly.

“I am, yeah.”

“Okay.” He exhaled. “Let me, um… Let me grab a shower. Then we’ll head over.”

He’d already showered, but I suspected it was a move to buy himself some time and clear his head. I didn’t object at all.

“All right.” Sophia nodded. “I’ll meet you back at your parents’ place.”

Nolan returned the nod.

After she’d left, I faced him and slid my hands over his waist. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I think so.” He wrapped his arms around me. “You’ll be there. I’ll be okay.”

I smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

“Thank you.” His smile was faint but genuine, and his kiss was short and light. “I love you, Riley.”

“I love you too.”

I’d had some extraordinarily uncomfortable conversations with my family. We’d had some lengthy“we need to talk”sit-downs that had been awful for everyone involved, and they’d left me wrung out and frustrated afterward.

But I don’t think I’d ever experienced anything quite like settling into the Tyler family’s living room tonight.

In silence, we sat around the coffee table like someone was about to have an intervention. Nolan took one of the recliners. I took the other, but kept my hand clasped in his on his armrest. Andrew and Leann were on the loveseat, both shooting daggers out their eyes at us. On the couch, Sophia sat beside Carol and John. Matt, evidently too restless to sit, stood behind the couch and fidgeted.

Nolan’s mother folded her hands in her lap and cleared her throat. “Now that we’ve all had a chance to catch our breath, I think it’s time we had a talk.” She swept her gaze around the room. “As a family.”

“Good idea,” Andrew growled. “Why don’t we start with finding out why one family member would accuse another of something like that?”

I bristled but said nothing.

Nolan’s fingers tightened in mine. Looking right at his brother, he said, “You know me. You know I wouldn’t throw something like that around lightly. I—”

“Are you suggesting I don’t know my wife?” Andrew demanded. “Because you’re trying to tell me she’s a—” He made a disgusted face. “Christ, Nolan…”

“Why is this only coming out now?” Carol asked, expression pained. “Why today?”

“I think that’s my fault,” I said timidly. “I was worried, and I think I pushed too hard to—”

“No,” Nolan said. “No, it’s not your fault. After the bachelorette, and the way Leann was acting at the rehearsal, I…” He shook his head. “I guess I hit my breaking point.”

“Bullshit,” Leann muttered.

Sophia was chewing her lip so hard, I was surprised it wasn’t bleeding. Matt put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze as if to reassure her he was there. She didn’t look up, but she put a hand over his.

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