Page 80 of Deadly Secrets
Theodora’s brows shot up, and for half a second, Brooke’s heart stopped. Both because Roman was being totally insolent and the fact he’d just declared he wanted to marry her. He was joking again, right?
Roman’s mother laughed out loud. “Why am I not surprised?” A tamed smile landed on Brooke. “Roman does his best to shock me any chance he gets. Whether or not you’re sleeping with my son, I hope he’s treating you right.”
Brooke smiled back. “He’s always a gentleman, at work and…at home.”
“As he should be,” Theodora said. Then to Roman, “Have you seen your father yet?”
Roman gave Brooke a tight squeeze. His gaze shot over the crowd, a smirk on his face. “Where is he? I want to show off my woman to him.”
Brooke’s mouth dropped open as Theodora, shaking her head, led the way around a group of men and one woman who nodded and said hello to Roman. A lot of reserved glances and greetings met them as they wound their way to one of the tables near the fountain decorated for the party.
Roman’s father sat in a chair with a grandchild on each knee. All three were laughing and the sight instantly made Brooke relax a little.
“Roman, my son.” The man shooed the kids off his lap and used both arms of the chair to push himself to standing.
Roman grabbed one of his arms and helped him. They shook hands, then embraced. “How ya doing, Pop?” Roman said.
“Gad! Your mother has me on some vegetarian diet and I have to drink this green crap every day. Tastes horrible! I hate it.”
Theodoratskedand started reprimanding him while Roman slapped his father’s back lightly and laughed. “You look good, Pop, so it must be working.”
The wrinkled face turned to Brooke. “My, my, who do we have here?”
Roman made the introductions and Brooke found her hand engulfed by a much larger one. “Brooke, this is my father, Kylan.”
“Kylan Walsh,” Brooke said. “A solid Irish name if I ever heard one.”
Kylan chuckled, still holding her hand. “My grandparents came from Kilkenny.”
“The Walsh surname is most common there and County Mayo, although it’s the fourth in Ireland as well.”
His beaming eyes went from her to Roman and back. “You know a lot about the Walsh name.”
She winked at him. “I have a thing for culture and history, and when I met your son, I did a little digging to see where his family roots might have come from.”
“Ancestry, huh?” Kylan nodded. “Well, I’ll tell you a secret, the name Walsh actually came from Britain.”
“Walsh is a derivative of ‘Welshman,’” she added, “which was taken to Ireland during and after the Norman invasion by the Welsh, Cornish, and Cumbrian soldiers.”
Kylan squeezed her hand as Theodora rolled her eyes behind Roman’s shoulder. “I think she’s a keeper, Roman.”
“I think she is too, Pop.”
“Come sit by an old man and tell him about your work, Dr. Heaton,” Kylan said, motioning her to the chair next to him.
She glanced at Roman and he gave her a nod as his mother grabbed him by the arm. “Roman, I could use your help with the food.”
Brooke sensed Roman didn’t want to leave her. At the same time, she knew Theodora didn’t need help with the food—she just wanted an excuse to get her son away from Brooke.
That’s not the effect I was going for, but whatever.
Roman’s family was not a group she would easily fit into. She’d known that before she’d agreed to come along.
For the next hour, the party rolled along, a few more people arriving, food and drink flowing, and a pile of gifts growing on a side table. Roman came and went as his mother and sisters kept him busy, greeting guests, keeping the caterers on their toes and the kids out of trouble. Brooke could see they really did love and depend on him, and he was happy keeping everyone else happy.
Including her. He made sure she had more than plenty of food, never let her glass go empty, and introduced her to everyone as his girlfriend.
She found it easy to play the part.
