Page 104 of Fragile Hearts

She laughs, shaking her head at me. I know Sloane thinks I spoil her, but I don’t care. I would do anything for her, and that has nothing to do with her background or her family or whatever and everything to do with how much I love her.

“Cheeky,” I say, gripping her ass. She squeals, and just as I’m about to drag her back to our bedroom for some fun, she reminds me of why we can’t.

“Don’t we need to get going?”

I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling as I say, “Yeah, we do. You good to go?”

We head over to my parents’ house, and as we pull into the drive, I notice Sloane is suddenly quiet beside me. Glancing over, I reach for her hand, squeezing it gently as I say, “Babe, please tell me you aren’t nervous.”

“I’m not nervous,” she says, shaking her head.

Chuckling, I lift her hand to my mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “You remember you have met my parents before, right?”

Sloane looks over at me, a look on her face that has me laughing as she says, “Yeah, but not at their house.” She turns back to the view out the window, the huge house that sits on a cliff overlooking the beach.

Even I can admit it’s an impressive house, but it’s still just a house. And Sloane has spent plenty of time with my parents and at two of their luxury hotels.

Shaking my head, I lean over and kiss her, my lips against hers as I murmur, “It’s just a house, babe. Come on.”

She blows out a breath as we both get out of the car, meeting in front. I sling my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as we walk toward the front door. I press a quick kiss to her temple before opening the door and walking in.

“We’re here!” I shout, closing the door behind me.

My parents’ dog, a three-legged rescue, comes running at the sound of my voice, and I practically feel Sloane relax beside me as her face lights up and she drops to a crouch in front of him.

“Hey, Tripod,” I say, leaning down to give him a pat.

“Owen, don’t call him that!” Sloane says, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close, the crazy mutt wriggling with happiness as he tries to lick her.

Laughing, I drop a kiss to her head as I say, “Why not? It’s his name.”

“Seriously?” she asks, glancing up at me.

“Yes, seriously, I chose it,” I say, giving her a wink. “And he’s not the only tripod in the family, is he?” I add, cupping my junk as I hit her with a grin.

“Oh my god,” she mutters, and I laugh again as my mom walks into the entry.

“There you are,” she says, smiling as she walks straight to Sloane and pulls her into a hug, smiling at me over Sloane’s shoulder, even as I roll my eyes at her clear favoritism.

Sloane returns the hug as she says, “Hey, Sally.”

Mom eventually lets her go, turning to me and giving me a quick once-over as she says, “Hmm, wearing a shirt for a change, good to see.”

I roll my eyes again as Sloane laughs, and I lean in to give Mom a kiss on the cheek. “I can take it off if you want?”

“No,” Mom replies with a smile before hooking her arm through Sloane’s and leading her back toward the kitchen, the two of them chatting easily, as though they’ve known each other for years.

I seriously love how much my family has embraced Sloane. Not that I thought they wouldn’t, given they’ve known her for a year already, but it’s different with her. Even before we got together, I know my mom always tried to help Sloane as much as she could. Something I’m sure Sloane doesn’t even realize.

“Are you joining us?” Mom calls, looking back over her shoulder at me.

“Yeah, Ma,” I reply, following after them.

We spend a couple of hours at my parents’ place, hanging out and having lunch. My sister and Zach also come over, and she fills us all in on how the hotel on Lanai is going now that it’s been open for a couple of weeks.

It’s easy and chill, and by the time we decide to head home, I can tell Sloane is not even close to being nervous anymore.

“Don’t be a stranger,” Mom says as she hugs Sloane goodbye.

---