Page 88 of Beautifully Complicated

“Our incorporation papers. We’re officially in business. And I reached out to my old company in Boston to let them know I wasn’t returning to teaching, or to my former position, but that my partner and I would be happy to discuss how we might help advance their research.”

“What’d they say?” He holds his breath.

“They weren’t overly thrilled at first, but when I told them my partner is the one who collaborated with me on the new prosthetic everyone’s talking about, they said maybe we should have a meeting.”

Aiden’s jaw drops as he looks between me and the papers in his hand. Then suddenly his brows morph into a frown, and he cocks his head to the side.

“Where’d you get these papers?” he asks.

“My pocket.”

“No, I mean, how’d they get in your pocket. I watched you get dressed, I never saw you put anything in there.”

“That’s because I put them there last night.” I give him a quick kiss. “I knew you’d pick the gray suit.”

Aiden gives me the most heartfelt smile right before he throws his arms around my neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Leanbh. Now grab your cap and gown so we can get going. I need all the brownie points I can get with your parents, so I don’t want to be late.”

We hop in my car for the ten-minute drive to campus, arriving in plenty of time to make a good impression.

Several groups of people are mingling about outside the stadium where graduation will take place, and Aiden takes my hand to steer us toward one that has a little girl running around in circles. She stops cold when she sees us, then sprints our direction with arms flung out wide.

“Uncle A!” she shouts as she launches herself off the ground, Aiden dislodging his hand in just enough time to catch her.

“Hey, princess.” He spins her around once and holds her up to meet me. “This is my niece, Princess Isabella. Princess, this is Kier. My boyfriend.”

“Hello,” I say.

Aiden’s elbow meets my side as he whispers from the corner of his mouth, “Bow.”

I do my best imitation of what I assume to be the proper greeting for royalty—I have no background in such things—and Isabella giggles.

“He looks like a prince,” she says.

“He does,” Aiden agrees, “But he’s mine so you can’t have him.” He sets her down with a little pat on the butt, urging her to go back to her parents, and faces the two people I assume are his.

Aiden’s parents are both gray, so I can’t tell where his hair comes from. The eyes are his father’s, while his complexion looks more like his mother’s. His smile is all his own though. Or maybe that’s just how it looks since both his parents are regarding me cautiously.

“Kier, these are my folks. Robert and Bonnie. Mom, Dad, this is Kier.”

“Hello.” I extend my hand, which they both shake, though neither does anything more than smile and nod.Guess I’ll take the lead.“I know you have some trepidation about my relationship with your son, and I respect your concerns. I’d be happy to discuss them with you at a more opportune moment, and I hope in time you’ll see I only have his best interests at heart.”

“Jesus, he sounds just like Aiden,” a burly man says right before a woman smacks him on the chest with the back of her hand.

“That’s not what I sound like,” Aiden says.

“When you’re trying to be formal it is,” the man responds.

Aiden sighs heavily and points at him. “Kier this is Conor and my sister Amanda.”

As I shake their hands Aiden turns back to his parents to give them a hug, and I thank Conor for helping to straighten things out with his in-laws while his wife tries to corral their daughter.

“They’re good people. Just protective,” Conor says.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“It’ll help that you don’t look ten years older.”

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